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Where to Live Your Best Life: The Best European Countries to live in

Jan 05, 2023 by Fredrik Häggrot

It's difficult to say which are the "best" countries to live in, as different people have different priorities and what may be the best fit for one person may not be the best for someone else. But we think lists are fun and can give you some guidelines when deciding where to move to. That is why we present our Workwide Recruit Top 10 lists with the best European countries to live in!

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Better Life Index is a tool that allows users to compare countries based on various measures of well-being. The Index takes 12 factors into account which include income, education, health, work-life balance, safety, social connections, environmental quality, and life satisfaction and more.

We have created our own 2 indexes for expats using the data from the “Better Life Index” to cover two of the most important viewpoints (according to us) when considering moving to a new country. Let’s call them the Work and Finance Index and the Well-being Index.

Work and Finance Index

(includes Housing, Income, and Jobs)

  1. Luxembourg
  2. Iceland
  3. Norway
  4. Germany (read more or go to our jobs)
  5. Belgium
  6. Netherlands (read more or go to jobs)
  7. United Kingdom
  8. Sweden
  9. Ireland (read more or go to jobs)
  10. Austria
Lit up house in the dark

Well-being Index

(includes Work-life Balance, Life satisfaction, Community, and Safety)

  1. Finland
  2. Norway
  3. Denmark
  4. Netherlands
  5. Switzerland
  6. Iceland
  7. Sweden (come work with us)
  8. Luxembourg
  9. Czech Republic (read more or go to jobs)
  10. Germany
Flower in hands

Top 10 Best European countries to live in

Combining all factors above, this is our Top 10 countries to live in

  1. Switzerland
  2. Luxembourg
  3. Norway
  4. Iceland
  5. Netherlands
  6. Finland
  7. Denmark
  8. Sweden
  9. Germany
  10. Ireland

Where should I move to?

When it comes to deciding where to pack up your bags and start a new life, it's important to do your homework and think about what's most important to you. Do you value a high quality of life and a strong welfare state? Are you looking for a country with a rich cultural heritage and a low crime rate? Or perhaps you're more interested in job opportunities and a stable economy?

It’s good fun to go to the Better Life index and create your own ranking, where you can decide which factors are most important to you.

No matter where you go, it's a good idea to talk to people who have already made the move to get their perspective on what it's like to live in a particular country. They might be able to give you some insider tips and help you make an informed decision. Or check out our country guides!

We hope you get some inspiration from these rankings and are ready to browse our jobs listwe look forward to hearing from you!