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Common Mistakes to Avoid an Expat Lifestyle Failure
There is no doubt that many people who move overseas do make very simple mistakes which they will regret in due course. However, what do you think are the Common mistakes to avoid expat lifestyle experience failure?
# 1 Not doing your homework
Q. Which ones do you think you may be susceptible to?
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The world has become a smaller place and more people than ever are now living and working abroad. When looking at a potential move overseas, and the potential financial benefits, you also need to take into account the larger picture, the long-term prospects and what exactly you want out of life.
If there is one area of weakness in the general expat market it has to be amongst those who do not do their homework or their research on their chosen destination.
The onslaught of the Internet has given many expats the opportunity to research their chosen land and their chosen area in extremely minute detail. You have everything from the cost of living to the weather, live web cams to historic news stories and hopes for the future. Anyone looking to move overseas will need to be aware of the positive and negative implications of their life changing journey.
# 2 Underestimating your budget
A common mistake will be to put together a budget for your move overseas, which may well be very accurate on the current information, but perhaps a change in interest rates, an increase in rent or perhaps an increase in the cost of food can totally blow their budget out of the water.
You need to give yourself some upward breathing space between the estimated budget you need to live a “comfortable life” and your actual income, whether this is from employment, savings, investments, etc. This extra space will give you a failsafe if the cost of living increases unexpectedly and your budget requirements move higher.
It is also worth remembering that there will be a variety of potential one-off setup costs when moving overseas which may centre round legal advice, property, rent, etc.
Many people who have moved overseas have ultimately lived beyond their means in their early days which has put major pressure upon their savings, income and available spending.You will see new attractions, there will be new temptations and there will be more pressure upon you to enjoy your new found life.
# 4 Assuming like-for-like cost of living
Automatically assuming a like-for-like cost of living and even a like-for-like living standard which is very dangerous. There is nothing wrong in researching the cost of a like-for-like life in your new homeland, compared to your former homeland, but you need to be realistic, you need to be sensible and take nothing for granted.
If you are moving to a different area in your former homeland there is every chance that you would have a backup plan in case of problems which were insurmountable. The same should be the case for those looking to move overseas because ultimately you will never know the real cost of living, the real standard of living and any potential issues until you land.
Potential expats looking to move overseas should have some form of backup plan, whether this means access to further funds, a change in employment, a reduction in expenditure or even a return to their former homeland.
# 6 Moving to escape a former life
There is enormous pressure on anyone, any family and friends moving overseas without the potential for former life problems to catch-up on you.
If you have money concerns, legal issues or other similar situations which you are “running away from” they will eventually catch up with you unless you address them, you need to be totally confident that the issues which you were moving away from will not follow you.
Do your homework, take your time, think through your life, think what you want and then if after all of this thinking time you still believe that a life overseas is for you then move to the next step.
For many people a move overseas can have been in the pipeline for many years while for others it may be a significantly shorter time period. A large percentage of those who rush their move overseas will at some point return with their tail between their legs due to various “misunderstandings” which were likely the result of the limited research they had done on their proposed move!
# 8 Not totally convinced about your move overseas
Even if you’re not totally convinced about your move overseas in the early days, even though potentially it does turn out to be right for you, why rush?
The chances of making a successful move overseas are greatly enhanced by a positive mental attitude which can only come about if you are totally convinced that the move overseas is for you.
# 9 Not visiting your destination enough
If you visit an area for a two-week holiday and suddenly decide “this is for me” this is a potential recipe for disaster because you will likely have seen the “luxury end” of life in your potential new homeland and may not be aware of the “underbelly”.
If, as many people recommend, you do visit your proposed destination on a number of occasions, before making a move permanent, you must ensure that you visit different areas, tackle different issues and make yourself as aware as possible of the environment. If you move lock stock and barrel to a new country and have some genuine experience of the area, the people, etc this will make a difficult situation slightly more bearable.
No matter what the worldwide economic situation there will be countries around the world which offer interesting investment and employment opportunities. Unfortunately for some people, the rise and fall of the Dubai economy is one of the more prominent recent events which perfectly illustrates the way in which many expat skilled workers were “blinded by the money” on offer in this new land of milk and honey.
However, once the Dubai economy began to wobble it was the skilled overseas workers, many of whom had given up everything to move to their new homeland, who were on the receiving end of less than helpful activity by employers. Indeed, many expat workers were unceremoniously dumped when the going got tough and were literally forced to return to their former homeland.
When moving overseas it is absolutely essentional that you have not only medical insurance but the correct kind of medical insurance. It is always tempting to look for the cheapest possible solution for your medical insurance. After all, if you need treatment you will just fly home and have the treatment there. However, what happens if you need emergency treatment where you and cannot travel back home?
April Medibroker is here to help you - from the initial advice on what expatriate health insurance policy meets your needs, through to any assistance that you may need in the future. Our staff are only a phone call or email away. Whether you need changes to cover or payment, need help with a claim or have questions about your international medical insurance policy we will gladly help.
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