Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are now more desirable to expats, but other Gulf financial centres are losing their appeal

The financial sector in the MENA region, and the Gulf in particular, is of course heavily reliant upon expats. In making the decision to relocate, financial professionals don't just consider the career prospects on offer, but the standard of living they can expect.

The good news for some areas of the GCC is that the recent unrest across the region has actually enhanced their appeal, according to the latest Mercer Quality of Living worldwide rankings.

Dubai is now ranked 74th (up from 75th last year), Abu Dhabi is now 78th (83rd in 2010) and Doha, which was included in the rankings for the first time last year, has moved from 110th to 106th position, while Riyadh sits in a lowly 157th.

Obviously, the major Gulf financial centres don't fair particularly well on the global stage, but those most reliant on an expat workforce do have one thing going for them - they've relatively safe.

Abu Dhabi ranks highest in terms of personal safety in the region, coming in at 23rd, followed by Dubai (39) and Doha (67), all of which improved on last year.

Manama in Bahrain - which saw violent clashes between protestors and state security forces earlier this year - has slipped just two places from 111th last year to 113th. However, its 'personal safety' ranking is now 123rd, but this still ranks above Riyadh (145th).

Banks are still struggling to find, and keep, people

The importance of being able to continue to attract expat bankers was highlighted in a separate study by Accenture, which was also released today.

Having surveyed nearly 80 C-level bank executives across the GCC, it suggests that the industry is facing a skills shortage. Nearly 60% of respondents said that finding sufficient numbers of employees was a significant challenge and that nearly 90% said that "attracting and retaining talent" is going to be the most important strategy going forward.

Despite the decimation of headcount in the Western banking sector, many firms in the Gulf are considering hiking salaries and bonuses or implementing more coaching and development in a bid to secure and retain employees.

Hardship postings

Mercer assesses cities on over 39 factors including the economic environment, political and social categories, health and sanitation, schools and education, housing and recreation.

These rankings don't just aim to show how desirable various cities are, but they do so with one eye on determining the compensation companies should offer to persuade expats to move there. If a city or country ranks particularly poorly, the survey recommends that companies should offer a "hardship allowance" to compensate for the poor standard of living.

It's clear that the likes of Riyadh, and now Manama, should be considered something of a hardship posting. Bahrain is working hard to restore its reputation as a financial centre, but more expat financial professionals and international firms are still looking to relocate out of the kingdom.

Meanwhile, despite a decrease in job opportunities in the likes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, recruiters suggest it hasn't become any easier to persuade expats to take a role in Saudi.

Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer, said the improved safety rankings in Abu Dhabi and Dubai was "mainly due to their internal stability and low crime levels".

So, where should you be working if you want the best quality of living? Here's the top ten:

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Zurich, Switzerland

3. Auckland , New Zealand

4. Munich, Germany

5. Düsseldorf, Germany

5. Vancouver, Canada

7. Frankfurt, Germany

8. Geneva, Switzerland

9. Bern, Switzerland

9. Copenhagen, Denmark

11. Sydney, Australia