Expat Focus Blog

Transferring money abroad? Consider using a broker

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:54:00 +0000

There's a recent good post to the Personal Finance forum where one of our members outlines the various methods for transferring money abroad. Most members will already know we work with a foreign exchange company to provide such a facility and they recently sent me through some material which outlines their services in more detail but also serves to highlight the benefits of using any good broker, namely that they:

Guarantee to give better exchange rates than the banks

Arrange forward contracts enabling clients to fix the rate for a future date (Example: 6 months ago clients could have bought EUR with a ‘forward contract’ at a rate of 1.46. The rate today is 1.26, a difference of 13%)

Offer a 1 to 1 service from dedicated and experienced consultants to help clients manage exchange rate risk

Provide a rate watch service and daily market updates

Arrange regular transfers for pension, mortgage, salary payments

The last point (arranging regular transfers) is - to be honest - one I often forget to mention when discussing the value of foreign exchange services, I tend to concentrate on larger lump sums for house or boat purchases. That's a mistake on my part, though, there are clearly significant savings to be made in finding the best deal for handling smaller, regular money transfers too.

If you're planning on transferring funds abroad, it makes sense to see what a good broker can offer!

New Middle East forums

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:27:00 +0000

For a long time, forum members at Expat Focus with an interest in any of the Middle East countries have used a single forum for all their posts. To make things a little easier we have now created a new "Middle East" category under which the following individual forums are located:

http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-forums-saudi-arabia
http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-forums-uae
http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-forums-qatar
http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-forums-jordan
http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-forums-middle-east

The last one in the list is the original Middle East forum which still contains the old posts but is now listed as "Rest of Middle East" (i.e. intended for countries other than those listed above).

We hope this will make it easier for forum members to enjoy discussions related to their particular country of interest and look forward to welcoming them to the new forums.

Interview with David M Sutton-Rowe, moderator - Spain forum

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:47:00 +0000

David has been a moderator of the Spain forum for quite a while. In this interview we get to know him a little better!

Expat Focus: David, can you tell us a bit about your background before you became an expat?

David M Sutton-Rowe: I was born in 1953 in Catterick, North Yorkshire. My father was in the RAF and I went to school both in the UK and Germany. By the time I left school I could speak both English and German.

I enlisted in the British Army at the age of 16 and served for three years in the Royal Corps of Transport, I then changed tack and re-enlisted into the Royal Military Police. During my time in the army I was posted to countries all over the world: Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Germany, America and the UK to name but a few. After serving six years I left the army and retrained as a Domestic Appliance Service Engineer (Washing Machine Engineer). I did this for a further 20 years and had the opportunity to appear on my local radio station as an expert on consumer rights regarding domestic appliances.

I also wrote on a part time basis for my local newspaper - different articles on everyday life and the thoughts of an engineer. I met a lot of interesting people and enjoyed doing the research that it entailed.

When my second marriage failed and my wife left me with two daughters who were both under the age of two, I decided to move from Shropshire to be near my parents in Suffolk. There I met my third wife, who was also a single parent with two girls (aged 10 and 12). Life at that point was a little strained as the eldest of my wife's girls was autistic and that took a lot of coming to terms with.

My wife was a solicitor and worked for a company based in Colchester. She worked odd hours and I was at home all day, as a househusband. It was at this time that I thought about retraining as a Massage Therapist - a totally different way of life to that I had had up until this point, but I could work from home and look after the children as they left and came home from school.

Expat Focus: What prompted the move abroad?

David: When my wife's daughters left home and my children were aged 11 and 12 we decided to make a fresh start and move to Spain. We wanted to give my girls an opportunity to experience a different way of life and to learn a different language so that they could broaden their experience of the world around them.

Also, my wife and I could be together all day. I could operate my massage clinic from home and my wife could take up writing, which she had always wanted to do. We could do this in a relaxed atmosphere which would also help my wife's ME, something she had suffered from for the previous three years. The warmth and the relaxing lifestyle would help her and we could be at home bouncing ideas off each other. The girls would also be home with us each afternoon making for a much better home life.

Expat Focus: What were the main challenges you faced when you first moved to Spain? How did you overcome them?

David: Our main challenges when we first moved to Spain were the obvious ones! The language was the first, I had very little Spanish (I could speak German, which did not help too much, my wife could speak French which also did not help) so we had to employ a translator for the first month or so to sort out the forms and legal stuff for us, then we were very much on our own. My wife and I sorted the girls out with school and when that was done my wife and I started going to Spanish language classes. I managed two months of learning Spanish at the school then quit but my wife went to a local friend who is Spanish and is still taking lessons once a week. I now learn most of my Spanish by socialising with the locals and attending various events. I play pool every Wednesday evening with a couple of locals and I find that this is a much better way to learn the language.

The other challenges were getting the services changed to our names and dealing with Spain's infamous Telefonica, coming to terms with the Spanish way of living and understanding the attitude towards us as English expats. Moving into a small town was a very good experience and once the locals know that you are trying to communicate in their language they seem to slow down and help you. I don't know if that would happen back in the UK.

Expat Focus: What is a typical day in your life like?

David: That's a very interesting question. My wife and I are now on our own as all our children are back in the UK, doing their own thing, so we have a lot of time for ourselves. My wife spends nearly every waking hour on the computer writing and researching for her books - she has two awaiting publication and is working on her third. This keeps her busy and she tries to work a working day, starting around 10am and finishing around 3pm. That does not always work out, however, as she takes time off to go out with friends a couple of days a week!

I, on the other hand, work from 9am till 2pm, Monday to Friday, as a mobile therapist. I then spend the rest of the day glued to the computer training myself in the complicated ways of HTML! I have made a couple of internet sites and have been asked by some friends to make theirs as well. I have also started work on a forum, just to see how they work, but it's mainly for fun (although it keeps me busy). In the evenings my wife reads or watches TV. Me? I play multiplayer games, I'm hooked on Call of Duty 2 and 4 (first person shooters)!

Expat Focus: What are your plans for the future?

David: Now that our children have left home, are working and leading their own lives, my wife and I are looking for a place to enjoy our final years - somewhere where our income can last that little bit longer, somewhere where it's warm all the year round, somewhere where we can be happy and somewhere where we don’t have to work at all. Somewhere where, I have been promised, will be our last move.

That somewhere will be Brazil. My wife and I have been there a couple of times and have done a lot of research, not only over the internet but also in person. We have heard, like everyone else, about the high crime, but there is not as much as everyone thinks. We think we can find our ultimate heaven in the North East corner of Brazil; a move which will truly make us global expats.

Expat Focus: What does the word "home" mean to you? Where do you consider being "home" these days?

David: The word "home" to me means a place to go to bed, a place to wake up, a place to invite friends and family to, a place to leave in the mornings and to come back to in the evenings. I think that home is a place that you make while you're there, a place that can be anywhere you decide it to be. Any place could be your home, so long as you come and go from it. Now if you were to ask where does my heart consider home, I would have to answer anywhere in England - my birthplace, my family home.

Expat Focus: You're one of our longest serving moderators here at Expat Focus, what has that experience been like?

David: During our research of where to live while we were in the UK, I discovered Expat Focus. I didn't register an account, I was what is known as a "lurker", but I did get some useful information which helped in making up of our minds on moving to Spain. When we got to Spain, we had to wait 18 months for a telephone and ADSL to be installed, it was then I decided to join Expat Focus and write about the things I knew in getting established here in Spain. After a little while I was asked if I wanted to be a forum moderator. It didn't take me long to make up my mind, I looked upon it as a learning experience where I could help others moving to or living here in Spain and also learn new things myself.

I feel really good when I can help someone with something I have personal knowledge or experience of and I'm very happy to direct people to other sources of information if I can't assist directly. I have had some wonderful things said to me by members of the forums which makes the task of moderating feel very worthwhile. If I'm able to help anyone in the forums I will do so!

Expat Focus: If you had to give some advice to new forum members to help them with expat life in Spain, what would it be?

David: For a person wishing to move to Spain, I think that the best advice that I could give is to do your research, research, research, and when that is done learn at least a little Spanish before you come to Spain. If you want to live here then ask yourself what area, coastal or inland, as they are both very different places and both ask different things of an expat.

Expat Focus: What do you do to relax?

David: I think I partly covered that above, but to elaborate, in the weekday evenings, during the winter months, I play online games and on Wednesday evenings I go out with some local Spanish friends to play pool. During the summer my wife and I get out and about touring inland Spain and we are often invited to BBQs which is a great excuse for a few beers and a way of catching up on local events. We also have family over and go to the beaches and theme parks, and if they really want to see tourist Spain we take them to Benidorm for the day.

Expat Focus: David, many thanks for your time and on behalf of all the people you've helped in the forums, and all of those you go on to help in the future, a huge THANK YOU! Best of luck too with your own web site which anyone interested can find at http://www.vinalopotrader.co.nr

Lies, damned lies, and forum statistics

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:53:00 +0000

Last week I mentioned that I'd updated our stats page to show how many people are visiting Expat Focus on a monthly basis. One of the interesting things I like to do with our stats is to take a look and see what patterns or anomalies emerge. Something which definitely falls into the former but not the latter group is the large drop off in visitor numbers during December (is there something going on I should know about?!).

We're also able to see how popular individual sections of the site are on a country by country basis and then compare those figures with activity in the forums to see how well they match. Mostly, things are pretty much what you would expect - for example, we don't have (relatively speaking) a large number of visitors to the Andorra guide and the Andorra forum is also very quiet.

However, the correlation isn't always so logical. A good case in point is France. The figures for the French sections of the site show that it's one of the busiest yet the popularity of the forum doesn't reflect this. This is one of the challenges we face this year, how do we encourage those people to form a community - one based on shared interests and concerns - and start helping each other? We're already planning a few things but would love to hear from you if you have any ideas.

The naked expat

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:07:00 +0000

There's nothing quite like taking all your clothes off to prove that you've fully integrated into a new culture. This recent article certainly does a good job of explaining what it means to be truly European! Here's a taste:

A few weeks ago, some friends invited me to go swimming at the Badeschiff - a barge turned indoor swimming pool and sauna in the middle Berlin's Spree River. The idea of jumping into a heated pool in the middle of the German winter was appealing to me, so I packed my beach bag and headed for the Badeschiff.

I showed up with my beach towel, Gap swimsuit, Richardson High School "Beach Team" T-shirt and flip flops ready to go for a dip.

But when we went into the locker room to change, I realized that nobody else had brought a swimsuit. No need - no swimsuits allowed on the Badeschiff.

Gulp!

It all reminds me far too much of my own experience when, having played squash with some work colleagues in the Netherlands, we adjourned to the sauna to relax.

A mixed sauna.

A nude mixed sauna.

Now, naturally, as a Brit I wasn't going to engage in any of this nonsense and kept the crown jewels firmly under lock and key under my towel. I soon discovered, however, that a further challenge lay ahead - straight ahead.

Let's just say that unaccustomed as I am to finding myself in a room surrounded by naked athletes of the opposite sex the temptation is, on occasion, to let the eye wander. Sadly, here my Britishness once again came to the fore. Whereas the true European is only too happy to appreciate the finer points of life and meet the gaze of their sauna companions with a winning smile, I instinctively felt this would be a gross breach of etiquette and instead fixed my gaze straight ahead. Half an hour later, my colleagues led me in a somewhat catatonic state to the cooling balm of the showers and thereafter the security of my Marks and Spencers underwear.

I've played very little squash since.

Foreign Currency - how to secure a favourable exchange rate

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:22:00 +0000

One of the most common financial services requested through Expat Focus is that of foreign currency exchange. Some time ago our foreign exchange partner, World First, created a very useful article for anyone looking to save money when exchanging currency and I'm going to reproduce it here in its entirety. I hope you find it useful!

When emigrating, coming home or simply moving money around the world, making sure you secure a favourable exchange rate is one of the most important things you can do. An extra few minutes or so spent researching your options could save you thousands of pounds.
There are three simple ways in which you can save money:
1) Use a Currency broker. Currency brokers will generally provide superior exchange rates to the high street banks. The currency brokers have access to the interbank rate and do not have the high costs that the banks have. This means that they can usually offer better exchange rates.
2) Use a free Market Watch/Order Service: This allows you to tell your currency broker your target or budget exchange rate and they will ring you if that exchange rate level is reached. As the rate moves every few seconds, currency brokers can act as your eyes and ears on the market.
For example, you might ask your currency broker to ring you if they could offer you a Sterling Dollar rate of 1.85 for the date in the future that you want to move the funds.
3) Consider fixing the exchange rate in advance using a Forward Contract. If you know you need to convert/move funds in the future but don't yet have the money you can reserve a rate in advance using a Forward Contract. During this period, you are exposed to exchange rate movements and therefore, a forward contract is ideal if, for example, you have agreed to buy a house and want to fix the rate now but will not be making payment for a couple of months.
A forward contract is when you fix an exchange rate for a pre-agreed date in the future. You can fix a forward exchange rate for any period from 1 week up to 1 year in advance. There's no cost for a forward contract and no payment is made until the settlement date, except for a small deposit of 2% to 10% depending on how far ahead you would like to fix the rate.
A "forward contract" is fixed at the "forward rate" which usually differs slightly from the "spot rate" (the rate for immediate transfer). The difference between the 2 rates are the "forward points". The Sterling Euro forward points, for example, are a straight arithmetic calculation of the difference in the interest rates between the UK and the Euro-zone. When UK interest rates are higher than Euro rates, the rate will go down slightly as you reserve further into the future. If UK rates were to fall below Euro rates, the rate would go up for a forward contract. This is most easily explained with 2 examples.
1) At the end of June 2005, UK interest rates were 4.75% and European rates were 2%. i.e. a difference of 2.75%. You could have fixed an immediate deal with one of the currency brokers, such as World First, at 1.50. If you wanted to book a 1-year forward contract, i.e. fix the exchange rate for 24th June 2006, we would have reduced the exchange rate by approximately 2.75% (i.e. around 1.4588). Although the exchange rate appears worse, you can keep your pounds on deposit in the UK at 4.75% for a year whereas if you had transferred them to Europe immediately you would only receive 2% interest (or less). If you factor back in the extra interest you would be receiving in the UK, you are still converting at an effective rate of 1.50.
2) If you were buying in France, had signed the Compromis at the end of June 2005 and were due to pay the notaire a month later, you could have fixed a rate with World First for the end of July at 1.4950. Although the rate could have gone up from here and you would still have converted at 1.4950, you would have been protected from the rate falling. In fact by the end of July 2005, the rate had fallen to 1.4350. On a EUR295,000 property the forward contract would have meant you paid GBP197,324.41. If you had waited and converted at the end of July, you would have paid GBP206,293.71 - almost GBP9,000 more!

The expat and the copycat

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:38:00 +0000

In a story which sounds as though it could have been a forgotten script for an episode of "One Foot in the Grave", an expat returning to Cyprus was shocked to find that the cat he had brought with him from London had undergone something of a transformation during the flight. The Cyprus Mail reports:

The man had gone to London on holiday and took his (live) cat with him. There, however, the cat fell ill and died, and the man wanted to bring it back to Cyprus to bury it in his garden.

As it later emerged, when the cage with the dead cat reached the Paphos airport, an employee saw the dead cat and immediately alerted his colleagues, wondering what they should do in case they were blamed for the incident.

They decided to take a stray cat from outside the airport that resembled the dead cat in colour and face. After a feline chase in the grounds of the airport and after some intense washing and grooming, they put the collar of the dead cat on the copy cat, put it in the cage and sent the cage out for the owner to receive it.

Always nice to finish the week with a Friday funny!

Take care everyone - have a great weekend.

Forums, moderators and a growing community

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:41:00 +0000

Anyone browsing through the country specific forums over the past few days may have noticed the following post:

Expat Focus is looking for more volunteers to act as moderators and help build our online community. If you have some experience of expat life (you don't need to be an expert) and would like to help others then we'd love to hear from you.

The main role of a moderator at Expat Focus is to make new members feel welcome, encourage discussion and ensure our acceptable use policy is adhered to.

All our moderators have different reasons for volunteering their valuable time but the one thing they have in common is a desire to build a friendly, welcoming community where members are able support each other through the often difficult process of moving to and living in a foreign country.

I'm very happy to say there has already been a great response to the above with new moderators coming on board for a number of forums. However, there are still forums which are fairly quiet at the moment and which could benefit from the knowledge and experience of some kind-hearted souls!

If you think helping to build our forum community is something you might like to get involved in please get in touch for more details.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all our existing moderators who volunteer so much of their time and energy and have helped innumerable expats over the years. Moving abroad can be a very difficult time for many people - you make it a whole lot easier...

Site stats

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:07:00 +0000

One of the things I forget to do for long periods (the last time I did it was about six months ago!) is to update the stats page to show how many people are visiting Expat Focus. The figures for last month break down like this:

Unique visitors 124813
Number of visits 181080
Pages 573353

The full list of stats for each month since January 2004 can be viewed here. Although we do a little bit in the way of advertising and many pages have been picked up by Google, I'm convinced that a lot of the site's continued growth is due to word of mouth. Many of those who sign up for new accounts tell me that Expat Focus was recommended by a friend or colleague.

So, a big thank you is due to all those who have helped the site grow and I hope it continues to be a source worthy of recommendation. Like the old saying goes, if you're happy with it - tell someone else. If you're not - tell us!

Are you a lurker?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:02:00 +0000

Don't worry - it's not illegal :-)

Lurkers are people who regularly visit a forum but for some reason don't post. Every forum has them (apart from the odd ones which actually require you to post as a condition of membership) and, of course, there's nothing wrong with lurking!

However, as this is the year where we're focusing on the community aspects of Expat Focus we'd like to know what we can do to encourage those who want to post but for some reason decide not to. Do you think it's not worth posting because you won't get a reply? Are you worried about asking a question which seems too "obvious"? Perhaps you're concerned about registering an account because you think your details will be passed to a third party? Are you unhappy with the way the forums are moderated? Are people in the forums welcoming enough to new members? Are they knowledgeable?

Whatever the case please let us know what you think - all comments will be read and all are very welcome. Thank you!

Integrity - the first casualty of a move abroad?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:26:00 +0000

Over the past few weeks I've received a couple of email from friends on one particular issue, and in today's Telegraph there's an excellent article which touches on the same subject - integrity (or more accurately, the lack of it in some "foreign" countries). Basically, the suggestion is that in many places thoughout the world the sense of fair play, the sense of doing what is right regardless of the personal consequences, is almost unheard of. Instead, locals are more likely to act solely in their own interests, even breaking the law on occasion, and any sense of wider responsibility is ignored. Even worse, this particular type of selfishness is admired and aspired to - often being labeled as "cunning", something which only the smartest minds possess.

I wonder how much truth there is in all this. Are some societies really so different from our own? Is it a matter of perception - do we immediately assume that places which initially seem so alien are also corrupt in some way? Do we tend to forget the problems back home and only remember how secure we felt within a familiar system? Or, is integrity and a sense of community indeed something which differs from one country to the next?

I suspect there are no easy answers, but comments are very welcome!

Share your knowledge and expat experience!

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:28:00 +0000

Family Matters survey

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:40:00 +0000

Robin Pascoe of ExpatExpert.com has asked me to let everyone know about a survey she's carrying out called "Family Matters". Here's some info from Robin's site:

In honour of the 10th anniversary of ExpatExpert.com being on the Internet and available to moveable families; and, in recognition of the five years of support from the Canadian moving company AMJ Campbell International, we decided it was time to hear what moveable families feel about the kind of relocation support they are receiving, whether they are moving around the world or around the corner.

Our mission is to find answers to this question: Are you getting the relocation support you need in order to succeed as a moveable family?

There are numerous relocation surveys that examine the challenges of relocation in order to help companies and sponsoring organizations to better develop relocation policies. But, with very few exceptions, they neglect to go straight to the source—the family—for input.

Family Matters! will fill this gap by sampling only the accompanying spouse, the working partner in his/her capacity as spouse or parent, and any high school children in the family. The entire family can do this survey with lots of room provided to give us your opinions. As we are only offering one survey (instead of multiple surveys depending on where you fit in the family) do keep in mind that some questions may not apply to you. Just skip them.

In recognition of your contribution to this important exercise, after we have collected all the responses, we will be making a donation of $2.00 CDN for each survey to a very well-respected Canadian organization which helps families in Africa called The Stephen Lewis Foundation

It sounds like a very worthwhile exercise and I look forward to reading the results. For further details, and to complete the survey itself, please head over to the survey page at Robin's site!

Who would you like to see interviewed?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:20:00 +0000

Something I'd like to do this year is to start interviewing people with something interesting or useful to say about life as an expat. That could mean expats themselves, relocation professionals or indeed anyone else with a view on the trials and tribulations of moving abroad. I've already started to contact a few industry experts but if you'd like to suggest someone please don't hesitate to get in touch! The interviews would be carried out by email and I'd estimate would take about half an hour to complete.

I look forward to hearing some suggestions and publishing some thought provoking responses both at the Expat Focus website and in our monthly newsletter.

The expat life - trouble and strife?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:10:00 +0000

There's an excellent article in last week's Wall Street Journal titled "The Marital Strain of a Life Abroad". It does a great job of highlighting the potential positive effect of a move abroad on a relationship:

A move abroad can strengthen a marriage if both partners are on the same page. We are about to celebrate our fifteenth anniversary during our third year in China. I believe that coming here shook us out of our routine, precluding any hint of the boredom that can infect any long-term relationship. Becoming expats has provided us an opportunity to share a long-running, intense, life-changing experience.

but also discusses the potential pitfalls:

Of course, the same forces can crack a fragile union, and many marriages hit the rocks on foreign assignments. It can be a time of great stress, major dislocation and morphing marital roles. Couples confront these issues while dealing with new resentments that can surface if both partners aren't equally enthusiastic about their new life. They often must do so while living in cultures that seem to have a more benign attitude towards adultery than we generally do in America. If there are cracks in a relationship, the foundation can crumble under these new pressures.

In amongst the time we spend preparing for a move overseas (sorting out visas, shipping our belongings, vaccinating the cat etc.) few people have the time left to look inwards at themselves and their relationships. However, whether we're the breadwinner taking up a new job, a trailing spouse or one half of a retired couple it makes good sense to think seriously about how the stress of moving is likely to impact on our relationship. Like all forms of forward planning when moving overseas, the ability to identify challenges ahead gives us time to formulate our best response. In this case it could mean the difference between building a future together or drifting irreversibly apart.

How did becoming an expat affect your relationship? Are you concerned about the stresses of moving abroad? Please feel free to comment!

The At Home Abroad (AHA) generation

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:14:00 +0000

More details have emerged of the NatWest-commissioned report discussed in the previous blog post. 37 per cent of the expats surveyed said that the main reason behind moving abroad was the search for a better quality of life, 26 percent were looking for a better standard of living (to be honest I'm not really sure how that differs from "quality of life"!) and 20 percent were motivated by concerns about the cost of living.

Whatever the reason, it looks as though the vast majority were happy to have left the UK. 87 per cent said their expectations had been surpassed, while 91 per claimed to be happier than when living in the UK. Surprisingly (to me, at least) 63 per cent felt more at home when abroad and have no plans to return.

The survey also included a term I hadn't heard before - the "At Home Abroad (AHA) generation". I wonder what that really means though - have these expats created British ghettos in their adopted countries or have they settled in to their new homes and "gone native"? I suspect the truth is a little of both in most cases!

Would you be cut out for the expat life?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:40:00 +0000

Would you be cut out for the expat life? That's the question asked in a news article posted this morning on the BBC news website. According to the responses the reporter received - from Brits living in Spain - most expats have found their move abroad suits them very nicely. This comes hot on the heels of a survey carried out by the Centre of Future Studies for NatWest international personal banking which suggests that more than nine out of 10 British expats think they have a better quality of life now than they did in the UK. Canada came out as the top country to emigrate to, followed by New Zealand and Portugal. Further details of the survey's results can be found here - see what you think!

2008: A Year of Community at Expat Focus

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:12:00 +0000

Last year most of the effort behind the scenes at Expat Focus was directed towards extending and improving the information we have available for expats considering moving to a wide range of countries (currently there are 57 country guides available for free browsing). This year, although continuing to improve on our information, we will also be turning our focus to our other core objective, namely developing community.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, essentially the idea is to help expats help each other by bringing them together either online (for example in forums or email discussion groups) or in the real world. Existing members will already be aware of the Expat Focus forums and email group but our aim is wider than that, we also want to let expats know about the many groups out there where expatriates get together for a drink, a bite to eat, a sporting activity, a social occasion etc.

With this in mind each country guide now has its own "Expat Groups" page where these clubs or societies can be listed. If you're a member of such an organisation (no matter what size) please consider adding the group's details to the relevant page by clicking here. For an example of the kind of groups we're talking about take a look at the page for Holland: http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-netherlands-holland-groups

Back next time with more on expat community issues!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 14:49:00 +0000

A very happy New Year to all readers and all the best for 2008!

I'm looking forward to getting back in the saddle this month after the usual craziness of December. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves...see you soon in the forums!

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:43:00 +0000

A very merry Christmas to all!

Hope you have a great time over the festive period.

Drive carefully, stay safe and see you after Boxing Day...

Learning Dutch and how to survive it

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:07:00 +0000

In the "guest blogger" spot today is Liz Cross of Crossover Translations. Although focused on learning Dutch, I'm sure her post will be of interest to anyone learning (or struggling to learn) a foreign language anywhere. Over to you, Liz...

Approximately 20 years ago, I was sitting on the Harwich-Hoek van Holland boat with two friends and a peculiar little guide book. We were taking turns to recite “Spher-ayhkt OO ng-gels ass-too-bleeeeft?” and other natty phases to each other. After a while, we began wondering if we were doing the right thing going to live in a country where people use words like ass-too-bleeeft, even if we were only planning to stay for a few months. Frustrated and slightly unnerved, we gave up and went to watch Robocop in the ship’s cinema instead.

I think that initial optimism followed by shock and awe is a common first reaction to learning Dutch. Ok – unlike me and my friends, not everyone is stupid enough to set off for a new country, thinking they can pick up enough of the language on the cross channel ferry to have a cosy chat when they arrive. The trouble with Dutch is that it is unlikely that you will have heard it anywhere else before you arrive here as it has a pretty small language area. Even if , unlike us, you are smart enough to listen to language CDs beforehand, this is no substitute for the real thing. Despite similarities to German and shared words with English, Dutch really is in a class of its own. The other, much-repeated problem is that most Dutch people speak such good English that you feel like an idiot for even trying and you feel like more of an idiot when they answer your stumbling attempts to speak their language with a smooth reply in near-perfect English and what often looks like a badly-concealed smirk on their faces.

People have different ways of reacting to this troubling situation and I’ve identified 3 distinct types: the integrator, the ostrich and the chameleon. The integrator gets down to work immediately. There are two ways in which to be an integrator – the sensible way and the silly way. The sensible way, of course, is to prepare yourself beforehand (those language CDs again) and get yourself into a good language course as soon as possible. Obviously, I went for the silly way. I wrote myself in for a bucket-price language course, got bored by the snail-like pace, dropped out and ended up learning Dutch from the other people in my living group. Everyone spoke Dutch to me all the time and when I finally got up the nerve to speak, each mistake was corrected mercilessly. After a few months, I spoke a sort of Dutch, so why is this the silly way? I could just as easily call it “the immersion in a tank of icy-cold water method”, or “the Sadomasochistic approach”. It was silly because I got pretty lonely sitting there for months, mutely trying to figure out what everyone else was saying. Moving to a new country is supposed to be fun, at least some of the time. Also, when I went back to doing language courses, I realised that my home-spun method had left me with several ingrained bad habits that took a long time to eradicate.

The ostrich takes the completely opposite approach, the “if I hang out with other ex-pats, watch enough BBC and refuse to learn a word of Dutch, then Holland is just a flatter version of home” approach. A few years ago, I had a curious conversation with a woman who runs a successful business in Amsterdam while having the ostrich approach down to a tee. She explained that she had chosen not to learn Dutch because it gave her ‘a better quality of life’. I can’t agree with her, but I suppose she had a point of sorts. Dutch is a difficult language to learn and you are unlikely to use it ever again after you leave the Netherlands. What’s more, everyone knows at least one English speaker who has lived and worked here for years without learning as much as a dank je wel. Maybe sticking to their native language acts as a comfort blanket for ostriches, giving them a feeling of security and control that would disintegrate if they had to negotiate everyday life in a ‘foreign’ language. Or then again, maybe they are just plain idle.

Then there’s the chameleons. This group mainly consists of people who have moved here to be with partners or family. Not under pressure to find work immediately and with a ready-made network in place, they have time to take lessons and practise their pronunciation, gradually blending in to their new environment. This is definitely the most pain-free way of learning Dutch and you can still use it, even if you come to the Netherlands on your own. Follow classes, allow yourself to acclimatize while listening to as much Dutch as possible and when you feel ready, start speaking to friends and colleagues who are less likely to answer you back in English. And above all, enjoy your stay in the Netherlands.

--

Crossover Translations is run by Liz Cross, a native speaker of English with over 10 years of experience in translating and editing texts from Dutch into English. Liz has also worked as an interpreter since 2004.

Overcoming the challenges facing accompanying spouses

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:04:00 +0000

Here's a great article Val Boyko wrote a few years ago. Interesting food for thought...

The Challenge

As part of my research into 'global solutions for international assignments' at the Families in Global Transition conference in 2004, I found the 3 biggest challenges that accompanying expat partners expressed in our interviews were:

1. Feeling unrecognized and unsupported.
2. Having expectations that aren't met because of inaccurate or irrelevant information.
3. Feeling isolated.

Imagine how much harder it is for an accompanying spouse who thinks they will be able to work, and then finds out it is practically impossible; or a partner who assumes that internet access is readily available to maintain their home business, but it takes 6 months to get connected; or someone who moves to a new country to be with the person they love and wonders what happened to their real life after the honeymoon is over; or a newcomer who does not have an expat community around them AND can't speak the language.

These are every day occurrences around the world!

The Solution

Everyone working together to understand and acknowledge the needs of partners and families; becoming informed and setting accurate expectations in order to make the best choices; offering support and help to build a community.

This is so simple - yet not so easy in practice. It takes a global team effort!

Val's Tips for Overcoming the Challenges Facing Accompanying Spouses

1. Employees or partners:

Find out about the issues that accompanying spouses face and recognize their new role. Your job may be exciting and a great opportunity, but not at the expense of your family falling apart. Be there for them, especially in the first crucial weeks.

2. Existing expats:

You may have forgotten what your own expatriation was like. Take a few minutes just now to recall your experience. Ask yourself what made a difference to you, or what you would have REALLY appreciated, then do the same for at least 3 new expats. If we all reached out, think of the impact around the world - WOW!

3. HR and support people:

Appreciate that the successful adjustment of the family is the number one factor for assignment success AND it takes time - it's more than arranging the move and handling procedures. Look into your heart in the midst of the red tape, pressure and delays, and reach out as you would want for yourself in the same position. Think of how to keep in touch with the family - not just the employee. Is there a way to introduce expats to each other? Offer additional support such as career and life coaching in the first year - even when it may not be your responsibility. This is a powerful and cost effective way to contribute to the overall success of the assignment.

4. New expats:

Educate yourself - there is so much information on the web, don't rely on others to give you what you may need, start exploring possibilities before you go. Make contact with people in the new country through groups and message boards. Don't assume it will be similar to your impressions - IT WON'T BE! Be curious and pro-active - it's great practice for when you get there too! Ask for help from those around you. Leave that stiff upper lip and pride behind and let others know what you need and want. It's more than okay - it can be a life saver and the start of true friendships and a great new life!

And finally...consider hiring your own coach to give a jumpstart to your overseas success!

Val Boyko is a Scot and an American, cross cultural consultant, facilitator and professional coach. In 1991 she gave up her management career to move to the Philadelphia area as a "trailing" spouse. As a consultant and coach, she has trained and supported hundreds of families moving around the world. She is a graduate of Coach University, a member of the Society of Intercultural Education Training And Research, and the International Coach Federation.

Congratulations to our award winning foreign exchange partner

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:09:00 +0000

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate our foreign exchange partner on winning a significant award for entrepreneurs. For those who aren't familiar with the company here's some background:

World First, which employs 35 people, was founded in 2004. The company deals with private clients and businesses. They help private clients with foreign exchange transactions such as transferring money to buy property abroad, often saving them thousands of pounds. They are in direct competition with the major UK banks, and offer services, such as forward contracts, that banks do not tend to offer individuals or SMEs. The company has two offices, one in London and one in New Zealand.

and here's some information about the award:

Nick Robinson and Jonathan Quin, founders of Currency Exchange company, World First, have won an award for the UK's best young entrepreneurs.

The 'Young Guns Award', run by Growing Business Magazine, looks for young entrepreneurs who will become the business leaders of tomorrow. Past winners include James Murray-Well of Glassesdirect.co.uk and Richard Reed of Innocent Drinks.

The award looks for Directors under 35, who demonstrate 'high quality, innovation, uniqueness' and who are 'running companies that are attracting major investment, heading towards a flotation or just very profitable in their own right.'

"Each year we're quite simply astonished by the level of entrepreneurial talent out there. We shouldn't be, of course, as these youthful dynamos are driving the UK economy and will be the business minds behind many of the country's most recognisable brands for years to come," said Ian Wallis, editor of Growing Business magazine.

Over the years that World First has been our official foreign exchange partner the feedback I've received from our members who have used their services has been 100% positive and it came as no surprise to me that they were the recipients of this award.

Congratulations to both Nick and Jonathan and thank you on behalf of our many satisfied members!

Share your expat experience with Expat Focus!

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:54:00 +0000

Expat Focus is a website for expats, by expats. If you're someone who has already made the move abroad you will almost certainly have information of use to others - why not share it? You don't need to be a great writer (we can tidy things up), all you need is the willingness to help others by sharing your experiences.

Beyond the warm feeling you'll get from helping others, what else is in it for you? Here are some possibilities:

- Make new friends or contacts. Thousands of people visit Expat Focus every day and anything you write will be available to them all as soon as it's published. If you want others to get in touch with you just ask us to include your contact details in your article.

- Feel that you're doing something useful with your spare time. If you're a trailing spouse, for example, with a lot of time on your hands don't let your valuable experience go to waste.

- Articles can be published not only at the Expat Focus website but also in our newsletter which goes out to over 6,000 subscribers every month.

- There's a certain satisfaction to be gained from preventing others from making the same mistakes you made when you moved to your new country. Equally, have you found a great tip to help others through the endless maze of paperwork you were required to complete? Pass it on!

- Impress people at dinner parties by telling them you write for a popular expat portal. OK, you might not impress them, but you can tell them anyway :-)

If the above sounds good, how do you get started? Simple - think about what you've learnt from your own experiences. It might be something applicable to all expats or maybe just something of use to those heading to your own country, city, town etc. It really doesn't matter, if it's something you think might help someone else and you're able to write at least 500 words about it then we're interested in publishing it at Expat Focus.

Don't think that just because no one else has written about a certain topic before, or you don't see an appropriate section for it already here, that we're not interested in what you want to write about. Remember, if it's something you would have found useful to know, someone else will too.

If you're not comfortable sending us a complete article straight away because you don't think your writing is good enough why not send in a short sample first? It can be anything - something you've written in the past perhaps on another subject or just a couple of paragraphs you've put together to see how it looks. Don't worry too much about making it perfect, although we do appreciate it if you can run it through a spell checker first!

If you'd like to contribute an article, or even start writing regularly for Expat Focus, please contact Jo James via our contact form.

Jo's a lovely woman and she'll be delighted to hear from you, we promise!

Top 20 tips for moving abroad

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:43:00 +0000

BE SURE - Moving can be extremely stressful, be as certain as you can be that it's the right move for you before you go. If possible visit the country before you make up your mind, don't rely on other people's impressions. Ask yourself if the new culture will really suit you (and your family).

BE PREPARED - ...For anything and everything to go wrong. Don't assume that you'll be able to find the perfect job or house immediately. If possible make sure you've got enough money to see you through the first couple of months at the very least (preferably longer). And to do that you'll need to...

BUDGET - As unglamorous as it sounds, good budgeting could be what makes the difference between a successful relocation and a disaster. Before you go, work out what everything is going to cost during those crucial first months when you're trying to find your feet in a foreign land.

DON'T DELAY - Start preparing as early as possible, just getting all the necessary paperwork in order can take a long time. Make a checklist of everything you need to do!

CHECK YOUR BENEFITS - If your company has initiated your move you may be eligible for relocation benefits. Make sure you ask if they haven't told you already!

HEALTH - Make sure that the country you are moving to has adequate healthcare facilities and infrastructure to support you (and your family), especially if you suffer from a medical condition which requires treatment or medication.

YOUR HOME - Think about what you want to do with your current home (e.g. sell it, lease it, leave it empty) and what kind of accommodation will be most suitable in your new country. If you don't know anyone in the new country who can help find accommodation, consider the services of a relocation agent.

EMPLOYMENT - Will you be looking for work in your new country? If so, consider starting your job hunt before you go (use the Internet!) Will you be able to use your existing qualifications or will a period of retraining be necessary? If you're moving somewhere where they don't speak the same language as you then you should...

LEARN THE LANGUAGE - Few skills will have such a positive impact on your relocation experience as being able to speak, or at least understand, the local language. Getting to grips with the local lingo before you go is a great idea!

PAPERWORK - No matter how insignificant that old document at the back of the bottom drawer may seem now, take it with you, the chances are at some stage you'll have to show it to someone. Moving countries can be a bureaucratic nightmare at the best of times but if you come prepared with the necessary paperwork you stand the best chance of a stress free relocation. Things to think about include birth certificates, wedding certificates, educational certificates, medical certificates (including those for your pets!), etc.

FRIENDS & FAMILY - Don't forget to inform everyone of your new address and when you're going (unless you don't want them to find you, of course ;-) Seriously though, saying goodbye to friends and family can be the hardest thing about leaving, be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster ride as the day of departure draws near.

YOUR BELONGINGS - Will you be taking everything with you or leaving some items in storage (or even getting rid of them completely)? How will you move your belongings? Can you transport them yourself or do you need the services of a moving company? Set aside those things you need to take with you in person so they don't get packed accidentally (passports, tickets, etc.)

INSURANCE - Once you've decided what you're taking with you, insure it. If you haven't already arranged appropriate insurance (health/life/travel, etc.) for yourself and your family as well...DO SO!

BANKING - You may need to open a new bank account in your new country - look for information on the one which suits you best. Do you need to close your current bank account? At the very least you'll need to tell your current bank that you're moving.

CREDIT CARDS - Credit card companies need to be informed you're moving. Also, will the credit cards you're taking with you be widely accepted?

DRIVING - Depending on where you're going and how long you're going to be there you may need to apply for a new driving license or even take a driving test. Will you take your car with you or buy/rent/lease one when you get to your destination country?

UTILITIES etc - Gas, electricity, cable companies and so on will need to be informed of your departure and contracts terminated where appropriate. Make arrangements for final meter readings and bill payments.

POST REDIRECTION - Having your mail redirected after you leave can prevent you from missing something important.

ELECTRIC DEVICES AND MOBILE PHONES - Check whether or not your TV, video, hair dryer, alarm clock etc will work in the new country. You may need to take out a new network subscription for a mobile phone (or buy a new one with a subscription) - watch out for roaming charges with your current phone if you use it.

EMAIL - If moving means you can't keep your current email address, consider a free web based email account you can access from anywhere.

And finally, a couple of important tips for when you get to your new country...

MAKE FRIENDS - Whether locals or fellow expats, nothing will help you more than being able to rely on the assistance of your friends when you need it. Don't think that socialising is time wasted, it's what makes a new country feel like home.

DON'T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF - Moving to a new country is difficult. Even when everything goes according to plan it's still difficult. There will be times when you're physically and emotionally exhausted but try not to let things get on top of you. Don't be shy about posting a message to our forums to ask for help or support, we've all been there before.