These are the 10 best cities for expats — and the 10 worst

• Consulting firm Mercer recently ranked the best and worst cities for expats.
• The ranking included 241 cities in five continents.
• Most of the best cities were in Europe, with three of the top 10 in Germany and two in Switzerland.

The new year is just around the corner, and it could mean a change of scenery. And if you're thinking about leaving your home country and experiencing life in a new culture, a recent ranking of the best and worst cities for expats could have arrived just in time.

Consulting firm Mercer recently put out a ranking of the quality of life in cities across the globe. The ranking included 241 cities in five continents. The survey looked at the cost of living compared to quality of life, as well as the sustainability measures the cities were taking.

Seven of the 10 best countries were in Europe, two were in Oceania and one was in North America. A couple of countries even had cities appear in the top ten multiple times.

Safety is also a major consideration as an expat. The majority of the nations that ranked the worst on Mercer's list were in Africa and the Middle East. The US State Department warns Americans not to visit many of the countries, as they could be dangerous to be in due to military conflict, crime, and civil unrest.

TheState Department has eight of the 10 bottom-ranked nations listed as a "Level four: do not travel," and the remaining two "level three: reconsider travel," and "level two: exercise increased caution."

The ranking also considered 19 American cities, all making the top 100. The highest-ranked American cities for expats wereSan Francisco in 37th place, New York City at 40, Boston at 41, and Honolulu at 42. Detroit was the lowest-ranked American city in 76th place.

The 10 best cities for ex-pats