ROME - According to a survery by InterNations, Milan is the worst city to work abroad in all of Europe. A corporate mentality in an Italian economy leaves Milan the worst European city for work in the eyes of expats. While the working day is shorter than the global average by 21 percent, expat employees still feel there is a poor work-life balance in Italy’s second largest city. Milan is ranked 49 out of 51 for this metric.

Combined with an intense work schedule, 30 percent of expats worry about the economy, 12 points ahead of the average 18 percent. This is a worrying statistic given Italy being ranked 61 out of 63 for job security, the stress of which must put added significance in the underperformance of the Italian economy as a whole.

Fortunately however, Milan does have its redeeming features. Nearly half of expats find Milan a good city to meet local friends. Just short of 80 percent of expats find the local culture easy to integrate into and the feeling among 70 percent of locals are friendly towards foreigners, as one American expat points out that “the people are really friendly and will go out of their way to help you.” Milan’s muted tourist industry in comparison to Rome, possibly facilitates better and more genuine interactions between locals and expats.