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A special treat today – I’m joined by fellow expat author Mike Harling, whose wonderfully-funny Postcards From Across the Pond is a must-read for anyone dreaming of a life abroad, wherever you are and wherever you may be going. Mike is finishing up his virtual tour promoting the book, so without further ado I’ll hand over. Mike …
Mike Harling - author of Postcards From Across the Pond
Tags: Abroad, adventure, Australia, author, book, Britain, Canada, England, expat, Foreign, globe, life, location, Paul, Pond, publisher, Spain, Tenerife, tour, world
It’s been a while since I’ve done any blogging for Expat Living 101. In truth, like so many other expatriates I’ve been hit hard by the financial crisis over the last year – a double whammy of soaring interest payments on our mortgage, and plummeting currency rates when converting my foreign earnings into euros. As a result I’ve had to work twice as hard just to standstill. Not what you want at the best of times, but especially when the sun is beckoning outside!
But now I’m starting up again with a new zeal … for I have just signed a contract with Lean Marketing Press to publish a print version of my book on the pros and cons of living overseas: “Should I Stay Or Should I Go? The Truth About Moving Abroad And Whether It’s Right For You.”
Tags: Abroad, book, country, currency, euro, expat, expatriates, financial, Foreign, living, moving, overseas, publish, sun, work
It’s been a while since my last post. I’d been meaning to write, but I’ve been busy with updating my moving abroad ebook (“Should I Stay Or Should I Go” http://expatliving101.com/amx.php?adminid=5001&tid=14003), meeting article deadlines, visiting the UK, etc and the time has just gone … you know how it is.
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.
If you have your sights set on moving to Australia or Spain – perennial favourites among expatriates – then you might want to think again.
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 10th, 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 12th and France 13th.
The UK, which trailed in 14th, 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.
Tags: Abroad, Australia, Europe, Expats, France, Germany, HSBC, life, Netherlands, quality, relocating, Singapore, Spain, UAE, UK, US
I saw with sadness that Sydney Pollack died earlier in the week. Not that I knew him to feel a sense of personal loss. Rather it was a sadness stemming from the passing of someone who made such a wonderful contribution to the world of film.
Coincidentally I had watched Michael Clayton, which Pollack produced and acted in, only the night before. The story follows the struggles of two men, the eponymous hero (played by George Clooney) and his colleague, lawyer Arthur Edens, who are caught up in a class-action lawsuit against an agrochemical production company. Both feel trapped in their current situations. Both desperately want to change their lives, to make them better, to be the people they want to be.
It seems a fitting testament to Pollack. While he may not have had the public status of the likes of a Clooney or Spielberg, in the industry he was a highly-regarded and influential director and producer. And as George Clooney’s tribute put it: “Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better.”
Could any of us hope for a better eulogy? To feel perhaps we’ve contributed in some small way to making the world a better place, to have pursued our dreams and ideals in our careers and lives, and to have brought some happiness to the people around us along the way.
So think about what it is that you truly want for your life. What would make you feel happy and fulfilled? Perhaps it’s that move abroad you’ve been dreaming about. Or a new job. Whatever it is, now is the time to shoot for it. Sure it may take a struggle, but aren’t the rewards worth fighting for? After all, it is your life.
My three-year old daughter had her first day at school yesterday. It wasn’t for long – just two hours in the afternoon for the first week or so, to get her used to being in a classroom environment.
I guess we went through all the usual trepidations parents feel as their ‘babies’ step through the school gates for the first time. Will she make friends? Will she like the teacher? Will she think we’ve deserted her? Will she be scared? Will she go to the toilet OK? What if she falls over in the playground and hurts herself? Will she behave? Will she like it, and want to go again tomorrow?
But there were some added concerns too. For one, the classes are all in Catalan, and she doesn’t speak a word of it, since we speak English at home. She’s also a chatterbox. So how would she be with this sudden entry into a world where she understands nothing her teacher and classmates say, and vice versa? Will she be bored in class? Frustrated? Resentful?
We know many kids from other countries have gone through the same process, and that as a result of this total immersion they pick up the language quickly. As the saying goes, kids are sponges. Nevertheless, to see them struggle through the transition phase from blank bewilderment to eventual fluency tugs on the heartstrings.
But the main, underlying reason for the worry is that our daughter has severe food allergies. At six months old she had an anaphylactic reaction to a doctor-prescribed, supposedly safe milk formula given to allergenic kids. We had to rush her to hospital as her mouth and tongue became swollen and she started to turn blue. I’ve never forgotten the terror of that car journey.
But now we have to let her out into the wide world, to a place where the kids bring breakfast and snacks into the classroom: bread, cheese, chocolate, biscuits and crisps, all the things that could produce another, potentially fatal, anaphylactic shock. To keep her safe we applied, and were eventually given funding, for a classroom assistant whose sole responsibility is to keep an eye on our daughter and see she doesn’t come into contact with these dangers. It is a comfort, the best case scenario we could hope for given the educational set up here in Spain. Still, it’s not easy to let go.
Tags: Abroad, Allergies, Children, Classroom, Education, Food, Foreign, Language, School
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