Guanshan, China

With a population of just 51,086, Guanshan is a sleepy township that offers little to lure the average expat. The terrain may be suitable for rice paddies, but the tropical monsoon climate brings a relentless 2,000mm of annual rainfall and average temperatures of 23.7°C. Bureaucratic headaches are a persistent reality, as evidenced by the town's convoluted history of name changes under colonial rule. Unless you're a die-hard cyclist intent on exploring the Guanshan Bike Trail, this remote corner of Taiwan has little to recommend it for most foreign residents.