ExpatExchange Blog

How will the current U.S. health care debate and subsequent legislation impact expatriates? Well, one reality might be that Americans might go abroad to secure health care procedures when that appears to be the most logical option. And that situation might be more common in the future than anyone would like. Over the years we’ve read a lot of posts on ExpatExchange.com that show people tend to believe that the health care system in their home country is the best. Surveys obviously exists that rank health care systems by country, and a lot of Americans and Brits might be surprised to see where they rank. Naturally, many of these are subjective, but the point is that many Americans or Brits will find no other choice than to look elsewhere. Maybe they’ll find that life abroad is not so bad after all! It’s already being called a “growth industry.”

Also, if you have an iphone and might be moving to France (or already live there), checkout HTH Worldwide’s new mPassport app. Never leave anything to chance about your health abroad, and this seems to be a real nice way to give yourself some peace of mind.

With large numbers of the expatriates that have spent time in China, it is little wonder that there would be all kinds of cultural changes, even if small and at a slow pace, that make their way into the Asian nation.

Expats surfing in China

Given the enormous size of the Chinese coastline, it would also appear to make sense that one of the new activities introduced there would be surfing.

There are a few challenges to this introduction, such as pollution and no history of beach sports:

“Another hurdle is the environment. China is among the world’s most polluted countries and its coastlines are no exception, discouraging water sports.

“But Angela Wang, a business consultant from Beijing who declared herself ‘addicted’ after her first lesson under Sheridan, expressed hope that the environmentalism that follows surfing could be a catalyst for cleaner beaches.

“‘If you want to have fun with nature, you need to be friends with it,’ she said.”

Expats in London looking for a little bit of culture can experience a taste of Nigeria in a restaurant in North London. Lessons on traditional culture are also provided on Saturday mornings. A dearth of pride in African roots is said to be the impetus for the creation of this effort:

“She grew up in north London and says she set up the school to resolve a lack of pride in African culture.

‘I think a lot of us who have migrated from Africa to the UK or the United States tend to neglect our culture and adopt that of where we are, which is wrong.’”

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.

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