Expat Experience 2009
Expat Experience is the second of three reports from the Expat Explorer research. The report examines expats' experiences integrating into local society as well as their quality of life.
About the report
Canada comes top of world's largest expat lifestyle survey
- Australia and Thailand rank 2nd and 3rd respectively
- UK scores poorly for quality of life
- Established markets outperform emerging markets
- Expats generally enjoy a better quality of life
High salary doesn't always mean a high quality of life
“The second report has revealed fascinating insights into expats' priorities, particularly when financial gain is taken out of the equation.
“We have seen that there is a distinct trade-off between income and overall quality of life, as many of the top performers in our first report, which examined the best places to make and save money, have scored towards the bottom of this report's league table.
“What is clear is that the locations where salaries may not be as high, such as Canada and Australia, are where expats are really enjoying not only an increased quality of life but are also finding it easy to fit in to their new communities.”
Alan Smith, Head of International Wealth Management, HSBC Bank International
The best expat locations for quality of life
Expat Experience is the second of three reports to be produced from the Expat Explorer research. Expats rated their expat locations and the results have produced a league table which reveals the countries with the best quality of life.
Expats rated accommodation, food, entertainment, transport, clothing, household goods, utilities, healthcare, education / childcare, working hours, family life, social life, commute to work, health and hobbies.
They also rated how easy it was to do the following in their new country of residence:
- Organise schools for their children
- Set up finances; healthcare; utilities
- Find somewhere to live
- Learn the local language
- Make expat friends; making local friends; whether or not they joined local community groups
Being an expat means a better quality of life
Overall, the survey revealed that expats enjoy a better life in their new country. Germany, France, and Thailand topped the survey in this respect, with expats living in these countries reporting the greatest increases.
Better accommodation
For most expats, the biggest increases in quality were seen in the categories of accommodation and travel with 42% of expats saying that the quality of their accommodation had improved, and 44% reporting that they had a better commute into work. Canada, Thailand and the US were the top countries for better quality of accommodation, with 68%, 63% and 61% respectively claiming that their homes are better now. However, the picture was very different for expats living in the UK, with more than half (58%) stating that accommodation standards were poorer than in their home country.
Trying new things
The opportunities to try new food and cultural dining experiences are often reasons cited as motivators to travel, but what about when you're an expat? Do you pine for the familiar flavours? More than one-third of expats living in UAE (37%) thought food quality had increased significantly compared to their country of origin. Singapore is clearly a top spot for gourmands with 43% of expats living in the region agreeing that the food quality had improved significantly since moving there, however France topped this category with 71% of expats claiming a better quality of food.
But work long hours and your family suffer
Although no link was found between better working hours and an increased social life, there is a clear correlation between poor working hours and a decreased quality of family life. Over half of all expats moving to India (60%) and Hong Kong (52%) noted that a worsening of their working hours had created deterioration in the quality of their family life.
Expats are spending more time away from home...
Over half of expats (58%) questioned in 2009 have lived abroad for more than five years. The top three countries for settling down are South Africa, Thailand and Canada, where 55%, 53% and 52% of expats respectively have lived there for more than five years.
The countries who produce the ‘expat-lifers’ (expats having lived abroad for more than five years) include those originally from Thailand (82% of expats living abroad more than five years), Bahrain (81%), South Africa (73%), Russia and the US (both 70%).
...but in short bursts
Interestingly, while expats are staying away for longer periods of time, most expats only stay for between seven months and two years. Male expats also tend to live abroad for longer than their female counterparts, with two-thirds (63%) of men versus 46% of women having lived abroad for more than five years, possibly linked to work versus family commitments.
Under 35s are homesick the most
Expats, on average, return home at least once a year with three-quarters (74%) saying that they make an annual trip home. Expats living in Brazil are the most likely to go home at least once a year, with almost all (94%) doing so. This contrasts with expats living in Australia, where a significantly lower number (43%) of expats living there go home at least once a year.
The longer expats have lived abroad, the less frequently they return home. One-third of expats living away for more than 10 years have not been home for more than two years. The under 35 category craves home the most, with 79% returning at least once a year.
Making new friends is easy for expats?
Nearly 50% of expats have a positive experience making friends in a new country. Canada, which scored top in terms of integration for the 2008 survey, emerged as one of the easiest places for expats to make local friends and where expats had joined community groups. Asia emerged as the place to go for making friends in general, with Thailand ranking as the easiest country overall to make friends in, followed by Vietnam, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
A little cliquey?
While making friends is easy for most expats, there is a preference for making friends within the expat groups rather than the local community. An exception to this is in Brazil, which ranks highest for local community integration (94% of expats making local friends easily). This was closely followed by Canada and South Africa (both 91%, India and Russia (both 90%)).
Asian and Middle Eastern countries feature heavily as the places most expats make friends with other expats, as opposed to local people. In fact, expats living in the Middle East, especially those living in Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, are the least likely to make friends with people from the local population.
Looking for love?
One in five expats have found love overseas, with Thailand being the most likely place to fall in love followed by Germany and Brazil. Almost half of expats in Thailand say that they have they found love, however if you are a single expat in India or Qatar, you'd best buy a teddy bear - just 4% of expats have found love whilst living in these countries. Those earning less are also more likely to find love, with expats earning less than $60,000 more likely to find love abroad than any other group - (over a quarter of expats in this group). Similarly, expats over the age of 55 will have a greater chance of finding their life partner - one in four expats around the world aged 55 and over have found love or a life partner whilst living abroad.
Friendliest expat locations
A rewarding but challenging life
While expat life is generally a very rewarding experience, there are also many challenges that expats face as a result of relocating to a foreign country. In addition to the more social aspects such as making friends; setting up finances, utilities and healthcare are just some of the other factors to deal with when organising a new life.
Overall, the research found that Canada is the easiest place to set up home. It scored well across all categories, with ‘making expat friends’ the only category where it was ranked outside of the top ten. It scored in the top three for setting up utilities, making local friends and joining community groups.
The language barrier
Expats living in English-speaking countries have less trouble with language barriers, regardless of their origins. Learning the local language remains the largest expat challenge of all. Hong Kong's language barrier is the biggest hurdle for expats, with over three-quarters (85%) finding that learning the language is very difficult.
Healthcare
In terms of healthcare, just 30% and 31% of UK and the US-based expats reported that they found healthcare relatively simple to arrange. Overall, nearly half of expats said that setting up healthcare was easy when moving to their country of residence.
Getting your finances in order
Brazil and Japan are two countries where expats claimed that they found it difficult to organise their finances, with almost half (47% and 45% respectively) saying that they found organising their finances the greatest challenge.
Women find it more difficult than men - with one in three saying they've found it confusing in the past. Almost one in three (31%) expats living in the UK also found it difficult - one of the highest percentages around the world.
Top expat location for easy of integration
