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.

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

Related posts:

1. Looking for Quality of Life?
2. Moving Abroad for Love
3. The World’s Best Expat Locations?

As a leading centre of European culture for hundreds of years, it is a city steeped in history and beauty. In spite of the bombing endured in World War II, Vienna remains an architectural delight – so much so that in 2001 the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are also world-class museums, fine parks, a rich musical tradition, and a multitude of wonderful cafes and restaurants.

Quality of Life Survey

I wasn’t surprised, therefore, to learn that Vienna claimed the top spot in the Mercer 2010 Quality of Life Survey, released last week[1].

The survey evaluates 420 cities worldwide, assessing the living conditions across 10 categories, which include the political and social environment, the economic environment, health and sanitation, schools and education, and recreation.

Having also come first in Mercer’s 2009 survey, it seems Vienna is cementing its status as the city offering the world’s best quality of life.

Meanwhile, Europe as a whole had 16 cities amongst the top 25 in the world. It underlines just how much the continent has to offer for prospective expats.

Happy Living

So what does all this mean for expatriates? Well, it is a useful guide into the ease of life you can expect to find when moving abroad to a new city.

For instance, while in Vienna a couple of weeks ago I got talking to two guys – one from Spain, the other from Colombia – who have both moved to Geneva. Their comments about the life they lead there certainly chime with its 3^rd-place ranking in the Mercer survey.

But when looking at reports like Mercer’s there are a couple of provisos to bear in mind:

1)      By their nature, such considerations as quality of life are subjective. Mercer goes to great pains to compile valid statistical comparisons across its 10 life assessment categories. But these won’t necessarily mirror your judgements or priorities. (Furthermore, you may not even want to move to a foreign city, but instead plan to be by the beach or in the rural hinterland, where the situation may be very different to the country’s urban centres.)

2)      Quality of life ? happiness – it may be a contributor, and an important one, but happiness comes from a broader range of factors.

But that’s a topic for another time.

Related posts:

1. Swiss Watch
2. Mass British Exodus Waiting to Happen?
3. The World’s Best Expat Locations?

At the time I remember thinking ‘Blimey, that’s the life.’ Writing a few hours a day and then trailing around the French countryside the rest of the time.

Hardly a deep, or unique reaction I know. Everyone thought the same, which was why the book went on to sell so many copies and turned Peter Mayle into a rich and famous man.

What was perhaps different was my next thought – ‘That’s what I want to do.’ Become a writer, first and foremost. And live abroad.

Well, I’ve done the moving bit all right – first to the States, and then six years ago to Spain. But now, at last, I’ve got a book coming out too, which I hope will be the start of an even more wonderful journey.

There is, after all, a certain kudos to being a writer.

Millionaire novelists like J.K. Rowling, John Grisham and Stephen King spring to mind. Or perhaps the literary cool of an Ernest Hemingway, Jay McInerney or Zadie Smith.

And the non-fiction arena is an even bigger market. Self-help bibles, business success stories, health and fitness guides, even cookery books have the power to turn their authors into celebrity figures.

And even if it doesn’t make the New York Times bestseller lists, a book can act as a badge of status that a writer can leverage for speaking engagements, workshops, coaching programmes and a host of other money-spinning activities.

No wonder so many people dream of becoming an author.

But the traditional publishing world has an uncertain future.

There are the big success stories of course, with millions of copies of certain titles – not least the Harry Potter series – flying off the shelves.

Nevertheless, reports indicate that for years the general public as a whole has been reading less and less. It doesn’t bode well for your business then if demand for your product is steadily falling.

Plus publishing has an idiosyncratic business model. For while the publishers bear the expense of producing and – less frequently these days – promoting their books, any unsold ones can be returned by the retailer without having to pay for them. The publisher then has to find warehouse space to store them, or pay for them to be pulped.

In other words, they face all the risk for the success or otherwise of their products. Can you imagine any other business working that way?

So it’s no wonder publishers are keen to focus on what they think will be surefire successes – the celebrity writers with marketable names, and established literary big guns with a track record.

Which isn’t to say new writers can’t break in. Arguably those that are good enough, and keep submitting, will get noticed by agents and publishers, who are full of talented people as keen to sign the next literary superstar as the writer is to be one.

But it’s not easy for the aspiring debutant. And the rewards for all that work are often pitiful.

Meanwhile a mass of mediocre books continue to hit the display stands, largely on the strength of the author’s name blazoned across the top.

But an alternative future is emerging … which I’ll come to in Part II.

Related posts:

1. Expat Book: The Long and Winding Road
2. Expat Living By the Book
3. Endless Summer – The Postcards Tour Finale

Not surprising then that year after year Spain has proven to be one of the most popular destinations for expatriates from around the world, with 10% of its 45 million population now made up of foreign nationals.

Yet the beneath the alluring sheen of the Mediterranean sun all is not well.

An article on the BBC website* reported that the country’s industrial output fell 15.1% in November 2008 compared to the year before, the biggest drop on record. This manufacturing slump comes on top of the collapse already witnessed in Spain’s construction sector, showing the country’s woes are spreading across the economy and raising fears of a deep recession.

And there was more evidence of that with the release of figures showing unemployment hit 3 million in 2008, a 12-year high. Not the greatest time perhaps to be relocating to the country.

For anyone considering moving to Spain at present there is a silver lining though, in that the credit crisis has resulted in a plentiful supply of properties and tumbling house prices.

On the flip side however, the strength of the euro means that anyone coming from a non-euro country will now find it relatively more expensive to buy property and live there.

For instance, over the course of the previous year the British pound had a 52-week high of 1.35 euros. At that rate, a 300,000 euro house would have cost approximately £222,000.

But the pound at the time of writing is down at 1.11 euros (having almost hit parity over the Christmas period). So if that same house has dropped even as low as 250,000 euros it would still cost £225,000 for a British buyer.

And the strength of the euro against currencies such as the pound and US dollar has raised the general cost of living in Spain and elsewhere in the eurozone for many expatriates, not least retirees on pound or dollar denominated pensions.

In this sense then it’s a bit of a glum picture. And similar circumstances and scenarios can be found around the world. This recession is of truly epic and global proportions, with apparently nowhere safe from its impacts.

Yet it’s not all bad news for prospective expatriates.

I still read many articles exhorting people to move abroad, bemoaning the parlous state of their home countries and economies, and referencing places such as Australia and New Zealand, Turkey, Costa Rica and Mexico where properties and living costs remain cheaper, and the sun does still shine.

And of course they are right … to a certain extent.

There are always good property deals to be had somewhere in the world. You can always find locations where your food bills or a bottle of wine will be a fraction of what you pay now, and where you’ll be able to soak up some sun while your friends back home freeze their butts off.

But if you are seriously considering moving abroad you should take into account all the lifestyle factors when making your decision. Don’t just base your choice on the latest currency swings or property deals. Think carefully too about how comfortable you’ll feel with the local culture, what health or educational services they have, how far you’ll be from close family and friends.

Consider where you want to be for the long term, not just because of some temporary economic situation. And if that means the timing isn’t right at present to move where you feel you most want to go then don’t be afraid to be patient (as long as it isn’t an excuse for prevarication!). Ultimately it is more important to make the right move later than any old move now.

* BBC News, 9 January 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7819569.stm

Related posts:

1. Expat Living By the Book
2. Moving Abroad for Love
3. Mass British Exodus Waiting to Happen?

But I thought I’d post an article I’ve just sent to my newsletter subscribers, in honour of the events of this week.

Is America The Place To Be?

There’s no doubt Barack Obama’s election as President of the United States is a momentous – if not a defining – event in the country’s history, fostering amazing scenes of jubilation not only in the States but around the world, from Americans and non-Americans alike.

Of course there are millions of disappointed McCain supporters. But given the size of the turnout and the winning margin, it’s evident that Obama’s platform for change has resonated far and wide.

And more than that, the sense I get as an outsider is that there is a new era of hope in the US. (And believe me, the rest of us around the world are just as happy to see a switch of personnel in the White House.)

As for the implications of Obama’s election from a moving abroad perspective, there are a couple of points I’d like to highlight.

The first is how Obama has succeeded in giving new life – and colour – to the American Dream.

You only have to take a cursory look at his biography to see what a fascinating story his is. And in the post-election analysis people are already talking about the inspiration he is giving to their lives, and the example he is setting to their children of what is possible, that anyone in America truly can make it all the way to the top.

So at a time when America’s position as the world’s torch-bearer for life, liberty and opportunity – the beacon that has lured so many millions to its shores since those early settlers in the seventeenth century – was seriously guttering, Obama represents a rekindling force.

As such, he may help America regain its attractiveness, both for the people that already live there but had become disenchanted, and prospective immigrants.

The second, related, point is the widely-reported feeling that the election has made many Americans more proud of their country.

The Bush administrations have, without doubt, blighted America’s reputation around the world, inciting derision at best and murderous hate at worst. And from accounts I’ve read, and people I’ve spoken to, the Bush era seems to have spurred sizable numbers of Americans to move abroad, or at least want to.

But with the events of last Tuesday there are signs that perhaps America’s standing is back on the up. And given these times of unparalleled economic, diplomatic and military crises that is much needed, for all our sakes.

A blog on the Huffington Post (Expat No More? Proud to be an American Abroad, Vivian Norris de Montaigu, November 5, 2008 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vivian-norris-de-montaigu/expat-no-more-proud-to-be_b_141294.html) summed it up when the writer said how friends in the US had been threatening to leave the country if John McCain was elected, but that she was now hearing about Americans abroad who want to return to the States.

Perhaps America will be a pretty good place to be after all, whatever your current location and nationality.

Related posts:

1. Obama Inaugurates New Era For Americans Around The World

According to HSBC Bank International’s new Expat Existence survey, the best place to be an expatriate is in fact Singapore, followed by the United Arab Emirates and the US.

The HSBC report sought to investigate the opportunities and challenges that expats face in their new locations. To this end it ranked the countries according to a variety of factors that assessed expats’ ability to earn and save, their quality of accommodation, the level of luxury enjoyed (such as access to private healthcare, pool ownership, and the ability to employ staff), and a country’s popularity in terms of how long expats live there.

I wouldn’t disagree with the findings. I haven’t been to Singapore since the early 90s, but at the time I found it a clean and pleasant (if somewhat sterile) city.

It’s got an equable – albeit humid – climate, high education standards, low unemployment and good job opportunities, superb restaurants, low tax and living costs, and it serves as a convenient hub for travel in the wider region.

I can’t directly comment on the UAE, having never been there. However, as the CIA World Factbook notes, it has a high per capita income, strong economic growth and zero taxes in its Free Trade Zones. The money-earning potential therefore must be a particular lure. On the flip side I would imagine its climate is a significant drawback though.

The US has evident advantages too. My wife and I lived in New York for a year and loved it: the bustle and excitement, the opportunity to pursue the ‘American Dream,’ the chance to travel around what is an enormous and extremely varied country. I can therefore well-understand the allure it holds (which will no doubt increase once President Bush finally leaves office!).

By contrast, some traditional expat locations fared less well in the HSBC survey.

Australia came in 10^th, having received high marks for levels of luxury, accommodation, and the ability to earn and save, but with a low score for longevity. Spain, meanwhile, was 12^th and France 13^th.

The UK, which trailed in 14^th, proved the most expensive expat location for accommodation. It also ranked as the least luxurious, with decreases reported in nine of the 11 luxury categories. This will come as no surprise to the millions of British citizens who indicate they are planning their own escape from the country.

However, before you get carried away with the overall rankings and start changing your plans, it’s worth paying attention to the longevity scores. And here Europe came out triumphant.

The report found 82 percent of the expat respondents in the Netherlands have been there three or more years. Germany had the next highest figure, with 77 percent, while Spain was close behind with 76 percent.

No doubt there are a whole slew of reasons to account for this. Factors such as a reasonable year-round climate, ease of accessibility for trips back home, decent infrastructure (including transport, telecommunications, healthcare and education), political stability and a rich cultural heritage.

So although a hefty pay package and an army of domestic staff may be appealing, the financials of your move should not be the be-all and end-all. Rather, relocating abroad should be about improving your overall quality of life. Ultimately that is what will make it an enjoyable, and successful, experience.

Related posts:

1. Good Housekeeping Article on Moving Abroad
2. Language Learning
3. Endless Summer – The Postcards Tour Finale