A new study by the Institute of Public Policy Research into the ‘global Brit’ has helped to identify which attributes, skills and common factors all add up in helping expatriate Britons living abroad to integrate into their new lives successfully.
The report has compiled findings derived from conversations with everyone from expats to consular officials to help work out what you need to know and do to be a happy and successfully integrated immigrant.
If you’re thinking about moving abroad and you’re wondering whether you’ve got what it takes to settle in to your new life well, read on to find out the common factors involved in how to successfully integrate into your new life abroad.
Interestingly the report has put an official edge on that which we feel we know already, and that is that most people who move abroad fail to plan particularly well in advance for their relocation! The majority of expats ‘wing it’ when it comes to starting their new life, having just read around the subject and done the most cursory of planning!
That fact aside, because most expats are pioneering and adventurous deep down, they find a way to make it work. And of those who make it work the best, they have the following in common according to the Institute of Public Policy Research: -
Successful expats often work for a local company which means that they meet and work with, socialise and get to know a diverse range of people from the local community. They will make friends in this way, and the friends they make will be people they can easily socialise with outside of work. In addition, by working for a local company they will get to understand the local community better, and learn of events and happenings in the local town or surroundings that could be an additional way in, in terms of integration and meeting people.
When you move abroad you leave your support network of friends, family, acquaintances and work colleagues behind; the sooner you can ‘replace’ some of these relationships the sooner you will feel more grounded and settled…in other words, the sooner you will integrate.
Successfully integrated expats usually have family or friends living locally to them abroad. This ties in with the above point well, because ‘no man is an island’ and we all need the support and security that comes from close connections with friends and families. Yesterday we published an article about Canada’s immigration policy where we highlighted the fact that it is such a successful policy because in part it promotes the idea of migrants coming to Canada with their family. Those who are cut off from their family, their friends, and their old life will find it far harder to settle down and settle in.
Therefore, if you are thinking of moving abroad, see if you can get your family in on the move! If not, do you have friends or family already overseas and would you consider relocating to live within reach of them? If not, it will be very important for you to get out networking and socialising once you arrive in order to make new friends and settle in.
Successfully integrated expatriates get involved with the local community and local activities. The only way to build the relationships you need to settle in is to get out and meeting people – and the best way of doing this is getting involved with the local community.
Expats with children sometimes find it easier to get involved as children are always invited to events in the local community through their school for example. Whilst it can at first seem hard to just go out and start talking to strangers, the sooner you do the sooner you will be on the road to making friends and forging the bonds and ties that will help you settle in.
Finally, the most well integrated expats living abroad speak the local language. You will always be an outsider if you cannot communicate or understand what those around you are talking about. If you want to settle in you have to learn to speak the local language so you can socialise, interact, engage and get close to your community.
How can you call a country home if you cannot understand the language of that country and its people? How can you make friends with someone when you don’t know what they are saying? Even if many in your community speak English, not everyone does, and you will always be classed as an outsider if you cannot make the effort to learn the local lingo. Learning a new language to the point at which you can communicate well can take many years – but it is so worth the effort.
Now you know what it takes to integrate well, you have the knowledge you need to structure your relocation abroad so that it works for you. Tomorrow we will cover the mistakes that many expats make and which hamper their chances ot integration – so if you want to know how not to make a success of living abroad, tune in tomorrow!
