Saturday 8 November 2014

The World Through Expat Eyes

Once you leave your home country, you become a foreigner. Did you ever think about it that way? No matter where you go, are you a visitor, an explorer, a tourist, a traveler, an expat or a foreigner? Not a native anymore? Maybe you have more than one home country? Perhaps you are a global soul, feeling at home anywhere, because home is where the hearth is? After many years abroad, maybe you have that sense of belonging to more than one country? Is your home country your native country, the place where your roots are?

For an expat, all this can be confusing, whether we are talking about a serial-expat, an expat who only feels at home in one country or one who belong in several.

I think I have always enjoyed seeing places through different perspectives, and through eyes other than my own. I love finding out What does an Indian think about France? What does a Chinese think of India? How do you find the food, culture, festivals, literature, art, sports, nature and the people? And when the answers come, I can say to myself: Hm, I never thought about it that way....

New perspective, dear reader, new perspective.. to open your eyes and broaden your mind.

So, I was curious when I saw that Internations just published a new report called The world through expat eyes. They have asked 14000 expatriates from over 160 countries questions about their life living abroad. They have been asked to rank different aspects of their expat life, such as: general quality of life, working abroad, family life, settling in, leisure and making friends, international romance and relationships and personal finances.

The Top destinations (based on the indexes: general quality of life, ease of settling it, working abroad, family life and personal finances) are Equador, Luxembourgh and Mexico, meaning that those countries have a overall high score in many of the indexes. My countries ended up as no 18 (Norway), 55 (India) and 59 (Greece).

Because the indexes vary a lot, it is interesting to dig a bit deeper. For example: some countries score really high on personal finances but soooo low on making friends with locals. And vice versa.

India score high on financial situation for expats, while Norway score high on balance work life - life (expats in Norway work less hours than in most country and enjoy life outside work). Greece score high on making local friends. The Scandinavian countries score high on family life.

I especially enjoyed the country reports where you can read more detailed info about expat life in some particular countries. Here are the headlines for presenting some of them:

Can you guess which country they are talking about here?:
 
1. "Cold Weather- Warm people"
2. "Work, rather than pleasure"
3. "Warm climate, empty accounts"
4. "Hit the ground running"
5. "Big hearths and instability"
6. "Opportunities and cloudy skies"
7. "Leisure lovers at home down under"

So, which one seems most appealing to you?

To me, that was the funny thing about this report. It made me wonder: If I could choose freely, what factors would be the most important and how would I range them? For example would an easy settling - in be more important than good money (and living in an expat bubble)? And what about the weather? Family life? Friendly and welcoming locals? Education? Work hours? What would be most important to you?

Do you want to read more? You can find the report on: InternationsExpat Insider

As you may have seen, I have been looow on the blogging lately, and the inspiration has been rather non-existing. But I am planning some changes on the blog, so stay tuned dear reader. I will be back:-)

What? You want the answers to the headline - questions above? Ok. Ok. Here we go: 1.Canada. 2.China. 3.Italy. 4.USA. 5.Turkey. 6.UK. 7.Australia (where else?) But still - check out the reports, interesting read.

Enjoy your weekend. Take care.



21 comments:

  1. This was interesting to know...Strangely so many of these questions are relevant to Indians living within India...It's sad but this post reminds me of the divisions within my sweet country...


    Random Thoughts Naba - Writing the 'Uneasy' Out...

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    1. Thanks Nabanita, interesting comment, and maybe these questions are relevant for non-expats too:-)

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  2. Once you leave your home country, you become a foreigner. Very true. These days I feel like a foreigner even in my hometown. Tragedy of been away from home.

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    1. Aww, thanks for sharing dear Sheethal. Big hugs

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  3. Dearest Eli,
    Well, not all the answers to the questions are valid. Having lived and worked in Italy, in the Venice area, for about one year, I cannot say that the climate is warm; no way! There is snow and freezing cold; miserable winters. But again, Italy is such a long, stretched out country, the ski slopes in the Alps are quite different from the South in Sicily... And in the North they are quite industrious so the empty account is for sure not valid for the entire country!
    But yes, I do feel at home in a lot of areas. Loving your surroundings, the people, the food makes you ONE with the area you are in. Making friends also very much depends on YOU. Nobody is waiting for you but it is you that should reach out and also manage the local language for socializing. Once that is in place; no problems anywhere.
    My husband and I always felt like a kind of gypsies because of this...
    Hope you are doing well.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Thanks for sharing dear Mariette. Sounds like you had a wonderful way of making each new place your home. I love your thoughts on that. And I agree, so much is up to yourself. All the best to you sweet friend and hugs your way:-)

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  4. Interesting post Eli! And some really great questions. My homeland feels like where I am now in Vancouver, especially North Vancouver BC, though Austria feels like my second home. Not sure about the Netherlands though.... ;) <3

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    1. Thank you Elly, for kind words and for sharing your thoughts. Big hugs

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  5. The report does sound interesting, thanks Eli for giving a sneek-peak into it. As an ex-expat I find your post very thoughtful. Really, living away from home does help us in finding 'home' in what was once a foreign land. It really helps us re-discover the meaning of home, and makes us much more understanding and accepting of difference, I think. I might check out the full report sometime, and of course look forward to the changes you are planning for this space of yours :)

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    1. Thank you dear Beloo. Always so happy for your kind words and thanks for sharing your thoughts. Big hugs to you

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  6. I always think of India (my homeland) as my spiritual home and New Zealand as the place that helped me find the spirit within. I love both dearly and I am at home in both places.

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    1. Thanks Suzy, that sounds just wonderful. Big hugs your way

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  7. I took part in this Internations survey, and am glad you posted about it. I hadn't seen it was published. There's a lot of information in there! I'm going to enjoy exploring it a bit more.

    I do have a sense of belonging to two countries; I know you understand that, with your three countries having a piece of your heart!

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    1. Yes, dear Cindi, I totally understand. Thanks for sharing and do check out the survey you participated in - some interesting reads there. Big hugs to you

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  8. Interesting analysis... but what I loved the most was the fact that you mention India as one of your countries...

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    1. Thank you so much Prasad.. Happy to see you here. Yes, I do feel it is:-)

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  9. WOW, this was really interesting. I have always lived in the United States and honestly can't even imagine ever living somewhere else and the bravery it would take to do so. My hat is off to you! ♥

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    1. Thanks dear Kathy:-) Happy to see you here. Big hugs

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  10. Easy settling matters a lot where I can gel well with the locals. The best thing is that we are becoming global citizens where race or religion hardly matters. How about a Global passport?

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    1. Yay! Awesome idea, Vishal my friend! Happy to see you here, as always:-)

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  11. Very interesting report there, dear Eli - it does speak a lot about perspectives and perceptions. As they say, 'Home is where the heart is'... clearly different places resonate for different people in unique ways than we can ever imagine. Always love to read your thoughts Eli, and I can't wait to see the changes that you are going to usher in your space. Keep writing! :)

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