So what is stopping the rest?

For most, I imagine, it is money. After all, if you are rich enough to live where you want, and can come and go at will, then the world is your oyster.

Most of us are not in that liberating position. Instead, we have to find a way to fund this dream life overseas.

Which is where the challenges start. Questions crop up like …

• Am I eligible for a working visa?
• Will my qualifications be recognised?
• What job can I get?
• How much will it pay?
• Can I get my business idea off the ground?
• What hoops will I have to jump through?
• Is there local demand?

There can be so much uncertainty about making your relocation financially viable that I think many people just give up on the idea.

Seems a shame, doesn’t it?

If any of this has happened to you then Megan Fitzgerald, an expat career and personal branding coach, would love to hear from you. She is conducting a poll of current and aspiring expats to find the answer to an intriguing question: what is the biggest obstacle to building a successful career abroad?

The poll’s findings will reveal the most common problems people face, and hopefully offer some useful insights into how to overcome them.

To take part in the poll go to http://linkd.in/i9pnWY.

Related posts:

1. Should I Stay or Should I Go? Tips on Becoming an Expat
2. Career Abroad or Life at Home?
3. The Beauty of a Portable Career

So here are some of the key issues to contemplate when deciding where to live:

1)      Education

For any parents, the quality of education available to their children – whether in the local state system, a private institution or at an international school – has to be a crucial factor.

If a country’s educational options are poor, think again. Your child’s future is too important.

2)      Language

Which languages do you speak? Where in the world will you find it easiest to integrate, and feel most comfortable living, as a result? Which languages will prove most beneficial to your prospects going forward?

At the gates of my daughter’s school here in Britain I hear many foreign accents. One big attraction for these parents of raising their children in the UK is the English fluency they are achieving. As the world’s dominant business language at present that will stand them in good stead in the years to come.

3)      Quality of life

Definitions of quality of life vary from person-to-person. But common considerations include the location’s relative cost of living, the climate, career opportunities and earning potential, access to leisure activities, the country’s political freedoms and cultural mores.

For instance, the UK is renowned for its high cost of living and poor weather. However, HSBC’s latest Expat Explorer Survey[1] ranked it the top country for entertainment, and reported that it is an easy place for expats to integrate.

The important thing is to determine which quality of life factors matter most to you.

4)      Social network

It is great to have family support and contact. Yet for many people living abroad often means having to do without that.

In such situations, it is important to be in a location where there are plenty of opportunities to develop a strong circle of friends who can offer emotional support, and with whom you can share the good times.

5)      Future prospects

Looking ahead, what sort of life will your location offer?

Does it hold out the prospect of attractive career opportunities, for you and any children you may have?

If you are considering retirement there, is it affordable?  What sort of social life can you expect? How do the healthcare system, and healthcare costs, stack up?

Answer these crucial questions before you leave home and you have a much better chance of finding happiness and contentment when you arrive.

Related posts:

1. Expats Top Concerns When Moving Abroad
2. Canadian Charm
3. Agassi’s Open Secrets to Living Abroad

Canada values immigrants who come to their country to help contribute to their economy. Nevertheless, there are a few restrictions you should know about when applying for a work visa.

In the case of immigrating to Canada for business purposes, it is important to understand the specific visa requirements and the points system.

Some key points to know:

• Education: This section offers a maximum of 25 points based on the amount of school completed. It starts at secondary education and below, which offers 0 points. PhD or Master’s degree holders receive 25 points, on condition they have completed at least 17 years of full-time study.

• Language: Canada’s two official languages are English and French, and you can receive a maximum of 24 points for fluency in both. Fluency in one yields 16 points, provided you have mastered reading, writing, listening and speaking proficiency.

• Work Experience: Points are only rewarded when you have had at least a year of full-time experience in a managerial, professional, or highly skilled occupation. One year earns 15 points, and four or more years earns the maximum 21 points.

• Proof of Funds: 10 points are awarded to people who have an offer of employment approved by the Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). Otherwise, you will need proof you have either a set amount of funds in a bank account, or have secured work in Canada.

The eligibility requirement is based on the number of household members. As of May 2010, single applicants were required to have at least CAD $11,086, whereas a six-member household needed CAD $26,350.

Securing work in Canada exempts immigrants from this requirement. However, failure to meet any requirements results in ineligibility.

• Age: Because most people in the workforce are aged 21-49, the highest number of points is awarded to this age bracket. Applicants under 16 and over 54 do not receive points in this section. Other age brackets are awarded in two-point increments up to eight.

There are a number of Canada Immigration Services that can help you get started if you plan to immigrate from the UK to Canada in search of work. Whether you plan to move to Canada for business or hope to move there permanently, knowing the basics in the immigration process can help you become acclimated more quickly and avoid any procedural snags along the way.

This article was provided by Global Visas, the leading immigration experts for private and corporate clients locally and worldwide. 

Related posts:

1. Immigrating to America: What You Need to Know
2. UK Opens Arms to the Wealthy
3. Immigration and the UK’s Population Growth

However, because of the strict requirements for people immigrating to the U.S., it is important to know the processes to ensure you get the right visas and documentation for a visit or smooth transition to life as an American citizen or permanent resident.

There are several ways to immigrate to the U.S. depending on the needs of your business, family, or yourself. You can choose from a work or student US visa for a temporary stay, apply for a green card if you have a spouse or relatives who are U.S. citizens, or apply for citizenship if you plan to make a permanent move to the U.S.

A green card affords permanent U.S. residency. People who hold a green card are permanently approved to work within the U.S. despite not having citizenship.

After a certain number of years people with a green card may apply for citizenship if they choose. However, it is not required – something especially important for people to know when there is any possibility of moving back to their home country.

Naturalization, or the process of obtaining American citizenship, is another option, although it applies to those who plan to make their move to the U.S. permanent. After five years of residence in the U.S., green card holders can apply for citizenship. The test required for nationalization measures knowledge of U.S. civics, as well as English language proficiency.

Overall, U.S. immigration laws change rather frequently, so it is vital to know the current regulations in advance, whether you choose to get a USA visa for work, a student visa, or you want to apply for citizenship.

This article was provided by Global Visas, the leading immigration experts for private and corporate clients locally and worldwide. 

Related posts:

1. Working in Canada – The Points System
2. UK Opens Arms to the Wealthy
3. Immigration and the UK’s Population Growth

The report polled members of the banking, insurance, asset management, hedge fund and private equity communities on six factors: predictability, overall tax burden, attitude of tax authorities, network of tax treaties, complexity and cost of compliance.

Every respondent gave the UK a poor rating on predictability. It is the area where the UK fared worst compared to other countries, but which the report says is the most important factor in judging competitiveness.

The authors said surprise changes such as the introduction of the bank payroll tax and bank levy, and the increase to 50% in the top rate of income tax were creating uncertainty and changing the financial services industry’s perception of the UK. In addition, the new rates and measures meant “the UK is now seen as a high tax jurisdiction not dissimilar to continental countries.”

However, despite fears that changes to the UK’s regime would lead to an exodus of financial institutions and people to more favourable tax jurisdictions, such as Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong, that has not materialised in practice, at least thus far. Instead, for the time being London remains a key financial hub, attracting international investment, as well as expatriate and domestic workers.

Holding on to its position in the world as an attractive place to live and do business is the UK’s challenge going forwards. Relying on its weather as a source of appeal certainly won’t do the job!

Related posts:

1. Swiss Watch
2. The Perfect Country?
3. Canadian Charm

How can you earn the money necessary to give you the lifestyle you crave? Do you plan to transfer within your existing company, or apply for new jobs? Would you like to set up your own business, or offer services as some form of freelance contractor?

For anyone confronting these issues it is well worth seeking the advice of a professional, someone who can help clarify your ideas and guide you in the right career direction.

One such person is CNNMoney.com-featured career coach Megan Fitzgerald, the founder of Career By Choice. An expat herself, with over 15 years experience in career and business development, Megan specialises in helping current and aspiring expatriate professionals and entrepreneurs to build a satisfying career or business that allows them to get the most out of their life abroad.

Megan has just interviewed me on the pros and cons of moving overseas for her website. You can check out the resulting article, Expat Success Tips: Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Choice of Becoming an Expat, at http://bit.ly/cIOjNw.

Hope you find it interesting.

Related posts:

1. What’s your biggest obstacle to building a successful career abroad?
2. The Beauty of a Portable Career
3. Expat Book: The Long and Winding Road

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. Canadian Charm
2. Looking for Quality of Life?
3. Tax Threat to UK’s Global Competitiveness

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