Expats Under the Microscope

What, if anything, do our 5.5 million British expats have in common? Can this most wide-spread genus be identified as a social group in its own right? Are there any shared strands suggesting patterns of behaviour from which monetary or lifestyle conclusions may be drawn? What, for example, has a retired British couple living in the Balearics got in common with a thirty-something Brit climbing the career ladder in Dubai? Will a British family making a new life for themselves Down Under integrate in a broadly similar way to their adopted culture as a childless couple undertaking charity work in a Third World country?
Well, no-one would like to know the answers to these questions more than the various UK finance companies who are competing for a share of the expatriate purse.
So what do these most recent surveys tell us about you?

Never is for ever
We learn from Lloyds TSB International that more than half of all the British expats who responded to their questionnaire believe they will never live permanently in the UK again. That’s a resolute shout from a sizeable collective voice. And while a quarter of expats go so far as to say they’d be happy to cut all ties with the UK, a much more cautious 75% believe it important to keep links with the mother country.
This same survey found that the majority of expats (60%) left the UK for work reasons - and a third of this group fall into the 45-55 year age group. Out of the 60%, half say they’ve no plans to return to the UK.

All eyes on a foreign location

Currency exchange brokers, Currency UK, undertook a similar survey to learn more about our reasons for moving abroad; the findings suggested that as many as 43% of all 60-65 year old Brits living in the UK are considering retirement overseas. The two chief reasons prompting these thoughts are the current spending cuts and possible tax hikes. Nearly a third of those contemplating migration believes it is cheaper to live overseas while just over a quarter (26%) says the UK “has little to offer retired people”. No mention of that hoary old expat chestnut - the weather!
NatWest International Personal Banking (NatWest IPB) has been conducting these sorts of surveys for a number of years to gauge the ‘real life perceptions and experiences’ and to assess levels of satisfaction with their circumstances abroad.
The results will encourage those keen to take the plunge, as an easy majority (71%) of retirees say they are happy with their chosen path and consider their decision to retire abroad a good one. A quarter of those surveyed rated their quality of life as “excellent”, and the majority (67%) declared themselves “happier now than they would have been in the UK.”

Australia, Canada, France win top places
The Centre for Future Studies reports that the top three locations for retiring Brits are Australia in first place with an estimated 285,200 expat pensioners: Canada with 197,400, and France playing host to some 73,800 retired Brits.
What’s more, at least according to NatWest’s research, the expectation of a cheaper cost of living abroad bears out as Dave Isley, Head of NatWest IPB confirms that over a third (37%) of expats said they believe their financial position has improved whilst living abroad.

Some sacrifices must be made
However, as many of you know only too well, it’s not all a bed or roses out there. HSBC Bank International’s latest findings, drawn from its ongoing Expat Explorer research, found that career prospects and quality of life don’t always go hand-in-hand. This survey found that for the majority of British expats (57%) the two key motivations to move away from the UK are career opportunities and financial gain. But securing these two ambitions often means having to put up with a  lower quality of life. 
While Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Russia are the most popular destinations for expats motivated by financial gain and career progression, HSBC reports that these countries typically score very low on quality of life rankings - Saudi Arabia 20th, Qatar 19th and Russia 24th out of 25.
In contrast, expats moving to countries that score well on the quality of life league table such as South Africa (3rd), Spain (6th) and France (7th), are much less appealing to those preoccupied by career and finances. Less than one in five (18%) expats moving to Spain said they did so to improve their earning potential, alongside 26% in France. South Africa does somewhat better with 40%.

Where happiness and wealth go hand-in-hand
There are a couple of exceptions to this rule. It seems that expats who have followed career opportunities to Bahrain and Bermuda are having their cake and eating it as both these locations score well for quality of life, coming 2nd and 5th respectively, while also scoring top places in HSBC’s  Expat Economics league table, where they are placed 3rd and 4th respectively.

For career-minded expats casting around the world for their next move, Nick Winsor, CEO at HSBC, offers this advice. “Expats decide to move abroad for a number of reasons and this year’s report highlights the importance of gaining as much insight as possible as to what to expect from a move to a completely new destination. Prior planning and researching new locations is therefore crucial to ensure the new destination lives up to everything that those moving were hoping to achieve and to secure a seamless transition from country to country, especially for those with families to consider.”

So, what about your experiences? We’d love to hear what’s happened to you? How you’re managing, both financially and socially? And we’d love to hear any advice and/or tips you have to pass on to other expats. Drop into the Expat Lounge, or send your story to Expat Life.