| Living
and Working Abroad |
| By Rhiannon
Williamson |
| April
2006
The decision
to become an expatriate, to pack your bags and leave your home country
is an enormous and very far reaching one ... but a recent BBC report revealed
just how popular a decision living and working abroad has become, particularly
for UK residents.
The report
claimed that up to 500 British residents a day are leaving the UK with
the intention of spending at least a prolonged period living abroad, and
that a large percentage of those who move abroad do so before retirement
and with the intention of seeking employment overseas. There are
three main areas of consideration worthy of your attention if you too are
planning on living and working abroad and this article details them for
you. |
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Area 1
- Which overseas country fulfils all of your lifestyle requirements best?
Begin by considering
your reasons for moving abroad in the first place - if your decision is
being driven by costs of living or climate requirements for example, certain
countries will immediately rule themselves in and out of your list of perfect
destinations.
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If you want to
enjoy a very different culture or way of life think about the practicalities
of life in countries that have very different value systems or ways of
life to your own and how well you will actually adapt to life in such a
country.
Do you speak
any foreign languages - if yes think about the countries where those |
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| languages
are spoken because it’s a fact that if you move to a country where they
speak a language other than your own only those who make an effort to learn
the language find it easy to settle down to life quickly? Are you moving
abroad by yourself? If yes, know that it can be a very lonely experience
initially and mentally prepare yourself for this and/or consider a destination
where you can easily travel home from and where it is easy for your friends
and family to visit. If you’re travelling with family you will maybe
have to consider the health care and education facilities abroad and choose
countries that have standards high enough to meet your criteria. Think
about the cost of living overseas - where can you afford to live, where
would you like to live - do the two marry up? Also remember that
countries where the cost of living is low and the local economy is poor
will not usually be able to offer high paying employment opportunities
and that if you want to live in the local economy you may have to live
off the local economy and you will actually price yourself into the local
market and your purchasing power will be reduced. |
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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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| The cost of
anything is relative to the amount you earn after all!
Area 2 -
Which overseas country offers you the most appropriate or best employment
opportunities?
Do you have
a specific skill or vocation, for example are you a doctor, lawyer, hairdresser
or electrician? Do your skills and qualifications translate in every
single overseas country and are your skills required in some countries
but not in others? How easy will you find it to get the employment
abroad that you have trained for? Will language be a barrier to your
skills if so do you need to learn a foreign language or move to an English
speaking country?
Alternatively
if your skills are transferable around the world what would you like to
do and in which countries can you work in a profession or job that suits
you? Think again about the local economy of any country you are
considering and find out how much your skill will earn you - will that
be enough to live on - will that be enough to allow you to afford to travel
home one day? Many people move overseas and price themselves out
of their old economy and cannot then afford to move back home. |
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| If you
want to work abroad some countries like Australia, New Zealand,
America and Canada have residence visa and work permit permission restrictions,
you need to think about whether you can overcome these hurdles and whether
you have the most in demand skills to obtain a work permit or residence
visa. One other consideration to make is the taxation implication
of moving abroad to a given country - some countries have even higher and
more restrictive taxation regimes that the UK or USA for example, on the
other hand a country like Dubai has no tax on personal income! Watch
out for any ‘extra’ expenses like higher tax that you could incur when
moving abroad and factor them in to your planning.
Area 3 -
Consider the practicalities of relocating to your ideal country and finding
somewhere to live.
If you’re
moving abroad to live overseas for a long period how easy and affordable
is it to find rental accommodation? Will you rent furnished or unfurnished
- which is more common? |
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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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| Escape
From America Magazine - The Magazine To Read To If You Want To Move Overseas |
| - Began Summer
1998 - Now with almost a half million subscribers, out eZine is the resource
that expats, and wantabe expats turn to for information. Our archives
now have thousands of articles and each month we publish another issue
to a growing audience of international readers. Over 100 people a
day subscribe to our eZine. We've been interviewed and referenced
by the Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Washington Post, London Talk Show
Radio, C-Span, BBC Click Online, Yahoo Magazine, the New York Times, and
countless other media sources. Featuring International Lifestyles
~ Overseas Jobs ~ Expat Resources ~ Offshore Investments ~ Overseas
Retirement - Second Passports ~ Disappearing Acts ~ Offshore eCommerce
~ Unique Travel ~ Iconoclastic Views ~ Personal Accounts ~ Views From Afar
~ Two things have ushered us into a world without borders... the end of
the cold war and the advent of the world wide web of global communications
? commerce. Ten years and over one hundred issues! We're just
getting started - Gilly Rich - Editor |
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| Either way
will you need to buy furniture or place your furniture in storage - think
about the extra costs associated with setting up your accommodation?
If you’re expatriating
for good you may want to one day buy a house of your own - if so, are foreign
residents allowed to buy freehold property in the country you’ve chosen?
What are house prices like, how easy or otherwise is it to secure finance
to purchase?
If you’re moving
a long way away how will you ship your personal belongings with you?
Or will you need to sell them or put them in storage before you go?
If you’re taking your household effects with you will you be forced to
pay import duties and taxes?
Conclusion
As you can
see the considerations you need to make before moving abroad are many and
are also far reaching. Hopefully this article has given you some
food for thought. If you can answer each of the major questions posed
above you will be well on your way to living and working abroad and becoming
a fully fledged expatriate before you know it! |
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Article
Index ~ |
