Living abroad is usually pretty damn awesome so it's not surprising then that so many people across the world choose to do so.
For someone who's planning on moving their whole life abroad, there's a lot to think about. The guys over at InstaReM have summarised what expatriates currently living abroad have to say about relocating, from conducting secondary research.By the end of it, you'll be much better informed on what to consider before making that big move.
According to Finaccord’s Global Expatriates Market Report, there are about 66.2 million expats worldwide. There are a lot of reasons to leave your home country behind in search of greener pastures but picking where to go can be an overwhelming decision.
InterNations has made the decision a whole lot easier with its annual Expat Insider survey. It aims to capture the views of millions of executives, skilled workers, students and retirees who live outside the country where they grew up. The expats voted Bahrain as the best country in the world to live. The runners up for expat’s favourite country included Taiwan, Ecuador, Mexico and Singapore. These countries attract expats with great working life, ranking among the top 5 for career prospects and satisfaction.
In contrast, the least favourite countries voted are Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil and Turkey.Expats all move abroad for a reason: whether to explore the world, further their career or to escape something - there is always a story.
There are different kinds of internationally minded people roaming the globe, InterNations summarised these into 10 categories:
- The foreign assignee “I was sent here by my employer”
- The career expat “I found a job here on my own”
- The foreign recruitee “I was recruited by a local employer”
- The (ex-) student “I moved here to go to school or university”
- The travelling spouse “I moved for my partner's job or education”
- The romantic “I moved for love”
- The family expat “I moved for family reasons”
- The dream destination expat “I always wanted to live in this particular country”
- The greener pastures expat “I was looking for a better quality of life”
- The adventurer “I was searching for an adventure or a personal challenge”
Becoming or being an expat is as exciting as it is frightening. Life in a new place can bring all kinds of new things. Unfortunately, you can also encounter some problems. Knowing the top concerns faced by expats across the world can help the aspirants stay prepared to tackle these situations. The top ten challenges of expat life include:
- No personal support network (family or friends)
- Worried about future finances
- Worried about relationship prospects
- Adjusting to different work culture
- No professional network
- Making new friends
- A loss in personal income
- Language barriers
- Culture shock
- Tired of expat life
To help aspirants and even current residents be more prepared for the expat life, below is a list of points current expats wished they’d known before setting abroad.
- Financial clarity
- Housing situation
- Difficulty leaving people behind
- Settling process
- Administrative / immigration / visas
Moving abroad by oneself can be a daunting prospect for many. However, living and working in a foreign country can expand your horizons, make you more culturally aware, improve your self-confidence and open multiple doors, both personally and professionally.
Conducting research on life outside of your home country is not a simple task. There are multiple factors associated with this and often people get buried under the abundance of information.
In addition to the insight covered above, the following tips can help you in your quest to decide whether expat life is for you:
- Talk to other expats living in the country you’re moving too. Learn from their experiences and mistakes.
- Commit to the goal of giving your new life abroad 100% effort, ensure you give it your all.
- Develop a network of trusted individuals you can turn to for help, support and advice - to make the woes seem much more bearable.
