Survey Of Expats Reveals Key Concerns Of Life Abroad

20 November 2010 - Culture shock and forming social connections are the main concerns

of expats moving abroad, according to a survey of expats in 22 countries conducted by ExpatArrivals.com . But a significantly increased quality of life, better sex and more leisure time make the move well worth it.

Expat life has many payoffs, although increased salary is not among them. Only 21% reported that their salary was significantly better, with 22% reporting their salary as much lower.

However, the amount of free time improved for 61%, while social connections (41%) and love lives (47%) took distinctly upward trends while abroad. Stress levels improved for 53%, combined with improvements in overall physical health for 46%. Together these factors contribute to an overall quality of life that 65% of respondents rated better when working and living abroad.

There are challenges though: culture shock was rated by 41% as a significant difficulty to cope with on arrival, and 46% regarded it as the one factor they wished they had known more about before moving. Significantly, only 30% of respondents expected culture shock to be a problem hence many where caught unawares.

Another main challenge was making friends and social connections. While 45% expected this to be difficult before moving, 52% found connecting socially to be difficult long after the move was made. By contrast, other major expat life issues did not trouble recent expats to any significant degree: healthcare, accommodation, visas and cost of living all failed to feature as concerns.

In planning their move abroad, most respondents found books (58%) and exploratory visits (63%) most useful, with social media sites Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn rated as useful by only 17%.

Specific expat information sites however were rated as useful by 45% of participants. Very few people used relocation experts (10%) or expatriate coaches (2%) when executing their move abroad with 71% reporting that nobody assisted them. After arrival, the key resources to facilitate adaptation and overcome culture shock were personal contacts in the expat community (74%) and connections with local people (73%).

by: Stephanie Katz

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