2) Costa Rica

Dubbed a “tropical paradise”, Costa Rica makes it into the top 10 for three out of five of the major categories: ease of settling in, family life and quality of life. Like its Central American neighbour, Mexico, Costa Rica gives newcomers a warm welcome and the chance to make good friends.

“Costa Rica offers the freedom to live a peaceful, happy life, surrounded by peaceful, kind and happy people,” said one participant in the study.

If you don’t speak Spanish, the language barrier may pose a problem: more than half of expats in Costa Rica say that it’s not easy to get by without knowing the local language. However, a similar proportion of people say that Spanish isn’t hard to learn, so you should pick it up just fine.

These are the world’s best countries if you want to live and work abroad