ExpatExchange Blog

Over half of expats in China leave before the end of their assignment, according to this article on asiaone.com.

“China Transition Institute (CTI) president David Israel-Rosen said most foreigners are unprepared for what life will be like when they arrive in China. ‘It is moving from the West to the East,’ he said. ‘It is not like moving from Chicago to Denver.’

‘If you look at the literature, between 30 percent and 50 percent of expats go home early. The failure rates are astonishing.’”

This is not surprising given the cultural distance between China and the West, and it’s more proof that expats should not take preparation lightly.

An important aspect of moving overseas is the impact that exchange rates will have on your bottom line. While this is important for all expats, the article highlighted below illustrates how this can significantly alter the lifestyle you enjoy abroad.

The volatility in the valuation of the sterling is having a dramatic impact on the wallets of British pensioners living in Europe, according to the article on Telegraph.co.uk.

“Mark Bodega, director at HiFX said: ‘In the economic slowdown, everyone is feeling the pinch. However, Brits living in Europe and receiving a fixed income in sterling are being hit particularly hard. In the past two years, we have seen unprecedented volatility in the currency markets with the value of sterling fluctuating by over 30 per cent against the euro.’”

As always, do you homework and do your best to explore various service providers to examine all of your options! Every situation is different so figure out what will work best for YOU!

French expats in the U.K. are going to help elect the first British representative to the French parliament in 2012. This is the result of legislation that provides that French expatriates will 11 elected members of parliament to represent their interests. As reported in this article from the London Evening Standard, the third constituency of represents French expats in the U.K., Ireland, Scandinavia and the Baltic states.

As this seems to be the first such form of representation for expats, one wonders if something along these lines might be something considered for U.K. and American expats. How feasible would that be? One things for certain, the governments will consider it if they feel it will make tax collection more easy!

The property market across the globe continues to evolve in wake of the recent global financial crisis. Some markets are less expensive, but others more. One of the most expensive seems to be Australia. You gotta know its high when an expat coming home to Australia from London is complaining…

(Quote from an article on Examiner.com.au):

“One former expat, Daniel returned to Sydney from a five-year stint in London. Now he and his wife ‘don’t intend to go anywhere near the Australian property market’ despite having saved more than $200,000 for a deposit on a home.

‘The price of property (and living) is more expensive here than most places we have travelled,’ he said, declining to give his full name.

Only those who bought into the boom ten to 15 years ago can really benefit from the price rises, Daniel said.”

There have been a lot of articles about Aussie expats returning home in this market, so there must be a lot of people out there feeling the pain.

There has been a lot of interest in moving abroad since the economy took a turn for the worse. Is it more than usual? On ExpatExchange, we’ve simply noticed that some of the reasons have changed a bit. More and more people are at ease with the idea that the world is highly interconnected, and don’t care if they need to move to another country to work and live well. Others want to stretch their savings as they retire.

Whatever the reason, homework is critical when you evaluate this life changing decision about whether or not to work abroad. This recent article on FastCompany.com contains the following quote:

“A recent survey by Manpower Inc. found that employment prospects are most favorable in India, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, China, Australia, Singapore, Costa Rica, Canada, Taiwan, and Poland. Jeff Joerres, Manpower Inc.’s chairman and CEO says a reason for this is because the populations of developing countries are increasing nearly six times as fast as those of developed countries. ‘This essentially creates a magnet pulling American workers to developing nations, and moving them along as each destination stabilizes. So you can see how Prague was hot for a while for American workers, then Vietnam and Dubai.’”

As many posts on our forums have recently focused on where to go, we thought this would be a good launching point for some discussion. Enjoy!

Here are a few expat related stories to kick of the week:

Forbes has created yet another “Top 10″ list in its unending effort to drive as much traffic as possible to its website. (Not knocking it, what company isn’t trying to do that!) This last one is about the Top 10 places to retire abroad.

Also, expats in the UAE may be required to take new drivers tests if proposals aimed at improving traffic safety are implemented.

And, finally, with the U.S. dollar once again plummeting, a great financial opportunity for expats has been created, and many are taking full advantage of it.

Well, it’s tax time for those that elected to extend it to October 15th. And it is a different year for many U.S. citizens that have historically tucked money away offshore that in the past would have been safe and sound from the reaches of the IRS. Well, the taxman cometh, and with a passion.

As expats are actually overseas and many encounter offshore options more frequently because of this reality, we thought it was relevant to review articles such as this one, titled Tax Evaders Face Choice: Pay or Pray found on the NYTimes.com.

For those that encounter other expats regularly, is this a topic of discussion you’ve noticed? While you certainly don’t have to be an expat for this to be relevant, it seems that it would be on the average expats radar more than someone still in the States.

Even though we’ve highlighted Alan Paul’s former blog, “The Expat Life,” oodles of times here on our own expat blog, we can’t pass up one more chance to bring attention to another article of his on WSJ.com.

In the article, titled Sweet Home Beijing,” Alan sums his experience in the band, which included playing shows during the Beijing Olympics, recording an album and, following his repatriation, a return trip to China to help promote the new release.

Here are just a few reasons why I find Paul’s experience so compelling:

• First, he was a “trailing spouse” that landed in China because his wife accepted an assignment there. I don’t know exactly how he felt about it, but either way, he found a way to make it work.
• He utilized his hobby, an art form (music), to connect with locals. These relationships seem to created a meaningful experience for him.
• The band he helped create really blossomed in China. He played in several areas of the country and did well in the l

Are British Expats “scrounging” health services in Spain? They are according to the media and certain doctors in the Alicante area. The doctors insist that a growing number of British expats are showing up in their operating rooms to avoid lengthy delays in the U.K.

Of course, the root of the controversy is a limited amount of funds for health care. Spanish officials insist that they are not properly compensated for the services they provide to foreign EU citizens.

I found it interesting because it makes me wonder what will happen in the U.S. if the increase in health care coverage results in extensive wait periods for procedures. Both sides of the health care debate have taken positions on this issue, and I personally feel that it is impossible to say exactly how increased coverage will impact availability. Those in the trenches say either you can or cannot compare what will happen in the U.S. to other nations’ health care systems. Frankly, it seems obvious to me it will be its own unique system, and we won’t really know what that will be until long after it is rolled out.

It would be interesting to hear from expatriates experiences on our new Global Expat Forum or in comments to this blog post!

The recent arrest of film director Roman Polanski has ignited a fiery debate among other artists various media outlets. Polanksi, who might not accurately be described as an expat, has lived such an international lifestyle that it is worthy of of mention in our blog. While he was born in Paris, his family moved back to Poland in 1936. Following, the Nazi invasion, he escaped the Krakow ghetto in 1943. His mother died in Auschwitz, and his father survived the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. He eventually lived in London, Los Angeles and elsewhere in Europe. In short, he was well versed with crossing international borders and he jumped when it became clear he was going to be held accountable for his actions.

One of the reasons that I find it relevant is the fact that Polanski is not the only individual, obviously, who moved to a foreign country following the commitment or conviction of a serious crime. Last month we posted this request by U.K. officials for the help of British expats in securing the arrest and conviction of criminals in Spain. I often wonder how many expats have come across a fellow countryman (or woman) who is hiding from the authorities.

And don’t miss Chris Rock’s comedic diatribe aimed at the people that defend Polanski’s actions (From E! Online).