Why Expatriates Fail

Making the decision to leave behind your country of birth, your friends and extended family and embark upon a brand new adventure overseas is not one that many people are likely to even consider lightly.  But once the initial considerations have been made, quite often the excitement of the adventure takes a grip and decisions and plans run away with people and before they know it they’ve expatriated and there’s no looking back!

But it’s a sad fact that the majority of people who expatriate return home - some return home a few weeks or a few months later, with others it’s a few years later - but there are five main reasons why expatriates fail and this article covers them for you to prevent you from making the same mistakes…

1) Running Away

You cannot escape yourself.  This is the first fact that you need to take on board and accept before even thinking about starting a new life abroad.  If you’re thinking of moving abroad in an effort to leave behind the detritus of frustration, misery or boredom that is your current life know that you may change location but you are unlikely to change your life!  Sorry! 

You will still think and act the same way when you move abroad, the same things will bring you frustration, the same things will bring you pleasure and whatever challenges you have in life now you will likely have then.  The only way to truly change your life is to change the way you think and to shed emotional baggage if possible, otherwise you will be the same person day to day wherever in the world you live.

Therefore, if you’re thinking of moving abroad to escape your life you will be unlikely to change your life and this is one of the main reasons why expatriates fail.

2) Expectations

You may have holidayed in an ideal overseas location and dreamed of one day living there.  Now possibly you’re in a position to make that dream come true…but first you need to stop and remember, living abroad is very, very, very different to holidaying abroad!  For a start the practicalities and mundane realities of life barely change wherever in the world you’re living!  You’ll still have the potential of bills to pay, traffic to negotiate, annoying neighbours to deal with, three meals a day to prepare and financial considerations to bear in mind.  Therefore you need to have realistic expectations of what your brand new life abroad will be like.

You are not going to be moving to heaven on earth even if you are moving to a country where it barely rains for example!  Such a country may suffer droughts, wild fires, snakes or winter humidity!  Remember that every single country on earth has a different set of issues that you will have to deal with and the best way to prevent against expatriate failure is to ask yourself two questions before you even begin to make any firm plans for moving abroad, and they are: -

i) What is it about my life that I want to change?
ii) How exactly will a move abroad to a given location help make that change happen?

3) Relationships

One of the most unsuccessful areas of expatriation is where one half of a married couple is offered an overseas posting and their trailing spouse fails to settle and adjust to life abroad.  If you’re considering relocating and you’re married, both you and your partner need to spend a great deal of time discussing exactly why you each want to make a move, how you believe your lives will be improved by expatriation and you need to ensure that your beliefs, dreams, goals and expectations are: -

a) realistic and
b) in harmony with each other.

If you get this bit right you will stand a far better chance of survival!  If you’re pulling in two different directions from the start the pressure that comes hand in hand with a move abroad will possibly push you apart.

The consideration of ‘relationships’ goes even further than husband and wife - you have to consider the needs and desires of your children if you have any and then you have to think about moving away from your extended family and base of friends.  All too often we take all these essential people a little for granted and it isn’t until we’re living in a foreign environment miles away from a cuddle, a shoulder to cry on, a last minute baby sitter or an advice giver that we really feel the wrench.  Think very carefully about how you’ll cope without your network of friends around you…yes of course you’ll make new friends, yes of course your old friends will visit…but you are about to change dramatically the direction and day to day feel of your life.  Are you ready for it?  If you’re not and you expatriate you may find you fail.

4) Research and Preparations

As mentioned, many people holiday overseas and then decide that the one country they fall in love with is the ideal country for their brand new home.  Well, while taking a holiday in your chosen location is a must before you make a final decision it is not the only preparation you need to do!  There is far more to living in a country than there is to holidaying in it.

For a start, are you legally allowed to live and work in that country or do you need to apply for permission.  Countries like Canada, America, Australia and New Zealand have long and complicated immigration procedures so you should get the process well underway before you set your heart on the country in case you get rejected!  Next up you need to do a substantial amount of research into what it is really like to live in any given country.  What are the transport links like, the local doctors, the educational facilities, the supermarkets?  How easy is it to get to and from, how easy is it to source life’s essential items, how affordable is it to live in?  Can you afford a house, a car, a satellite connection, do you want these things, do you need these things?

Finding out as much as possible about living day to day in your chosen overseas location will allow you to build up as realistic a picture of what your life abroad will be life before you go and this will help you to decide if it is really what you want and it will help you to settle in far quicker and more easily. The internet is a great place to start searching for information.

5) Financial problems

Last but by no means least - financial problems are the number one reason why expatriates fail. 

For a start moving house is expensive - when you factor in having to move abroad, transport personal effects that much further, sell a house, sell a car, buy a house, buy a car - or even just find money for rent deposits and then monthly bills etc., it all takes a big financial initial hit.

Day to day you have the added pressure of finding and securing work in a foreign environment, dealing with new local taxes and living costs.  All of these reasons alone are enough to put pressure on someone.  Then you have added expenses, travelling back home for visits or emergencies.  Then you have expatriate health insurance costs, education fees, unexpected expenses.  And people fail to plan.  They move abroad with enough to survive for a couple of weeks and wonder where all the money drains away to overnight.

If you want to expatriate and succeed you need to be very realistic and get some emergency cash behind you!  You may not need it in which case it can be used to treat the whole family to a series of days out around your new country enjoying the beauty of it…but if you don’t have an emergency fund you will find that the stresses of your new life coupled with insufficient funds are enough to have you heading back home in days.

Those who survive the initial period must not overlook the ongoing financial considerations of living abroad - particularly the long term considerations relating to retirement planning and funding as well as ongoing health care coverage.

One final point to consider - you may be moving overseas to a country where the cost of living is far lower than what you’re used to - this is fantastic, but everything is relative and if you’re hoping to make a living from the local economy you will quickly be priced into the local economy and no longer find prices cheap!

So, with all that negative information firmly lodged in your head (sorry!) I sincerely hope you find the motivation and the emotional and practical resources to make your dream of a new life overseas happen.

Good luck and go for it!