Expat Advantages

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Canadian Charm

March 8, 2011 in Expat Advantages, Expat Americans, Expat Locations, Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

I confess, I’ve never actually been there. But the myriad of people I know who have lived in or visited the city all say the same thing: Vancouver is an absolutely fabulous place.

And it has some official backing.

The latest annual ranking[1] by the Economist Intelligence Unit claims Vancouver is the most liveable city in the world.

The survey scores locations according to five factors: stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Vancouver topped the poll with 98 out of a maximum 100, as it has done for the past two years. Toronto came fourth, with Calgary fifth.

Mercer’s annual Quality of Living Survey[2] holds Vancouver in similarly high regard – it placed fourth in the 2010 rankings, behind Vienna, Zurich and Geneva.

Meanwhile, this year’s Mercer survey also compiled a list of cities with the best eco-ranking, basing scores on water availability and potability, waste removal, quality of sewage systems, air pollution and traffic congestion. Calgary came out top, with Ottawa in joint third, behind Honolulu.

Canada scores

Indeed, Canada as a whole usually fares well in the various international surveys and rankings.

I may not have been to Vancouver, but I have visited Canada. OK, so a holiday is hardly the same thing as living there (especially as I never experienced the harshness of a Canadian winter). Still, it wasn’t hard to see why the country consistently ranks so highly: huge space … stunning and varied landscapes … diverse recreational activities … reasonable living costs (at least compared to the UK and parts of the United States) … a vibrant economy.

Expat choice

It seems many expats have come to the same conclusion. Canada is the second most popular destination in terms of total number of expatriates from the United States. Among Brits, it ranks fourth.

Expats in Canada seem pretty happy with their lot as well.

HSBC’s 2010 Expat Experience survey[3] asked expats from around the world how they found:

a)      Setting up in their new country of residence.

b)      Integrating into local society.

c)      Their quality of life compared to where they used to live.

Having topped the league in 2009, Canada slipped to second place in the 2010 report. But as HSBC noted, the country “still ranks high for expat lifestyle.”

Not that it is all great, of course. For one, there are those long, cold winters to get through.

The sheer scale has its downsides too – just getting anywhere can take an awfully long time.

(I remember going for a beer one evening during my trip – there wasn’t much to do in the small town where we were staying, so we were driven 90 minutes across the border to a bar in the States!)

And while Canada boasts a host of attractive cities, they can’t boast the same cultural riches as those in Europe and Asia.

Still, nowhere is perfect.

[1] Liveability Ranking and Overview, Economist Intelligence Unit, February 2011,  http://www.eiu.com/public/topical_report.aspx?campaignid=Liveability2011

[2] Mercer 2010 Quality of Living Survey, May 2010, http://www.mercer.com/press-releases/quality-of-living-report-2010

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Repatriation Advantages

November 8, 2010 in Expat Advantages, Living Abroad Pros and Cons, Repatriating to Britain by Paul Allen | No comments

A recent holiday in Spain – the first trip back to our house on the northern Costa Brava since repatriating to the UK last Christmas – reminded me of all the good things about our former life in the sun.

And the drive home from the airport after we landed back in the UK, with the rain greasing the congested motorway, showed the stark contrast with the world we had left behind.

Since our return friends and work colleagues have been asking the same question: do we regret moving back to England?

Of course, we miss some of the lifestyle benefits Spain offers. After all, the UK is by no means perfect. Nevertheless, on balance we are happy we repatriated.

So what are the good things about living back in the UK? For me, the key ones are:

  • Social Network

The number one advantage is being back among family and old friends, renewing those old, precious relationships.

  • Familiar Culture

There is an ease to living in a place where you understand the societal attitudes, the sense of humour, and how the systems involved in day-to-day life work. Being able to think and speak in your native tongue once again is nice too.

  • Britain’s Beauty

We have now been through all the seasons, and while the UK’s weather may not be wonderful (I’m writing this with the rain lashing outside), each reveals some special aspect of the country’s beauty.

In the months since our return we have also taken the chance to explore more of the country, and see the charm that attracts so many foreign visitors: the wonders of London, the nation’s majestic stately homes, its quaint villages and verdant countryside.

It is not always easy to see how great Great Britain is when you are brought up with it and long to escape. Instead, sometimes you have to leave to come back again.

As Irish novelist George Moore said: “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”

That is just how I am feeling … at least for the moment!

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European Quality of Life Advantages Called Into Question

October 18, 2010 in Expat Advantages, Expat Locations, France, Living Abroad Pros and Cons by Paul Allen | No comments

So France has the best quality of life in Europe. Or at least that was the finding of a recent study by consumer comparison service uSwitch.com, as I highlighted in a recent posting[1].

I imagine the residents of France may be thinking something different as this week’s round of strikes and protests gets underway.

News reports say the strikes are set to widen to include a range of sectors, including road transport, energy, posts, telecommunications and public service. The industrial action has brought fears of fuel shortages as workers at oil refineries walk out, and rail chaos as train staff join in, threatening to bring the country to a standstill.

The protest has been spurred by moves to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and the full retirement age from 65 to 67 years – a change that rather undercuts one of the advantages of French life highlighted by the uSwitch.com survey. The government claims it is needed to prevent the country’s pension deficit from spiralling out of control and threatening the system as a whole.

In total, Nicolas Sarkozy’s government has announced plans to cut spending by €45bn over the next three years in a bid to meet its budget deficit target.

 

Meanwhile Spain, which came second in the uSwitch.com quality of life rankings, has seen unemployment more than double (to about 20%) since 2007. In a bid to curb its budget deficit, the government is raising the top level of income tax and introducing a range of austerity measures for 2011 designed to cut spending by 8%.

Of course, the UK faces its own economic difficulties – as, for that matter, does the United States. But if you’re aiming to escape your home country’s problems and find a better quality of life by moving abroad, it’s important to remember the grass is not always greener on the other side.

[1] http://expatliving101.com/living-in-spain/what-quality-of-life-can-you-expect-abroad/

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What Quality of Life Can You Expect Abroad?

October 8, 2010 in Expat Advantages, Expat Locations, France, Living Abroad Pros and Cons, Living in Britain, Living in Spain by Paul Allen | 4 comments

We’ve long suspected it, and now it appears to be true – the French, those lucky blighters, have the best quality of life in Europe.

Or, at least, so says a new study by consumer comparison service uSwitch.com[1].

Its research examined 16 quality of life factors – such as net income, food and fuel costs, life expectancy and working conditions – across 10 European countries to see how they stacked up.

France emerged with the best overall score, followed by Spain. The UK came ninth, with Ireland propping up the bottom of the table.

The reason for the UK’s poor score, said uSwitch, included its high living costs, below average government spending on health and education, shortage of holiday entitlements, high retirement age and lack of sunshine.

France, by contrast, was found to have the lowest retirement age, the longest life expectancy and the highest healthcare spend.

Meanwhile, Spain benefited from low living costs (especially for alcohol and cigarettes!), the highest number of holidays (at 43 days per year) and most sunshine hours.

The firm went on to note that three in ten people in the UK believe now is a good time to emigrate[2]. Given the low quality of life it seems they can expect to enjoy, is it any wonder?

The Full Picture

Yet before everyone starts packing their bags for France and Spain, it is important to remember that while such surveys make for attention-grabbing headlines, they don’t show the full picture.

For instance, the uSwitch report gives no consideration to the countries’ current or expected economic growth rates. Or what about the 20% unemployment rate afflicting Spain?

It gives no weighting either to the burdensome red tape that is so often cited as a feature of life in France and Italy.

The percentage of GDP spent on health is a blunt tool too by which to measure and compare the efficacy of countries’ systems. The United States, for one, spends a considerably higher percentage of its GDP on health, yet millions of its citizens remain without adequate, or indeed any, health cover.

The uSwitch survey also takes it as given that the greater the hours of sunshine the better. Yet the impressive sunshine quota seen in southern Europe – as well as places such as California and parts of Australia – bring with it high summer temperatures that frequently provoke raging forest fires, water shortages, pest infestations and crop failures.

In addition, the summer heat may force residents, especially the elderly, to spend weeks of the year trapped indoors, and can even lead to spiking death rates (as seen in Europe during the 2003 heatwave).

In short, these types of reports and surveys – a plethora of which are produced around the world each year – can give some helpful indication of the life you can expect to find when moving abroad. But to get a real picture, don’t forget to consider all the elements, the pros and the cons, and what they mean specifically to you.

[1] UK and Ireland Trailing the Rest of Europe for Quality of Life, uSwitch.com, 22 September 2010, http://www.uswitch.com/press-room/press-releases/uk-and-ireland-trailing-the-rest-of-europe-for-quality-of-life-1769.pdf.

[2] uSwitch.com Consumer Opinion Panel, May 2010, amongst a sample of 3,640 adults.

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Ryder Cup Showcases Life in Britain

October 5, 2010 in Expat Advantages, Living in Britain, Repatriating to Britain by Paul Allen | No comments

After a nail-biting finale, the European team just pipped the USA to the post at this year’s Ryder Cup. The tournament is golf’s showcase international event, and its prestige was served well by some remarkable performances on both sides.

Unfortunately, it was the atrocious conditions that dominated the early stages of the competition though, with long rain delays that forced play into overtime on Monday … when, sod’s law, the weather made a volte-face and bathed the country in glorious sunshine.

Well, what can you expect from Wales in October?

In truth, Britain in autumn can be a challenging place to live. Hurricanes, like the famous one of October 1987, might be blue moon events. Wind and rain, however, are guaranteed. Add in the fading daylight as the days shorten and it starts to sound a bit bleak. No wonder so many millions of Brits dream of escaping to a life in the sun.

Mind you, in New York, where I spent a year at the turn of the millennium, the descent from the broiling heat of summer to freezing winter is even more precipitous.

By contrast, in the corner of north-eastern Spain where I lived until recently, the thermometer frequently nudged 30°C through to the end of October. Calm, sunny days meant there were a lot of leaves on the trees right up to Christmas, and oftentimes we could still venture out in T-shirts.

But now we’re back, experiencing our first autumn in the UK in eight years. I confess, weather-wise it is nowhere near as appealing as where we have come from.

The upside is the warmth we enjoy from being back among family and old friends.

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British Summer

August 13, 2010 in Expat Advantages, Living in Britain by Paul Allen | No comments

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.

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Van Gogh: The Expat Extraordinaire

April 19, 2010 in Expat Advantages by Paul Allen | No comments

There may not be many, but being a journalist does have its occasional advantages … as I found last week when I was invited to a private viewing of the Van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

The exhibition, The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters, which finished yesterday, has been hugely popular. Unfortunately, it meant the queues to get in during normal opening hours were over three hours long at times. And the crowds inside made it difficult to view the paintings, drawings and letters that were on display, according to a friend who went last month.

So the invitation to a press party and private viewing – organised by the exhibition’s sponsor The Bank of New York Mellon – was too good an opportunity to miss. Having the space and time to amble around uninterrupted, reading the inscriptions and admiring the paintings in close detail, was a real delight (not to mention the free cava and canapés).

Of particular interest was the insight the exhibition gave into Van Gogh the expatriate. His formative years as an artist in the Netherlands produced a series of dark and dour paintings drawn from the people and landscapes around him. However, once Van Gogh moved to Paris colour began to infuse his palette. At last he was at the centre of the artistic world, and the influence of the Impressionists, and pointillists such as Georges Seurat, is visibly evident in his development as a painter.

But it was Van Gogh’s relocation south, and the inspiration he found in sun-blessed Provence, that marks the real turning point in his career. It is from this period that his most famous paintings date: Bedroom in Arles, Irises, Cypresses, The Starry Night, Cafe Terrace and the Sunflowers series.

Unfortunately, this time in Provence also saw a pronounced deterioration in Van Gogh’s mental health, an illness that led to his eventual suicide.

On second thoughts, perhaps a life in the sun isn’t such a great idea after all!

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