Expat Living 101.com Blog » Paul Allen

Longleat: Beauty and the Beasts

Paul Allen — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:56:55 +0000

Adultery, family feuds, multimillion pound inheritances – par for the course for family life among the British aristocracy perhaps. But the Thynne family, holders of the Marquessate of Bath, are more colourful than most.

The current Lord Bath is known for his flamboyant clothing, the murals he has painted on his private apartments, and the scores of girlfriends (he used to call them “wifelets”) he has had – and made portraits of – over the years.

He is also the owner of Longleat House, the beautiful stately home in Wiltshire. Completed in 1580, it is considered one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It was also the first stately home to open to the public.

Longleat is best known though for its safari park, with its collection of lions and tigers, monkeys, rhinos and deer. The brainchild of the 6^th marquess, the incumbent’s father, the safari park was opened in 1966, becoming the first such drive-through animal experience outside Africa.

Having heard so many good things about Longleat, and wanting to experience more of what England has to offer since moving back from abroad, my family and I took the opportunity to visit a couple of weeks ago.

I would have liked to trawl around the house itself, to sample the wealth of history and objets d’art on show. But having been subjected as a child to a succession of tours of grand old houses by my own parents I decided it best not to inflict the same pain on them.

Instead we enjoyed a selection of the many other activities Longleat has to offer: a ride on the miniature railway, fun time in the Adventure Castle, an exploration of the Postman Pat Village. Plus, of course, a drive around the safari park.

There was so much more we didn’t have time to see either. Still, we can save that for another visit. And I know our kids would be eager to go back.

Good Housekeeping Article on Moving Abroad

Paul Allen — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:56:41 +0000

A couple of months ago I was interviewed by the features director of the UK’s Good Housekeeping magazine[1].

She was writing an article on the pros and cons of moving abroad, and wanted my “expert opinion” on the topic … which naturally I was more than happy to provide (not least since the magazine has a monthly circulation of half a million readers!).

The article has just come out. And – aside from my own contribution – it makes for fascinating reading.

Expat Challenges

The piece features case studies of people who have moved from the UK to some of the world’s most popular expat destinations: France, Italy, Spain, Australia and the United States. Each highlights the issues they have faced, and offers pointers to anyone following in their footsteps (much of which echoes the topics I address in my book).

Among the biggest challenges the expats encountered were:

Housing problems
Unfamiliarity with local legal processes and requirements
Acclimatising to the local weather
Finding social outlets and integrating into the community
Having a viable way to earn money
Missing family and friends

Hopefully the tips and advice contained in the article will prove a valuable primer for those readers also dreaming of a life overseas!

[1] Good Housekeeping magazine, http://www.allaboutyou.com/home/channel~index?source=1

British Summer

Paul Allen — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:22:25 +0000

Spain 30 – England 20.

No, it’s not some freakish football score. It’s the current temperature differential between our home in the UK and our former one in the north-east of Spain.

The forecast for the coming week in England doesn’t look much more promising either. Temperatures barely struggling out of the teens centigrade, and the threat of heavy rain showers. Yippee.

Remind me – why did we move back to the UK?

Sort of summer

Still, that’s a British summer for you. The odd few days of glorious sunshine, when there seems like no more beautiful place to be on Earth, followed by leaden skies and rain squalls.

It’s a season of uncertainty – periods of joy mixed with gloom. One day you’re in shorts and sandals and the next it’s jumpers and coats.

As for making plans to enjoy the Great Outdoors … in the words of Hugh Grant in Mickey Blue Eyes, Forgeddaboutit.

In other words, hardly ideal conditions when you have kids who want to be spending their days building sandcastles on the beach, or splashing around in a pool.

(For that matter, have you swum in the sea around Britain recently? Are you crazy?)

Sunshine costs

Nevertheless, seeing the BBC News reminded me that the scorching summers seen across southern Europe and elsewhere do have their downsides.

For instance, parts of the Spanish coast are being plagued at present by an invasion of jellyfish, to the painful detriment of the people that have come in contact with them.

Meanwhile, swathes of northern Portugal are being cremated by a series of forest fires, an annual occurrence in many parts of the region.

There is, after all, a price to be paid for the sun.

Career Abroad or Life at Home?

Paul Allen — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:57:25 +0000

At a wedding last week I got talking to a doctor within the UK’s National Health Service who is about to relocate to New Zealand.

She will be joining the thousands of doctors and nurses who have left the UK in the last decade to practice in the Antipodes. Many have gone willingly. Disenchanted by the NHS, they are eager to take up positions on the other side of the world that will be relatively better paid, and offer the lifestyle benefits that come from living in Australia or New Zealand.

The doctor I spoke to is moving for similar reasons: she can’t find a job pursuing her specialism in England, but has the chance to do so if she goes abroad. And as she has family in New Zealand already it makes the relocation that much easier.

Nevertheless, she hopes it will only be temporary, and that within five years she’ll be back in the UK, which is where she said she really wants to be.

It makes for a tricky choice – stay at home and compromise your chosen career path, or leave the country and the life you know for a better job and its future prospects.

And it is not just medics in the UK grappling with this quandary. Many people in many professions in many countries around the world face similar dilemmas.

Which would you prioritise?

Catalan Ban Spells the End of Bullfighting?

Paul Allen — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:24:19 +0000

Bullfighting divides opinion, even in its Spanish heartland. Some see it as a majestic cultural tradition that pays homage to the courage and skill of both man and mighty beast. Others regard it as unacceptable animal cruelty.

In Spain, bullfighting evokes a bygone era, a traditionalist view of the country – for either right or wrong.

But now Catalunya – that independent-minded region in the north-east of the peninsula – has broken ranks and banned it (although it won’t take effect until January 2012).

The Canary Islands had banned bullfighting way back in 1991, but given the lack of fights that took place there anyway the move was of limited impact nationwide. Catalunya, by contrast, is a much bigger and more culturally, politically and economically important region.

So is this a major step towards the wholesale end of bullfighting in Spain? Or just another example of Catalunya’s gradual cleaving from the rest of the country, an expression of its separate identity and autonomy?

A bit of both, I think.

Bullfighting is a minority interest among the general public in any case, and particularly among the younger generation. Unless they suddenly get a taste for it in later life, that decline will only continue.

Meanwhile, Spanish state TV’s decision to stop live bullfight coverage back in 2007 is one indication of how opinions are changing. Catalunya’s decision may then serve to mobilise nationwide opposition further.

Moving Abroad for Love

Paul Allen — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:51:38 +0000

There was a documentary on British TV last week called Living with Brucie[1].

For anyone who hasn’t heard of him, Bruce Forsyth is a showbiz legend in the UK, a mainstay on Saturday prime time TV for the last 40-odd years.

And for the last 27 of those, Bruce has been married to Wilnelia, a Puerto Rican former Miss World who is 30 years his junior.

For me, what was interesting was the story of two people from different countries and cultures coming together to forge a life, and what it takes to make it a success.

Despite her fame on the Caribbean island, and the family and friends she has there, it is Winnie who has given up her homeland to be with her husband. OK, so she now lives in a mansion on the Wentworth golf estate in Surrey, with all the trappings that come from being married to a multimillionaire entertainer. But still, it must be a sacrifice.

Expat love

And it is a common tale. A survey earlier this year by health insurer Bupa International and expat web resource Expatica found one in five respondents had moved abroad for love[2]. It was a bigger reason for relocating than lifestyle choice (cited by 8% of expats), retirement (4%), weather and culture (1% each).

There is a suggestion it may be a growing trend as well. According to the survey, only 14% of expats who moved abroad 10 years ago did it for love, whereas the figure was 22% for those who relocated in the last five years.

In these situations, one member of the couple will always have to be away from home and all it embodies: family and friends, familiar landscapes, its customs and culture.

Homesickness may strike, but – short of breaking up the family – one person will have to live with the consequences.

So how do you cope?

If anyone has any personal experiences from moving abroad for love, or tips and strategies on how to make it work I’d love to hear them.

[1] Living with Brucie, Channel 4, http://www.channel4.com/programmes/living-with-brucie

[2] One in five expats moves abroad for love, expatica.com, 11 February 2010, http://www.expatica.com/be/news/community_focus/One-in-five-expats-moves-abroad-for-love.html

Expat Allegiances

Paul Allen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:40:24 +0000

Once England got knocked out of the World Cup there was no doubt which team I wanted to win … having been a resident of the country for so many years it had to be Spain.

But what if Spain and England had happened to meet in the World Cup final?

This issue of country allegiances and divided loyalties struck me during this year’s tournament climax because one of our good friends in the Spanish town where we lived hails from the Netherlands. Who would she be cheering on to lift that special trophy?

We guessed it would be the boys in orange … albeit perhaps sotto voce. But what about her children? Living in Spain, with a Dutch mother and German father, where will their allegiances lie as they grow older?

It’s a question of identity. To my mind, the only point at which you can be said to have fully integrated into a country is when you cheer for that nation – be it in sports, war or whatever – above all others. That is when you become a true citizen, as opposed to a long-term resident. And in most cases, I reckon, that takes at least a generation.

Swiss Watch

Paul Allen — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:32:24 +0000

Alan Howard, founder of leading hedge fund Brevan Howard Asset Management, has joined the expat ranks.

Recent reports say Howard, who is swapping London for Geneva, is among a number of financial luminaries to have left the UK. And there are fears many more will follow, driven by concerns about rising tax rates, a less attractive business environment, and quality of life issues.

Certainly Geneva has its attractions. Low tax is an obvious one, especially for those wealthy City types. For example, alternative investment managers (i.e. those at hedge and private equity funds) can obtain a special tax status that enables them to discount chunks of their taxable income. Indeed, Switzerland as a whole offers many tax advantages.

Then there are the lifestyle benefits – the proximity of world-class ski resorts, sailing on the country’s many lakes, the beautiful scenery, its excellent environmental record, high quality health and education systems, etc, etc.

And that is backed up by Mercer’s 2010 Quality of Living survey, which put Geneva third in its global rankings, one place behind Zurich[1].

The flipside is that Geneva also ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, coming in fifth in Mercer’s recently released Cost of Living survey[2].

With a reported fortune of £875 million that won’t faze Alan Howard. Still, it might give the rest of us pause for thought.

[1] Mercer 2010 Quality of Living survey, 26 May 2010 http://www.mercer.com/qualityofliving

[2] Mercer Worldwide Cost of Living survey 2010 – City rankings, 29 June 2010, http://www.mercer.com/costoflivingpr#City_rankings

Language Learning

Paul Allen — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:48:19 +0000

As a freelance journalist and writer, one of the ways I earn a crust is to write reports and articles about the financial services industry. Which is why I found myself last month at a conference in Vienna, writing for a software company that provides technology to hedge funds, wealth managers and the like.

The attendees came from all over Europe and the Middle East. Some, like me, were from the UK. But most weren’t. There was a particularly big contingent from various parts of Scandinavia. There were also many from Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as a few from further afield.

The conference was all about current trends in the investment management world, and how software can be used to tackle the industry’s challenges. In other words, highly technical subject matter that mixed complicated financial concepts with complicated technology solutions.

All the presentations were in English. Yet even as a native speaker I found some of the concepts hard to grasp. And here were many of the speakers, as well as much of the audience, dealing with the topics in their second, and sometimes third, language.

English Proficiency

As always, the Swedes, Danes and Dutch proved especially fluent. And do you know what? In all my travels I have never met one who wasn’t. That may be a generalisation, but not much of one.

A 2005 European Commission study supports my impressions [1]. It reported that the percentage of the adult population able to converse in English was 85% in Sweden, 83% in Denmark, 79% in the Netherlands, 66% in Luxembourg and over 50% in Finland, Slovenia, Austria, Belgium and Germany.

By contrast, the report found only 30% of UK respondents can participate in a conversation in a language other than their mother tongue.

Foreign language benefits

Of course, part of the reason for the UK’s relatively low level of multilingual capacity is that English has become the lingua franca in so many fields: business, IT, science, entertainment and politics, to name a few.

Nevertheless, for any expats moving to non-English speaking parts of the world it is crucial they learn the native tongue. Even if you intend to live in an expat enclave in France or Mexico or China, having a good grasp of the local language will make your life easier, and happier.

It will help you:

Manage day-to-day situations, such as buying quality food in local stores, dealing with utility companies and consulting with medical practitioners.
Integrate into the community and make friends.
Delve into the culture, history and social mores of the country, helping enrich your understanding and enjoyment of life there.

As a result, it will give you a sense of belonging, as well as one of achievement.

By contrast, a lack of local language skills leaves you isolated. And that can breed misunderstanding, resentment and fear.

Willingness to learn

Learning a foreign language can be a daunting prospect. But despite popular belief, it is never too late, as this article by Doug Bower argues[2].

Use it as an inspiration. Then take the time and make the effort to learn. It will be worth it.

[1] Europeans and languages, Eurobarometer 63.4, published September 2005, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf

[2] Am I Too Old to Learn a Second Language?, by Doug Bower, http://www.expatfocus.com/am-i-too-old-to-learn-a-second-language

On Course for a Perfect Summer Evening

Paul Allen — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:11:51 +0000

Golf, I’ve discovered, is not like riding a bike. Picking up a club for the first time in five years and expecting to smash ball after ball down the middle of the fairway was always going to be wishful thinking. I mean, if Tiger struggles with his game after months out what hope did I have?

At least the conditions were perfect. It was one of those glorious English summer evenings: the warm sun dipping towards the horizon, soft June light, shadows lengthening across the rolling green fairways, woodpigeons calling from the branches … the thwack of small white golf balls clattering into yet another copse of trees.

And, quality of play aside, it was great to get out last night for a hack round with my brothers, the first time we’d done it since before I moved to Spain seven years ago.

In fact, the last time I played was with my eldest brother, when he came to visit shortly after we moved abroad. On that occasion we tried out the Empordà Golf Resort, one of a string of top-notch courses to be found close to our home on the Costa Brava. Unfortunately, that was as far as my Spanish golf career got. Places like PGA Catalunya, which is ranked number seven in Golf World magazine’s Top 100 European courses, remain an unfulfilled dream.

For despite the fantastic facilities and ideal weather in Spain, time was always a problem.

The expat lifestyle may seem to be one of leisurely days spent drinking wine and soaking up the sun, but that isn’t the reality for most. I still had to work hard all week. And with two young daughters to look after it never seemed fair for me to slope off for five hours on the weekend to play, especially when we had no other family around to ease my wife’s childcare load.

As a result, it’s taken our repatriation to the UK for me to be able to dust off the clubs. That, and the chance to spend valuable time with my brothers, are among the plus points of moving back. If only I could have brought some of those magnificent courses with me.