English-Friendly Cities
You won't need a phrasebook on day one.
Cities where street English is usable and office English doesn't block your career. Ranked by daily-life English, workplace English, affordability, and safety.
90 cities ranked by data · updated June 2026
How we rank
▾
Derived daily-life English (35%) + workplace English (15%) from EF EPI and primary-language context, then rent (30%, Numbeo) and safety (20%, UNODC). The street score is stricter than the office score on purpose.
Sources: Numbeo · UNODC · EIU · OECD PISA · Ookla · EF EPI · World Bank · Updated June 2026
This ranking is based on fixed data criteria (derived daily-life english (35%) + workplace english (15%) from ef epi and primary-language context, then rent (30%, numbeo) and safety (20%, unodc)). Your ideal city depends on your personal priorities — climate, budget, language, politics all weigh differently for everyone. Take the quiz for a personalized ranking.
Show residency difficulty for your passport
Monthly budget cap
Compare cities in this collection
Frequently Asked Questions
OK but which english-friendly cities city actually wins?▾
Dunedin (New Zealand) sits at #1 right now — city-centre rent starts around $991/month. That's based on data, not vibes.
Top 3, no hedging?▾
#1 Dunedin (New Zealand), #2 Graz (Austria), #3 Leipzig (Germany). These scored highest on the actual metrics we use for this collection — not on how many Instagram reels mention them.
Where can I do this without burning through savings?▾
Batumi (Georgia) — rent starts at ~$461/month for a 1-bed in the centre. Your mileage varies with lifestyle, but the signal is clear.
Which one won't keep me up at night?▾
Singapore (Singapore) — 0.1 homicides per 100k residents (UNODC). That's the lowest in this collection, and a strong proxy for overall safety.
How does this ranking actually work?▾
Cities where street English is usable and office English doesn't block your career. Ranked by daily-life English, workplace English, affordability, and safety. Scores come from real data: Numbeo (rent), UNODC (crime), EIU (democracy), Ookla (internet speed), EF EPI (English). No one paid to be here.