Revealed: The Best Countries for Falling in Love

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A study into the love lives of expats has revealed some fascinating facts. The study, carried out by InterNations, reveals that an impressive 14% of expats left their home country for love. In some cases this is because an existing partner was moving abroad, and for others it is because they were introduced into a cross-cultural relationship and moved back to their partner’s home country with them.

The new study surveyed over 14,000 expats, asking them about their personal relationships. In particular, respondents were asked about their partners, including how they met and where both parties originated from. The results make some fascinating reading and reveal aspects to the expat lifestyle that weren’t as widely-known beforehand.

Cross-cultural relationships are perhaps more common than some of us might have realized. The statistics suggest that over 50% of expats are in a cross-cultural relationship. This clearly shows just how open to new experiences expats really are, and suggests that expats are more than happy to experience new cultures and meet new people along the way; some of which can turn into long-term partners.

All in all it’s a fascinating picture, of relationships forged around the world. But what about those of us who are currently single, and are looking for mister or missus right? What can we learn from the experiences of expats and travellers that will increase our odds of meeting that “special someone”?

Possibly the most fascinating question of all that this research answers relates to the best countries in which to fall in love? Where are the odds of meeting your dream partner most likely, and which nationalities tends to benefit from the most enjoyable relationships?

It seems the top country for expat relationships is the Philippines. Following closely behind are Argentina and Chile, with Mexico and Greece rounding off the top five places in the world where expats were most likely to be in a relationship with a local. The Philippines, number one in the survey, also came top when asked about the level of satisfaction expats felt with their relationship.

What is perhaps even more interesting is just how sharply the sexes seem to be divided on this matter. On the one hand, 10% of expats have relocated with an existing partner. Here fully 86% of these “trailing” partners are women. In contrast, 20% of male expats maintain a long-distance relationship with a partner “back home”. This would suggest that men are more likely to move abroad for a career, while women are far more likely to follow their partner and attempt to maintain some semblance of a “normal” relationship.

One final finding from the survey is that 26% of the expats surveyed are in a relationship with someone from a different country than either their home country or their existing country of residence. It just goes to show that love is a truly international experience, and that many of us can be just as happy with a foreign partner as we can with one from our home country.

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