Poll Finds 70% Of British Expats Unlikely to Return Home

Poll Finds 70% Of British Expats Unlikely to Return Home

With the wonderful sunshine and Mediterranean lifestyle

its no wonder why no one wants to go back to the cold of

northern europe

The decision to become an expat is not something one takes lightly. It can be stressful to uproot your entire life. If you plan carefully however, then you’ll likely have a positive experience. Things are so good for expats, in fact, that a recent poll of British expats suggested that 69% of them had no intention of ever returning home.

The survey was conducted by the financial services organisation deVere Groups. It found that many British expats are very happy with their current lives as only 10% said that they would consider moving back home to the UK, with only 21% answering “maybe” they would go back.

One of the main reasons that Brits move abroad is to findwork, with just under a quarter of those polled saying they moved for their jobs.

The survey looked at around 1,000 Brits living abroad in countries such as Spain, Australia, the UAE, and South Africa. It shined a light on the main motivating factors behind Brits moving abroad, what the expat life is like, and their long-term plans.

One thing of note was the discovery that 72% of Brits still send some money back the UK regularly, either adding to their savings account or supporting their family members. Of the people polled, 87% of respondents said that they had an easier time saving money after moving, while the majority added that they had a better quality of life compared to life at home.

The CEO of deVere Group Nigel Green says that more Brits than ever are living outside of the UK. There are now officially 5 million Brits living overseas, but it’s believed that the real number is higher as many expats don’t take the time to register themselves with the authorities of their new countries.

Green added that if one were to extrapolate the data from the poll and put it against the number of official British expats, it would mean that around 3.5 million Brits living outside of the UK had no desire to ever come home.

Green said the survey shows that many people considering a move abroad can expect to have a fulfilling and rewarding experience. There are a number of reasons for this, including better career opportunities, a lower cost of living, a higher quality of life, top-notch education and childcare, lower crime levels, and great weather.

Even though many expats currently believe that they will stay outside of the UK – and precious few studies have been conducted on the return rate of long-term expats – there is evidence that suggests more than the 70% of expats indicated in the survey will come home to the UK one day. ManyBritish retirees living in Spain will usually return to the UK when they near the end of their lives, in order to spend time with their family.

Poll Finds Most Spaniards Willing to Adopt European-Style Working Hours

Poll Finds Most Spaniards Willing to Adopt European-Style Working Hours

Spanish daily newspaper 20 Minutos conducted a poll that showed around 80% of Spaniards would enjoy taking shorter lunch breaks and finishing work earlier, which would bring Spain into line with most of Europe.

The Spanish Siesta days are looking numbered.

The Mediterranean working culture of Spain has been an anomaly in Europe for quite some time. Workers in Spain start later, have longer lunch breaks, and finish later than many other Europeans. Many Spaniards are ready and willing to change things though.

In order for the change, the government has said on many occasions that they plan to bring Spain back into Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to bring the country in line with Europe.

Even so, it would be a while before the working culture itself is changed. The good news is that the idea of a typical 9-5 working day isn’t that bad for the majority of Spaniards living in Spain, who would be happy to accept it.

The poll from the newspaper found just over two-thirds of people polled wouldn’t mind a shorter lunch break. Some Spanish workers – especially in the retail sector – can face lunch breaks of up to three hours.

People are also becoming dissatisfied with the 11:00-11:30 “breakfast break”. 64.5% of Spaniards surveyed said they would be willing to lose it, and 82% of Spaniards surveyed said that they would prefer it if the working day was more condensed.

Many European companies that are established in Spain have already adopted the European style of working hours, such as real estate companies and many others.

Spain Second Best Place for Expats to Live According to HSBC Poll

Spain Second Best Place for Expats to Live According to HSBC Poll

Spain and the Costa del Sol continues to attract

expats looking for a better quality of life and a low cost of living.

If you want your experience as an expat to be one of fun, safety, and relaxation then you should definitely consider Spain. HSBC recently ran their latest Expat Explorer Survey and it showed that Spain was ranked second globally. Spain did particularly well when it comes to health, culture, the quality of life, cost of living and the Spanish social life.

Even though Singapore came first again Spain still showed that it was a country that was able to deliver things that matter to expats. They were ranked first when it comes to health and second on categories relating to the quality of life and the social life.

Spain came in 16^th place overall out of the 66 countries included. Spain was let down it’s below average ranking in economic performance; especially career progression, wage growth, and job security.

Most people who are considering moving to Spain would feel that it ticks every box for them if they don’t need to work though. This is why retirees have always loved Spain, as have families who want access to great healthcare, a good climate, and a fun and varied social life.

The HSBC survey takes countries and ranks them across the three main categories of economics, experience, and family. Each category also has several sub-categories. Spain came in second overall in the Experience section (New Zealand came first), and did well in each sub-category including property, safety, integration, making friends, and culture. It also came in fifth in the Family category, with Sweden coming first. Spain performed well in tolerance, childcare, education and integration.

When it came to money Switzerland was king as over 30% of expats living in Switzerland earned over $200,000. The UK stuck to their reputation of being about as average as possible; coming in 20^th and neither failing nor exceeding in anything. London itself at least performed well when it came to job prospects.

The data from this survey shows that there are three kinds of expats; there are those who move for work, those who move for family, and those looking for a higher quality of life. If family and life are what matter to you then Spain is the place for you.

Poll Finds 92% of Spanish Expats Satisfied with Life

Poll Finds 92% of Spanish Expats Satisfied with Life

InterNations recently conducted their Expat Insider survey and found that practically every expat living in Spain says they are satisfied with their life in the country.

The annual poll was released this week and also includes what the main attractions of Spain are; people love the warmth, the landscape, the family-friendly atmosphere, and the accessibility of the country. These were the reasons most expats gave for why they choose to live inSpain.

Spain ranked 14^th out of 67 countries polled. While it performed well in a number of metrics the country was let down by the lack of employment opportunities. Only 42% of those polled said that they felt positive about their career prospects in Spain. This category has a global average of 55% but, as many expats end up moving to Spain in order to work, this figure of 42% could be misleading.

When Spain was ranked on just why it attracts expats then it scored quite well. Over ¾ of the people who were polled said that Spain was just easy to settle down in, which was well above the global average of 59%. 86% of those polled said that the Spanish people are also friendly and welcoming.

84% of those polled also praised the Spanish weather and said that it was another positive factor of Spanish life. Only 1% of those polled said that they were dissatisfied with the Spanish weather after moving to the country.

The poll was conducted on over 14,000 people across 174 nationalities living in over 191 countries globally. Only the countries that saw more than 50 responses were ranked which is why it only goes to 67. This leaderboard of 67 countries was topped by Taiwan, Malta, Ecuador, Mexico and then New Zealand.

Spain was one of the most favoured European countries after Malta, Austria, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. Spain was certainly one of the most popular ones. Given how many people responded about Spain it’s almost a miracle that the numbers were so high.

Then again perhaps it isn’t all that surprising. Just look around and see the beaches, mountains, cities in Spain, people, infrastructure and economy of the country and you’ll soon see it really is one of the best places to live.

Poll Shows Brits Favour Spain as Their Number One Retirement Spot

Poll Shows Brits Favour Spain as Their Number One Retirement Spot

The poll in question saw 19% of the people who responded say that Spain would be their ideal retirement destination and it’s not hard to understand why they would.

Costa del Sol is still the number one place to retire.

The survey that found Spain is the top choice for British retirees was conducted by financial services company Retirement Advantage.

Spain took 19.4% of the vote; the highest of any European nation. It was also the top of the polls globally, knocking the United States down into second place. France came in fourth, behind Australia, while Italy, New Zealand and Canada all struggled to get even 5% of the votes.

The survey gives us further proof that Spain has become the top choice for British retirees looking to retire in a warm, accessible and affordable location. Even though there were some concerns about how the Brexit vote might damage the appeal of Spain, it looks like Spain has never been more popular with British retirees-to-be.

The survey saw 1,200 Brits aged between 18 and retirement age asked where they would prefer to retire. Spain came out on top which was the same result Retirement Advantage saw in 2013. In 2013 France was second and the USA came in third.

The Pension Technical Director of Retirement Advantage, Andrew Tully, says that many people hope to retire to a place filled with sunshine and a slower pace. They hope to find that by moving abroad and a country with cheaper living costs and property prices than the UK becomes a major draw.

Other data that comes from the World Economic Forum over the weekend showed that there are currently just under 5 million Brits estimated to be living overseas, around half of whom can be found in the EU. As such the UK is actually the EU country with the highest number of people living abroad, beating out Poland (4.4 million) and Germany (4 million).