In an era of increased mobility, global citizens are constantly seeking new places to build better and more comfortable lives. Americans are no exception, with many exploring the opportunities that foreign countries provide.
The European Union/Schengen Zone stands out as a top interest for Americans, offering a slower pace of life and improved work-life balance. This borderless zone of 29 countries is ideal for hardworking Americans, who can find endless job opportunities to showcase their skills while also enjoying the chance to travel freely and experience unique cultures.
To provide valuable information for Americans considering a move to the EU, we have analyzed several factors that determine how convenient each country is for relocation. These factors include English language proficiency, friendliness of the local population toward Americans, healthcare quality, tax rates, cost of living, and rent prices.
By evaluating these crucial aspects, SchengenVisaInfo aims to offer a credible and inclusive resource to help potential movers make informed decisions about relocating to the EU.
What Are the Best Schengen Countries and European Destinations to Move to for Americans?
Here is the list of the best countries in the Schengen Area that Americans can move to:
| Country | English Proficiency Score | American Friendliness Score | Healthcare Score | Taxes | Gross Earnings | Cost of Living | Rent | Financial Flexibility Score | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 13.02 | 46.85 | 100.00 | 22.80% | $8,017 | $1,738 | $1,783 | 100.00 | 70.28 |
| Norway | 46.15 | 27.49 | 82.59 | 25% | $5,013 | $1,248 | $1,170 | 57.39 | 57.66 |
| Denmark | 49.70 | 26.05 | 64.68 | 12.01% | $5,385 | $1,215 | $1,003 | 70.23 | 56.81 |
| Iceland | 64.50 | 26.77 | 57.79 | 23.05% | $5,640 | $1,337 | $1,727 | 56.95 | 54.56 |
| Sweden | 49.11 | 25.21 | 59.78 | 20% | $4,353 | $1,009 | $836 | 55.45 | 50.63 |
| Netherlands | 68.64 | 15.97 | 56.16 | 36.97% | $4,084 | $1,081 | $1,337 | 36.56 | 47.37 |
| Austria | 50.30 | 35.29 | 55.86 | 48% | $3,536 | $1,192 | $869 | 32.27 | 44.31 |
| Finland | 39.05 | 31.93 | 45.14 | 34% | $3,960 | $1,048 | $802 | 46.53 | 42.05 |
| Luxembourg | 26.04 | 14.29 | 66.82 | 39% | $4,735 | $1,103 | $1,699 | 42.53 | 41.46 |
| Germany | 43.20 | 0.00 | 57.21 | 42% | $3,934 | $1,092 | $869 | 43.44 | 41.00 |
| Malta | 100.00 | 36.13 | 26.88 | 25% | $2,089 | $869 | $958 | 5.10 | 40.01 |
| Belgium | 45.56 | 18.49 | 47.54 | 50% | $3,497 | $1,036 | $836 | 35.66 | 39.12 |
| France | 0.00 | 16.81 | 44.57 | 27.20% | $4,003 | $1,059 | $758 | 48.23 | 30.36 |
| Poland | 39.64 | 100.00 | 1.99 | 12% | $1,794 | $758 | $669 | 7.48 | 27.75 |
| Romania | 38.46 | 98.32 | 0.00 | 10% | $1,504 | $657 | $390 | 9.47 | 27.20 |
| Lithuania | 26.63 | 89.92 | 8.99 | 20% | $1,770 | $836 | $591 | 6.94 | 24.92 |
| Hungary | 33.73 | 80.67 | 4.24 | 15% | $1,671 | $713 | $474 | 10.08 | 24.83 |
| Greece | 42.01 | 47.06 | 9.09 | 22% | $2,085 | $903 | $501 | 14.49 | 24.64 |
| Portugal | 44.97 | 52.94 | 17.84 | 37% | $1,717 | $747 | $936 | 0.00 | 24.54 |
| Croatia | 42.60 | 75.63 | 4.52 | 19.30% | $1,547 | $802 | $579 | 2.92 | 24.23 |
| Italy | 2.37 | 65.55 | 24.17 | 35% | $2,660 | $947 | $724 | 21.39 | 24.09 |
| Slovenia | 43.79 | 30.25 | 18.35 | 33% | $1,926 | $914 | $724 | 5.69 | 22.70 |
| Czechia | 20.12 | 57.14 | 15.97 | 15% | $2,267 | $847 | $747 | 14.32 | 22.69 |
| Estonia | 23.08 | 57.98 | 11.40 | 20% | $2,147 | $947 | $591 | 12.88 | 21.75 |
| Spain | 2.37 | 36.13 | 22.94 | 21% | $2,893 | $791 | $947 | 25.10 | 20.42 |
| Latvia | 23.67 | 62.18 | 9.51 | 23% | $1,640 | $914 | $423 | 6.03 | 19.91 |
| Bulgaria | 34.32 | 68.91 | 0.80 | 10% | $1,201 | $657 | $412 | 2.18 | 19.81 |
| Slovakia | 33.14 | 50.42 | 7.31 | 19% | $1,642 | $836 | $613 | 3.57 | 19.11 |
The gross salary, rent price, and cost of living are average monthly estimations.
Methodology: How Are the Countries Ranked?
To identify the highest-ranked Schengen countries for Americans looking to move to, SchengenVisaInfo has analysed aspects that make a country convenient for relocation.
These are the determining factors that have been considered in this study:
- English Proficiency: This score measures the English language proficiency of each of the 27 Schengen countries based on annual evaluations from the EF English Proficiency Index. Alternative data and approximations have been used in the case of Slovenia, Iceland, and Latvia. Malta has been given the highest score due to the English language being an official language.
- Friendliness Toward Americans: This score reflects each country’s attitudes towards Americans, based on the results of the Eurobarometer survey measuring the positive views of the US influence in the region.
- Healthcare Expenditure Per Capita: This figure represents healthcare expenditures per capita, calculated by dividing the total healthcare spending by the population and government per capita, according to data from Eurostat.
- Monthly Gross Income: It shows the total earnings before taxes or benefits, which is a person’s overall income monthly.
- Taxes: Represents the percentage share of earnings that individuals pay to the government, depending on their income level.
- Cost of Living: Refers to the amount of money needed to maintain a living standard, including here food and transportation.
- Rent Price Per Month: Represents the amount needed to pay for housing every month.
- Financial Flexibility: This is amount of money left after covering all expenses. The amount of money left is determined by subtracting the cost of living and rent price from the monthly income after taxes.
The data for the gross income, taxes, the cost of living, and rent prices have been gathered from multiple sources.
The Scoring
To create our ranking of the best countries for Americans to move to, we used the Standard normalisation formula, which helps compare different types of data on a similar scale. We have scaled the data into a range of 0 to 1. The scores for the following categories are generated by scaling the real values to a normalised range:
- English Proficiency Score.
- American-Friendly Indicator.
- Healthcare System Score.
- Financial Flexibility Score.
The standard normalization formula
A mathematical formula also known as “min-max normalization”, used to scale ranges of numbers to the [0,1] range.
What does a score of 0 and 100 mean?
For example, in our ranking, France has a score of 0 for English language proficiency, while Malta has a score of 100. This indicates that, compared to other countries on the list, French people are less proficient in English. It does not imply that no one in France speaks the language! The same approach applies to the three remaining categories.
Liechtenstein has been excluded from the ranking because of insufficient data.
The weighing of the factors
| Factor | Sub-Factors | Weight in the formula |
| English Proficiency Score | English Proficiency Index by EF | 25% |
| Friendliness Toward Americans | The Eurobarometer Survey | 15% |
| Healthcare Score | Annual expenditures for healthcare per capita from Eurostat | 30% |
| Financial Flexibility |
| 30% |
Sources
- https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/
- https://tradingeconomics.com/
- https://taxfoundation.org/
- https://www.euronews.com/
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/
- https://www.numbeo.com/
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/