Retirement in the United States is nice and all, until they ask you to actually pay for stuff. When retirees’ nest eggs are a finite and dwindling resource, rising local and federal taxes can put even the staunchest, flag-draped patriotism to the test. If retirees are willing to leave the states behind, the savings can be substantial. The folks at International Living crunched the numbers and looked at the price of simple staples, assimilation and staying in touch with family left behind. The following countries scored high marks not only for their inexpensive living, but for overall friendliness toward American retirees. Click to read more.
Most expensive cities in the world for Americans to work
July 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Could you afford to be an expat? These are the 10 most expensive cities you could end up in. We picked some of the highest costs in each city — whether it was rent, jeans or gasoline — to show you just how pricey it would be to live there. Click to read more.
Article: 10 places to move abroad and extend your life
June 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Today, there is skepticism whether any such place exists, but health scientists do scour the globe in search of medicinal remedies and other lifespan enhancements.
In fact, many “pockets” around the world have been identified as “Blue Zones,” where locals enjoy high quality of life and health in old age.
While failing to offer one “secret,” these regions share community factors such as diet, social integration, activity level, and outlook on life. While genetics plays a role in how long we live,researchers believe lifestyle factors account for 75% of our longevity.
Great Resource for Deciding What Country To Move To
June 24, 2011 By 3 Comments
If you’re a prospective expat looking for the right country to relocate to – then we’ve found the perfect website. It’s called “If it were my Home” and it takes a ton of data about every country in the world and compares it to where you live now.
It’s a fun way to explore what life would be like in other countries.
From the Site:
The lottery of birth is responsible for much of who we are. If you were not born in the country you were, what would your life be like? Would you be the same person?
IfItWereMyHome.com is your gateway to understanding life outside your home. Use our country comparison tool to compare living conditions in your own country to those of another. Start by selecting a region to compare on the map to the right, and begin your exploration.
Are You an Expat Looking for Work? Check out Expatworkforce.com
June 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Are you an expat living somewhere in the world looking for extra work? Check out this cool new website we discovered called ExpatWorkforce.com that seeks to build a network of skilled expats all over the world.
About the site:
Like most successful companies, Expat Workforce was created to solve a problem. In this case, two problems: one for business, one for expats.
We help companies save money by outsourcing while maintaining a high quality of work. We help expats find remote jobs with Western companies so they can finance their dream of living abroad.
One of the founders is the CEO of a high-end American service company that calls every sales lead captured by his company’s web site. However, he noticed that his in-house sales team ended up leaving messages about 30% of the time. He had always been reluctant to offshore the phone sales process of his high end product because he feared his customers would have a negative perception of this. However, by chance he re-connected with a friend who moved to Mexico who connected him with other Americans there who could make the initial sales calls, leave voice mails and only pass on qualified leads to his in-house sales team. Once he started outsourcing to his first expat, he realized that there were many other projects that he could give to expats around the world that he previously had not considered. An idea was born.
The other founder is an expat who left a promising career as a computer science engineer in the USA to live in Taiwan and pursue his goal of becoming fluent in Mandarin. Upon arriving in Taiwan, he met many expats who were doing odd jobs or teaching English simply as a way of making ends meet while gaining international experience and Chinese language skills. Most of them had professional experience in other areas, but couldn’t find work in their field while in Taiwan. He was frustrated by the fact that such brilliant professionals couldn’t use their skills even to earn the modest amount required to live comfortably in Taiwan. An idea was born.
Here’s a video about the site as well:
If you’re interested - click here to check out the site.
Life Abroad: Hong Kong Home to World’s Most Expensive Property
April 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In a recent survey conducted by Savills PLC in the UK, it has been discovered that Hong Kong is now home to the most expensive residential property in the world.
From Mercopress:
The report compared four cities; Hong Kong, New York, London and Moscow.
Property in Moscow emerged as being 7.4% more expensive than property in London, whereas property in New York was 15% cheaper than in the U.K. capital.
The report also noted that the price of a typical home purchased by a company chief executive in Hong Kong has risen by 148% over the past five years. Over the same period, this figure in Moscow rose by 110%; London by 47% and in New York it fell by 7%.
The Head of Savills Research, Yolande Barnes, commented; “By looking at a basket of properties by occupier type we gain insights into the fluctuating costs of housing – a vital component cost of doing business in a given location.”
Interestingly, although the cost of buying a new property when relocating has continued to rise, the cost of rental property has remained constant in all four of the capital cities surveyed.
Hong Kong is currently experiencing a housing shortage, with a lack of supply and high demand leading to sharp increases in property prices.
In an attempt to tackle rising prices, in November last year, the Hong Kong Government introduced a number of measures such as applying stamp duty of up to 15% to property transactions and increasing the minimum down-payments for mortgages.
To address the housing shortage, Hong Kong Government chief executive Donald Tsang promised to release more land for the development of low cost housing and added that the government should supply land to support the construction of 20,000 new apartments per year, although he said the figure was “not a fixed target.”
So, one thing is for sure – if you’re looking to emigrate abroad to find somewhere more affordable to live – Hong Kong shouldn’t be at the top of your list!