ExpatExchange Blog

One of the phrases tossed around by conservatives in America is “European Welfare State,” which is used to deride the social policies of many European nations and their tax rates. Expat Exchange does its best to remain apolitical in an effort to provide you with impartial information so you can make up your mind yourself - in other words, we don’t want to push our views on you. To that end, we thought that this article in NYTimes.com about One Expat’s Reaction to the European Welfare State would provide a little insight into how you might be impacted financially in one such country - The Netherlands. Again, we aren’t taking a position here, we just want to make it easier for you to do so. Have an article about another position on this issue? Let us know!

This recent article in the Times Online illustrated the alcohol abuse problem that frequently exists among expatriates. A study is cited that indicates that Irish expats in England and Wales have an extremely high alcohol-related mortality rate - more than 2.5 times the rate for the rest of the English and Welsh populations. Interestingly, those from nations prone toward abstinence suffered far fewer alcohol-related deaths. This study indicates the importance of being honest with yourself about your personal, familial and cultural risk factors. It also underscores the need for expats to adequately prepare for such a move as much as it is possible. At Expat Exchange, we always stress how it is next to impossible to fully understand the degree of change one will encounter when they move abroad. In other words, do your homework, create a social support network, and do whatever else you personally need to feel connected to your new life in a new country and culture. It’s a process… engage in it!

According to a recent article in the Times Online, British expats are feeling the pain in Spain.

“We just couldn’t make it work any more financially,” one expat quoted in the article said. “We would have loved to have stayed but things are too hard here for my husband and we cannot last any longer.”

In the Expat Life, Alan Paul writes about how his deepest respect is reserved for expats that choose to truly go off the beaten path, rather than in developing cities such as Shanghai or Beijing.

Yesterday, we posted about the world’s happiest places to live as found on Forbes.com. Similarly, we’d like to highlight the list of the 20 Best Place to Live in the World. The story is based upon the Mercer 2009 Quality of Living Survey.

How do you think that your location would stack up? What factors are most relevant to where you are in the world? Post your thoughts on our Expat Country Forums.

Here’s a reminder about Clements International’s Youth Scholarship:

Clements International, a leading provider of insurance for expatriates, international schools, multinational businesses and relief organizations, is awarding its own youth scholarship in 2009. Available to students who have spent at least two years outside of their home country, Clements’ stated goal is to recognize the need to invest in the future of the expatriate community. The submission deadline is May 15, 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.expatyouthscholarship.com.

In what countries would you expect to find that people are the happiest? It turns out, at least according to the following study by a Paris-based organization called the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), that several Northern-European Countries are the Happiest. But does this apply to expats there, too?

If you are living overseas, what do you notice about the happiness of those around you? How do the expats and locals compare? Post your thoughts on our Expat Country Forums.