by Steven McManus~ it's more expensive to be an expat ~
Cities in Africa and Asia have become more expensive for expatriates relative to cities in the US, says a cost of living comparison of 228 global cities. The global cost of living comparison conducted by Xpatulator.com shows London is the most expensive global location for expatriates, while 3 of the top 5 most expensive cities are in Asia, with Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 5th respectively in terms of overall cost of living. In terms of overall cost of living, New York is now the 28th most expensive global city and the 61st in terms of groceries. New York has dropped primarily due to the weakness of the US Dollar as well as the economic slowdown which appears to have slowed the increase in prices relative to other global cities. The cost of living comparison prices goods and services that expatriates spend their salaries on, and reports indexes for 13 different basket groups using New York (100) as the base.
Overall Cost of Living Comparison – Top 10 The 10 most expensive global cities for expatriates to live, based on overall cost of living (Index is in brackets) as at March 2008 are:
1. London, United Kingdom (126.63)2. Tokyo, Japan (121.88)3. Seoul, Republic of Korea (119.54)4. Oslo, Norway (115.39)5. Hong Kong, China (113.00)6. Copenhagen, Denmark (112.63)7. Moscow, Russia (110.35)8. Geneva, Switzerland (110.06)9. Hamilton, Bermuda (109.63)10.Luanda, Angola (108.51)This means that overall goods or services that cost USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of USD$126.63 in London, and USD$108.51 in Luanda. Overall Cost of Living Comparison – Bottom 10 The bottom 10 (least expensive) cities for expatriates to live, based on overall cost of living (Index is in brackets) as at March 2008 are:
1. Harare, Zimbabwe (16.44)2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia (44.89)3. Sanaa, Yemen (44.95)4. Dushanbe, Tajikistan (51.24)5. Tripoli, Libya (53.22)6. Quito, Ecuador (53.23)7. Buenos Aires, Argentina (53.25)8. La Paz, Bolivia (53.54)9. Asmara, Eritrea (54.49)10.Tashkent, Uzbekistan (56.06)This means that overall, goods or services that cost USD$100 in New York, cost the equivalent of just USD$16.44 in Harare, and USD$53.54 in La Paz. The cost of living varies from one location to another and by type of expense, mainly due to local supply and demand variations in each location. In some cities, groceries are more costly while accommodation is relatively less costly and vice versa. In terms of groceries Seoul is the most expensive. Africa however has 6 of the 10 most expensive cities, Brazzaville, Accra, Lagos, Abidjan, Kinshasa, and Luanda.Grocery Cost of Living Comparison – Top 10 The top 10 (most expensive) global cities for expatriates to live using the price of groceries as at March 2008 are as follows:
1. Seoul, Republic of Korea2. Brazzaville, Congo3. Ashgabat Turkmenistan4. Accra, Ghana5. Lagos, Nigeria6. Copenhagen, Denmark7. Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire8. Kinshasa Congo Democratic Rep9. Luanda, Angola10.Oslo, NorwayThis analysis shows that when establishing a salary for a global assignment it is essential that the items the expatriate will actually spend their salary on be included in the cost of living calculation. Similarly the items that are provided for the expatriate should be excluded from the cost of living calculation. If the incorrect items are included or excluded, large variations in the calculation of cost of living are likely. As an example London is ranked as the most expensive global location in terms of overall cost of living, but is only ranked 26th most expensive location for groceries. Cities in Africa and Asia are becoming relatively more expensive than other global cities, in terms of cost of living for expatriates; organisations need to factor this into expatriate pay calculations for global assignments. The rank of all 228 global cities, in terms of overall cost of living, is on the website at http://www.xpatulator.com/main/locations/ About the Author: Steven McManus has been an Information and Reward Consultant to over 100 organisations for over a decade. Steven runs the most comprehensive global relocation calculator available, an internet service that is used primarily to calculate expatriate salary levels for global assignments, which can be found at http://www.xpatulator.com . This site includes free location overviews, cost of living, and hardship rankings for 228 global cities.
by Rebecca Wells
If you’re an accompanying partner/spouse who is planning to move abroad or who has already taken the plunge you’ll be experiencing some unique feelings and challenges. Having moved myself from London to Sydney as an accompanying spouse I can fully appreciate the nervousness, frustration and anxiety you might be experiencing and would like to share some ideas to help you settle, adapt and start to enjoy your new life abroad more quickly.
1. Overcoming pre-departure nerves
If you’re moving abroad because your partner’s been transferred with work it might mean your own life and career will have to be put on hold momentarily. This is a fairly unnerving experience as you start to think about what your life abroad will be like for you personally. Perhaps you’re moving with children and you’re concerned about how it may affect them. You might be worried about leaving family behind and in some cases they might be unhappy, or even hostile, about your decision to emigrate. Tip: Focus on your positive reasons for moving, reassure family you’re not moving to the Moon(!) and can be contacted at any time, do as much research as you can before you leave and set realistic expectations of what you’ll practically be able to do straight away. Although you may be keen to get a job as soon as possible, it may be necessary for you to sort out a property, furniture, schools etc first! If you plan and prepare as much as possible before you leave, it will definitely help you settle more quickly after you’ve arrived.
2. Conquering feelings of loneliness and homesickness
These feelings affect some people more than others, at different stages and in varying intensities. If you’ve moved as an accompanying partner, and your spouse started working as soon as you arrived, loneliness can be an even more powerful and sometimes crippling sensation.You might experience the feeling of being ‘left behind’ or think you’ve ‘lost control’. You may see your partner making friends through work whilst you’re still struggling to adapt to your new environment. Tip: Accept that this is normal, communicate how you feel to your partner and keep in regular touch with home. It’s all about getting into routines again and being proactive about creating the life you want. I’d also recommend you don’t have a regular day/time when you call your folks back home just in case you can’t make it one week, they panic and call the missing persons bureau or the police!
3. Boosting your confidence
When you move abroad, you might find that things you were really confident doing back home are suddenly really hard to face. Just the thought of going out and meeting new people can be extremely daunting. It’s important to remind yourself that you've done these things before and can consequently do them again.Tip: On the day you’ve arranged to meet new people let the adrenaline that builds up push you towards the fear rather than away from it. Being pushed out of your comfort zone can make you feel a little sick but it’s actually a good thing; it means you’re growing and experiencing new things, which was probably one of your reasons for moving abroad in the first place! If the worst comes to the worst you can always make an excuse to leave early - but nine times out of ten you’ll probably have a great night out, so be brave and go for it!
4. Coming to terms with being financially dependent
Lots of people who move overseas as accompanying partners find themselves being, at least initially, financially dependent on their spouses. This can be really frustrating and make you feel uncomfortable. Tip: The best way to deal with it is to accept it and remind yourself of the positive reasons you both decided on this arrangement to start with. If you still really don’t enjoy it, decide to do something about it before it starts to make you really unhappy.
5. Starting a new career
Lots of accompanying partners find job hunting frustrating and get despondent because they can’t find a job (a) at the right level/salary (b) in the right industry (c) that offers flexible hours or (d) fast enough!
Tip: Stay patient and focused on what you want. Most overseas job markets are favourable towards skilled UK immigrants and there are plenty of recruitment agencies that will be interested in talking with you before you have left the UK.
Just be aware that some newcomers find adjusting to work cultures overseas more difficult than they had expected and it may take a while for you to ‘fit in’ at work.
6. Communicating your concerns to your partner
Sometimes to protect our partners, we are economical with the truth with regards to the extent of how a situation is making us feel. When moving abroad, it’s common to feel unnerved by the fact that familiar tasks and situations suddenly change: your routines, career, family life and financial situation all take a bit of a bashing. Even the simplest of things can become extremely frustrating. Tip: Acknowledge that feeling this way is perfectly normal but also understand that you’re not on your own. If you are finding it tough adjusting to your new life abroad, make sure you discuss it with your partner. Research has shown repeatedly that an accompanying partner’s happiness and ability to adapt effectively has a massive impact on whether or not the expatriation is successful and of a long duration.7. Lastly - set some objectivesBe intentional about how you lead your new life abroad so that it doesn’t just pass you by.
Tip: If it helps you, get some extra support and encouragement from a coach to plan some objectives and tangible actions to help you have the life abroad you’ve always wanted!
I hope you found this article helpful and welcome any views or comments you might have! Good luck!
Rebecca Wells is a life coach, based in Sydney, who specialises in helping expatriates worldwide settle in their host countries more quickly and be proactive about leading the fulfilling and successful lives they want long term.
By Donald Saunders
Sitting at home and gazing out across your windswept and rain soaked garden it is easy to picture yourself enjoying a new life in a new country, but just how does this picture in your mind’s eye live up to the reality once you have moved overseas? Well, this is not perhaps as easy a question to answer as you might imagine.
Probably the most significant problem is that there are so many variables to think about and so many factors which are quite simply not known at the beginning. It is very easy, for example, to believe that the fact that you do not speak the language is unimportant as, in the short term at least, you may well be able to get by in your mother tongue and can always pick up the language in the longer term. Just how easy is it however to learn a language and just how easy is it to pick up the language of your chosen country?
You may also be looking forward to all that exotic food, but just how is a perhaps substantial change in your diet going to affect your health? You 
may very well have experienced some wonderful restaurant food on holiday trips but is this really the type of food you will be eating every day when you are cooking for yourself?
The problems are of course relatively minor when it comes to comparing them to trying to adjust mentally to living in what is not only a different country, but possibly a very different culture. Those things which you have considered both curious and fascinating during holiday trips could well present you with considerable problems when they become part and parcel of your daily life.
Most countries with a sizeable expatriate community develop a large support network, which often includes an expat club which holds regular meetings, organizes events and outings, distributes its own newspaper and considerably more. At first sight this may seem very comforting but it is worth considering why the expats in the region have found it necessary to create such an extensive support network. Indeed, when you see the extent to which the lives of many expats revolve around the expat community you may well find yourself asking why they chose to live overseas in the first place.
In fact many expats find that, once the novelty wears off, they regret their decision but have frequently burnt their bridges and now find themselves with no alternative other than to stay where they are and to make the best of their situation.
Of course this is not the case with all expats and, as an expat myself, I can tell you that there are also many of us who are extremely happy with our decision to move overseas and would not wish to turn the clock back. For many hundreds of people each year the decision to live abroad is the best decision they have ever made and one which they assuredly do not regret. By how can you tell which group you are likely to join before you take your decision?
Regretably, you can never be certain, although there are some things which you can do to increase the chances of your decision being one which you are glad you made.
The most important thing that you can do is to test the water so to speak and this means effectively living in your chosen country for a fair period of time before you cut your ties with home. But the critical word here is ‘living’.
It is no good just visiting your chosen country from time to time on holiday, staying in hotels and dining out in restaurants. Ideally you need to spend at least a year in the country and to throw off any thoughts of being on holiday. You have got to make a conscious effort to live as you would want to live in the longer term, staying away from tourist areas and activities and becoming part of the local community. Live just like a local, doing your own cooking and taking the time to learn something of the local history, lifestyle and culture, as well as making the effort to learn the language.
By steering clear of the expatriate community and integrating yourself into the local community from the very outset you will rapidly find out whether or not you would be making a wise decision to move overseas permanently.
