We’ve asked expats to share some insight into how their expatriate experience has differed from their expectations before moving overseas. We call it our Expat Dream vs. Reality Report, and it’s a great way to share what it’s REALLY like out there. Here are a few excerpts:

An expat in Cologne, Germany offered these thoughts:

How has your expat experience met the expectations you dreamed about before you moved abroad?

My experience is more than what I imagined. I married a local girl and built a life. I was able to spend 8 years or so working in F1, the pinnacle for motorsport. I am able to buy my own single family house in a country where house ownership is relatively low compared to the USA. Holiday time is twice to three times as good as in the USA. The family is valued so much more than in the USA. In Germany the “Family” is even written into the constitution!

And here is some insight from an expat in Villaricos, Spain:

How has your expat experience met the expectations you dreamed about before you moved abroad?

Definitely a cheaper cost of living and a slower pace of life. We hear of far less crime than the UK and generally find the Spanish people to be very friendly, especially if you make the effort to integrate.

Share your own Expat Dream vs. Reality Report!

Are expats helping the British economy. Well, at least a little…

The British high street has been receiving a boost this month from visiting expats seeking out sales bargains.

Selfridges was just one of many stores reporting a surge in expat buyers, as well as wealthy visitors from abroad. Top buys included caviar which saw sales rise 23 per cent from last year’s figures as well as designer shoes, tailoring, jewellery and watches from brands such as Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Pucci and Van Cleef.

Of course, expats stocking up on what they can’t get while living abroad is nothing new. Read about all the goodies purchased by expats.

It’s heading toward tax time for Americans, and remember that includes expats.

Many expats make the mistake of not filing a U.S. tax return, which is well-adressed by CPA Matthew Apodaca’s article American Expat Tax Confessions: 7 Reasons I Did Not File A U.S. Tax Return. Here is an excerpt:

The single, most common mistake that U.S. citizens abroad make is to not file a U.S. tax return while they are out of the country. Here are the reasons we’ve heard over the years.

Please note: the IRS does NOT accept ANY of these reasons for a failure to file.

“A presenter at a local expat community group told us we do not need to file.”
“I thought that since the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (for 2009) was $91,400 and we made under $91,400, we did not need to file – that’s what ‘exclusion’ means, right?”
“I read online that if we do not work in U.S. we do not need to file.”

Here is information about tax deadlines for U.S. expats, which they describe as “U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.”

Find more answers related to expat taxes, look on the the IRS page for International taxes.

Expats share how their dreams were fulfilled, or not, in our new Expat Dream vs. Reality Report. Here are a few more samples provided by expats generous enough to share the wisdom of their experience with those who might be interested in joining them abroad. (And those of us that just love to read about the expat life!)

Here is one from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

Describe how you “dreamed” expat life would be before you moved overseas.

Due to the fact that I was also raised as an expat brat my expectations are not unreasonable. One expects to be able to have a good standard of living and enjoyment in life… (More in full expat report.)

How has your expat experience met the expectations you dreamed about before you moved abroad?

Most of ones expectations have been met. The social life is good, the climate is excellent… (More in full expat report.)

And here is another from Paris, France:

Describe how you “dreamed” expat life would be before you moved overseas. Please provide as much detail as possible.

My dream was about the culture, travelling, food, wine and a long lunch.

Embracing a work/life balance with a slower pace of life from the busy Sydney life I was leading at the time.

Taking French lessons in France and relearning French, as I was fluent as a child. Travelling around France and learning the history of my grandmother’s country (she was French).

When possible travelling to neighbouring countries as I was closer than Australia (a 24 hour flight).

Embracing la vie francaise and living in a tiny walk up flat with tall windows and buying fresh food daily at the markets. I knew that dealing with the bureaucracy… (More in full expat report.)

How has your expat experience met the expectations you dreamed about before you moved abroad?

Most of my dreams were actually met. I researched extensively on relocating to France/Paris, France/Paris life, expat experiences… (More in full expat report.)

I’m now fluent in French, and am able to do business in German and Italian, so the language skills I have picked up have exceeded my language expectations.

Buying a car abroad can be a challenging task for expatriates. As with so many other financial aspects of living abroad, lack of a credit history can be the primary problem, and it’s an issue Expat Exchange has written about for years. (Mostly because expats bring it up on our site so frequently.)

International Auto Source is one company that can offer services to expats, even if there is no credit history. Here is a blurb about what the company does from a recent press release:

International AutoSource has been assisting expats without a U.S. credit history with leasing or financing for decades. Through unique manufacturer relationships, expats have access to low rate finance and lease programs.

Look in our Resource Guide for more resources about Auto and Auto Shipping for expats.

All expats have some kind of a vision as to what it might be like to live in a foreign land. How often does that vision parallel reality? To that end, we have started a new expat report to find out. Here are samples from the first few responses:

Expat Dream vs. Reality From Paris, France:

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Paris

Describe how you “dreamed” expat life would be before you moved overseas. Please provide as much detail as possible.

My dream was about the culture, travelling, food, wine and a long lunch.

Embracing a work/life balance with a slower pace of life from the busy Sydney life I was leading at the time.

Taking French lessons in France and relearning French, as I was fluent as a child. Travelling around France and learning the history of my grandmother’s country (she was French.

And then, from another part of Europe:

Dream vs. Reality From Balatonfured, Hungary:

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Balatonfured

Describe how you “dreamed” expat life would be before you moved overseas. Please provide as much detail as possible.

We were looking for a western style country with 4 seasons in the heart of Europe with a good standard of living so we could enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. We also were looking for a moderate government in a fully democratic country with good medical plus fully functional and modern infrastructure.

Please take the time fill out your own Expat Dream vs. Reality Report and help other expats accurately prepare themselves for what they might experience.

Expats with kids always make good schools a priority. It’s an absolute deal breaker if they cannot find the right placement for their children.

In my 12 years of working with expats, it has been a constant. Expats will walk away from an assignment, and the one’s that don’t cry and wish they had.

This dynamic is currently playing out in Asia, as expats in Hong Kong are leaving because of school issues.

Some Hong Kong-bound expats have now delayed or cancelled moves because they can’t get their children in good preschool, primary or secondary international schools. Hong Kong Academy, a private international school, saw a 35% rise in applications last year.

While there has been a massive upsurge in demand, the number of places at English-speaking international schools has stayed relatively constant at 36,000.

Christopher Hammerbeck, the executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said: “It is a fact that there now exists a shortage of places in international schools in Hong Kong and that this has been a fact for the past decade and a half, but it is a measure of the dramatic success of Hong Kong as one of the world’s leading trade and financial centres.”

Now, let’s contrast that with a single, young man from Connecticut who has relocated to Beijing as a lecturer at a university there, and thinks more young people should become expats in china.

Married people in Hong Kong have to leave because they can’t get their kids into a school, and a young man loving life in Beijing tries to sell it to others.

Same country, different world.

Expats and Economics. They go together just like peanut butter and jelly, or in this case, tea and crumpets…

Expats on the run. Not a pretty sight, you might say. Unfortunately, and especially for them, running is something they are likely to do more of if they live in Spain, France, Italy, or anywhere else in the sunnier half of the eurozone. Running away that is.

The biggest contingent of expats continues to live in Spain and they face the worst prospects of all. Most expats on the Costas are not looking for a job, but if they were, Tuesday’s unemployment figures tell them there is no chance of landing one any time soon. Registered unemployment in Spain, where almost half of young people are out of work, rose for a fifth month in December to 4.42 million.

Expats like to see happy thriving communities around them, even if they don’t participate that much. But thriving is not a word that resonates when forecasting for 2012. Fitch, the credit ratings agency, has cut its Spanish growth forecast for this year to zero from 0.5%. This follows a contraction in the final months of 2011.

It would be nice at some point not to have to include these articles about British expats and the impact of the Eurozone economy on their lives and lifestyles.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like this is going away any time soon.

Happy New Year to expats the world over!

Here is a great story, probably not an unusual one, of British expats finding a way to celebrate New Year’s with the rest of the U.K.:

Cheers and party horns rang out on the dot at 4 p.m. Saturday at The Olde Ship British Pub & Restaurant in Santa Ana.

Great Britain rang in the new year at 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, providing a strong local contingency of British expatriates with an early excuse to party.

It’s always great to read about expats finding a way to mix in a taste of home with the international experience they have embraced.

The question becomes, as the year wears on, how can you use this coping skill – and that’s what it is – throughout the year to help ensure that you are able to not only be comfortable, but also effective in all that you attempt to do?