The Vex-Pat

There's an excellent article on how expats relate to their home countries while abroad in today's Sydney Morning Herald. It begins with the author meeting an expat friend in a bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where he's surprised to learn that his mate has become a caricature of himself, laying the accent on thick and behaving in a totally different way than before he left the country (comparing him to the Aussie from Tom Cruise's flick, Cocktail).

This, apparently, is a common trend amongst the authors expat friends. Men and women who leave the country in search of greener pastures, who later feel the need to overcompensate in the name of staying "authentic." He goes on to examine the phenomenon, eventually addressing the typical end to these types of stories - losing interest in your new home and feeling the need to move on to another and then yet another locale. Follow the link to read the article in it's entirety, but below I've copied a particularly good passage from the end of the piece.

"But in no place will the expat know true repose. This is the terminal dilemma of the expat: linguistic reinvention in one place is never enough. New York is never enough. The act has to go on the road. "I'm sick of Sydney," is only the prelude to a more damning lament: "I'm sick of New York. Seriously — the grid pattern. Is that as good as it gets?" Done with the great capitals, done with Barcelona and Bangkok and Beijing and Dubai, the expat's trajectory deepens and multiplies, passing through Mazar-e-Sharif and Mogadishu before finally devolving into the deliberate obscurantism of Brazzaville, Baku, Busan and Bogota. And this is no bad thing, when you think about it, because fair dinkum, as a mate of mine was telling me the other day, Baku is a great place for beers."

Reverse Culture Shock

Welcome back and Happy New Year! There was an interesting article published today on New Europeans Magazine's website that I think any and all expats would be interested in checking out. It discusses a phenomenon I've touched on myself over the course of the last six months, and one that - eventually - almost all expats go through. This experience, the author refers to as reverse culture shock . . . and it's what happens when we decide to finally pack our bags and head back to our native lands.

For many, the experience is positive. Being back on familiar ground. Seeing old friends. Not having to fly hours and hours to see friends. But for a lot of expats, the return can be jarring, difficult to adapt to and hard to explain. This, is what they mean by reverse culture shock. in particular, the author focuses on the effects on children who have essentially been raised as expats, saying:

"Whether expats adapt to their adoptive country or not, homesickness eventually takes over and they end up going back to their home country. They usually go back to their country feeling like it was about time, but do find difficulties in re-adapting. If they have children, in their children’s case, it could be devastating."

If you're interested in reading the piece in it's entirety, simply follow the link near the top of this post. See you on Monday!

Germany: A Place for Lovers

Looking for that elusive New Years kiss? According to a new survey you might have the best chance of finding it in Germany. The survey, which was conducted by HSBC Bank (once again . . . these guys just spend all day, every day conducting surveys) found that the highest number of expats with success in finding a partner while abroad happened in Germany.

From the article on NationalPost.com:

:A quarter of expats in Germany have married locals, making Germany "the best location to find love," according to the "Expat Experience" report, published this month by HSBC Bank International. The Netherlands following closely after.

"The results really surprised me," said Paul Say, head of marketing and communications at HSBC. "I didn't expect that Germany would be the country of love - that's what made it so delightful doing the survey." Expatriates also considered Germany the best country for expat integration overall, the results showed."

Happy New Year everybody!

Christmas Around the World

It's my first day back from the holidays, and I'm still feeling pretty festive. I'm in the office for today and tomorrow, but then I'll be back to blogging 5 days a week, starting next Monday morning. Today I thought I'd share a fun little piece I came across over the break. It examines how expatriate communities in major destinations around the globe typically celebrate Christmas. Locales like South Africa, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong are all examined closely. Follow the link to check it out for yourself, and I hope that everyone, everywhere - has enjoyed their break.

Happy Holidays!

To friends, readers and expats everywhere - happy holidays! I've had a fantastic time writing this blog in 2008. It's been a joy bringing news from around the world and tips for making international moves to anyone looking for a little advice. A special thanks to all of you who have shared your stories, thoughts and opinions with me. I look forward to keeping up that dialogue as we move into the new year. As for me, this will be my last post before going on a Holiday break, but stay tuned . . . because we'll be back in action with a few last posts before the new year. So once again, I hope everyone, everywhere has a safe and festive break.

Top Tips for Expat Holiday Gift-Giving

HSBC International has been in the expat news quite a bit in recent months, showering the blogs with all sorts of fun surveys and studies about the best places for expats to live, where the friendliest countries are and many other categories. Well, today they're back at it with a list of tips for expats who need to ship gifts back home for the holidays. Follow the link for the entire list, but below I've posted a few of my favorites.

- Give a gift that is unique – getting something that can only be bought abroad can make those back home feel extra special.

- Use online shopping websites - great bargains can be found and sites will deliver to most addresses.

- Buy top-ups or credit for online communication tools, or discount phone cards. Not only are these great presents but they also allows you to stay in touch throughout the year.

- Post items well in advance of Christmas, at least a month beforehand, to avoid the disappointment of gifts arriving late.

UAE's Expat Problem

The UAE has a problem - almost everyone living there isn't a national. At last count there were 6.4 million people living in the Gulf State . . . and only 900,000 of the population were born there. Of course, the influx of money and talent has been a strong plus, but the fact that the number of expats just keeps increasing has become a source of worry. Now, the UAE government is assessing what they might be able to do to balance things out a bit.

An article on ArabianBusiness.com has a great look at the issue, focusing on an interview with Labour Minister Saqr Gobash. According to the article:

"There are no quick or magic solutions to the foreign workforce issue," the minister told a session of the Federal National Council (FNC) to discuss the policy. The minister unveiled an initiative by the country's leaders to create a permanent council to tackle the imbalance in the demographic structure and to formulate policies to improve the effectiveness of Emiratisation.He said it could take months to establish the new body, news agency WAM reported on Wednesday."