Expatriate Lifestyle
Exploring expatriate lifestyle topics in depth and discussing the realities of expat life abroad
Living Abroad on a Budget
Dreaming of living abroad? Think you can’t afford to move? We show you how to live abroad on a budget.
The British government has announced that it’s going to survey its people to find out whether they are happy or not. Apparently the findings will sit alongside GDP figures, and statisticians and politicians will then be able to work out whether people have a decent quality of life in the UK.
Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics has revealed that 344,000 people moved abroad in the year to September 2010, and both Lloyds TSB and Skandia have revealed that wealthy Britons are particularly disaffected by the state of the UK at the moment, with up to 56% thinking about moving abroad.
So, whilst the government wonders whether the nation is happy, those who can will demonstrate with their feet and leave. But what about the rest of us…i.e., those of us who are not high net worth and who could end up living abroad on a budget, if indeed a relocation overseas is even possible? Well, the good news is, today we’re going to show you how moving and living abroad, even on a tight budget, is perfectly possible. Forget relying on the government and a happiness index to find out if you’re joyful – the only way to be happy is to live the life you want.
Things to Consider When Moving Abroad
In a guest post from Laura McDonald, Shelter Offshore readers can learn about the things they need to consider when moving abroad. From deciding which country is best, to working out how to afford a brand new life overseas, Laura covers the most critical questions would-be expats need to ask before moving abroad.
Laura McDonald from i-to-i shares her top tips for those who dream of living abroad. After all, there is so much to consider - from picking your country to finding a way to afford to live overseas - that it’s critically important to identify the main things to consider when moving abroad…
Let’s face it, moving abroad can be a pretty daunting prospect - there’s all the planning to do before you go, then once you’re out there you want to make sure you’re not going to be in for any big surprises!
So, here are some of the most important questions that you should ask yourself before making the big move overseas.
How to Move Abroad in 3 Easy Steps
If you want to get past just dreaming or talking about one day living abroad, we show you how to take three simple steps towards moving abroad so that you actually achieve a new life overseas sooner rather than never.
As we discussed yesterday, it’s been estimated that 1 in 4 Britons would willingly move abroad specifically for employment related reasons. Traditional driving factors pushing many of us abroad also include the weather in the UK, the poor work/life balance achievable, and the high taxes and costs of living in Britain.
From the correspondence we receive on a daily basis, it’s evident that there really is an intensification of desire among Britons to escape overseas. However, many feel limited by money or restricted by fear, (is it better the devil you know?). We therefore want to enable as many people as possible to realise their dream.
In this article today we’re going to show you how to move abroad in 3 easy steps, and direct you to additional resources where you can find both practical and inspirational assistance to enable you to plan your move overseas, and make the move achievable for you and your family, no matter what your personal circumstances.
Live and Work Well in Singapore
An introduction to the quality of life on offer in Singapore for individual expats, families and businesspersons – looking at the economy, the way of life, the tax benefits and why incorporating a company in Singapore could make more than just financial sense.
According to Healy Consultants, experts in Singapore company registration, Singapore is one of the best global cities in which to live and work well. If you’ve never considered this potential expat destination, read on to discover why it could potentially be an appealing choice for you.
Firstly Singapore is an easy place to live. It’s often remarked that expats in Hong Kong (Asia’s answer to New York) remain there only until they’re ready to have children and settle down, and then they move to Singapore for the quality of life.
However, the pros and incentives for living in Singapore extend to more than just families. For example, many expats actively choose to create their permanent homes and businesses in Singapore because it manages to combine and offer a great quality of life with excellent tax benefits – making it potentially an unbeatable destination.
Don’t Let Anything Hold You Back from Moving Abroad
A new survey has suggested Britons are nervous about committing to a move abroad because of all that they feel they will leave behind – we show you how you need to be realistic about your new life and how you can overcome any worries about your new nation with some forethought and forward planning.
The Telegraph has today published the findings from a recent study by Aviva of the things Britons would miss most if they moved abroad. Coming top are the likes of British food (yes really!), British TV, the NHS and of course family and friends.
However, we would like to assure any would-be expats that they needn’t let anything hold them back from moving abroad. The things you think you might miss most can often be guarded against, planned for and factored in – what’s more, you will gain so much more from making the move that chances are, you’ll wonder why on earth you were worried in the first place.
Britons are hooked on elements of British life such as the dependable NHS, and yet so often health care services abroad are far superior. What’s more, if you think you’ll miss TV and food that much have you ever considered the fact that you can order British groceries to be delivered to you no matter where you are in the world, and the Internet allows you to catch up on the best of the BBC and ITV anyway…
5 Aspects to Consider When Choosing a Country to Move to Abroad
With an increasing number of Britons actively contemplating a move abroad in a bid to find a more affordable and better lifestyle, we examine the 5 critical concerns that anyone looking for a new nation to call home should factor in – including one essential yet often overlooked aspect needed for successful integration overseas
There seems to have been a plethora of surveys in recent months relating to how many Britons are actively contemplating a move abroad. It seems that the state of the economy has certainly prompted more people to consider their lifestyle options - one of which is potentially moving overseas, if you believe the findings of all of these surveys.
One of the most recent surveys by Aviva questioned 1,000 Brits and found that over half were thinking of expatriating – and so chances are, as you’re reading this article you will be in agreement with those questioned who stated that the decline in living standards in the UK coupled with the likes of the weather were prompting them to look overseas for a better quality of more affordable life.
If you haven’t yet firmly decided on which nation to call home abroad we’re going to guide you through 5 important aspects to consider when choosing a country to move to abroad. It’s critical that anyone looks beyond the weather and the scenery, and scratches below the surface of a country to ensure it can meet their lifestyle requirements.
Overcoming Financial Issues Preventing Britons from Moving Abroad
Ironically the reasons for and against many Britons wanting to move overseas are financially related – we will show you how some fears many Britons have about moving overseas can be allayed with research, and how the final and ultimate benefits achieved from living abroad can far outweigh any negatives…
A recent survey by insurance giant Aviva has revealed that over half of the 1,000 British people they questioned in an 18 – 45 year old age range are contemplating a move overseas, and that they are largely encouraged to do so by the current state of the economy in the UK. However, ironically the issues holding people back from making the final critical decision to move overseas are also financial ones.
Whilst a decline in the jobs market and a decrease in living standards directly caused by governmental cuts are apparently reasons to move abroad, the NHS and state benefits are reasons to remain in Britain according to those surveyed. However, as Annabel Kantaria hints in her Telegraph column when discussing the Aviva survey findings, the aspects of life in the UK that Britons would seemingly miss too much to leave are actually mythical in status.
Today we want to help Britons overcome the financial issues that are perhaps preventing them from moving abroad by lifting the lid on the concerns that are seemingly uppermost in many would-be expats’ minds. From believing that Britain has the best healthcare system in the world to assuming that you can’t get financial support if you move abroad, some Britons’ thinking is certainly skewed!
Can You Afford to Move Abroad?
On Friday we highlighted the fact that a new survey has revealed that more Brits than ever want to move abroad – but with a weak pound meaning that many Brits are suffering financially speaking, how can anyone afford to move abroad? We show you how…
Forget all the talk about where taxes have been stealthily increased, how inflation is cutting the value of the pound in your pocket and how a lack of a pay increase coupled with all of the above now means you x% worse off than you were this time last year – just stop and have a think about how your level of affluence has really been affected.
We don’t need stats and fiscal facts from the government, the media and Stephanie Flanders/Robert Peston to tell us that we have less disposable income today than we had just a couple of years ago. For the lucky few it’s a case of standing still, but for the majority it means that they’re going backwards financially speaking. And that’s the great British lot for the foreseeable future it seems…
Therefore it’s no wonder that the poor state of the economy and the knock on effect that’s having on the ‘common’ man’s coffers is driving more Brits than ever to consider relocation – but just how affordable and therefore realistic is a move abroad? The truth is, an international relocation is expensive – but the good news is you can curb and even cap costs if you know how…
Returning to Live in Britain: a Repatriation Case Study
We have spoken to a British expatriate who returned home to the UK in 2009 about her repatriation experiences in a bid to forewarn and forearm anyone else thinking about moving back to Blighty! The repatriation process is not always easy, and it can throw up unexpected challenges.
When expat Claire and her husband of over 10 years split up in 2009, she decided that she wanted to move ‘back home’ to be closer to her family following the breakdown of her marriage. She’d been living abroad for almost a decade, but says she didn’t even give repatriation a second thought.
Having been a serial expat, and having lived in many different overseas countries back to back, Claire discovered the UK she returned to much changed, and says that today’s Britain is now somewhere she’s very keen to escape from once more.
Claire has shared her story with us for the benefit of all expats out there contemplating a return to Blighty. As her story will show, there are elements of a return home that anyone would do well to plan for, whilst the realities of today’s UK may need to be faced up to with realism rather than hope and a selective memory!
Help for Expats & Would-Be Expats Affected by Global Economics
There are no ways around it, expats and would-be expats are potentially being impacted by a deadly combination of poor exchange rates, weak economies, high inflation and low interest rates – but help is at hand from Shelter Offshore
There is no getting away from the fact that internationally mobile citizens (i.e., expats) and those who really want to head off and set up a new life abroad are being heavily impacted by the poor state of global economics, with Britons especially negatively affected.
Britons are coming from a nation with a weak economy, a weak currency, poor interest rates, (which affects retirees and those with invested or saved wealth), and high inflation. Many want to get out and enjoy a better quality of life abroad, but they can’t afford to do so. Those Brits living abroad can be affected by the same aspects if they derive an income from British based assets or wealth, and they may be further impacted by a strong euro and inflation across the eurozone, or perhaps the massively overinflated Australian economy if they’ve decided to emigrate Down Under.
The way Britons are coping has been well documented in a couple of articles across expat websites like the international edition of the Telegraph and expatforum.com – but no one is offering much of a solution to help affected individuals. So, we thought we’d offer you a 7-step plan to avoid the worse of the global economic effects as an expat or someone who wants to move to live abroad…