Daokou, China

This city of over 1.1 million people is hardly the idyllic rural retreat some expats dream of. The administrative center of Hua County, Daokou, is a gritty industrial hub with a heavy bureaucratic footprint - the county executive, legislature, and courts are all based here. And while the climate is unremarkable, the local news highlights a darker reality, including a 2009 drunk driving incident that resulted in the first-ever death penalty sentence for such a crime in Henan province. Daokou is a pragmatic choice for those seeking affordable living and reliable transport links, but not for the faint of heart.