HSBC Offshore Offspring Survey

Posted on 07. Mar, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Life
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First, may I say once again how much I love the title of this report? Offshore Offspring Report. I wish I knew how to write catchy headlines like this!

Today we are taking a look at the section of the 2008 HSBC Expat Explorer Survey that “focuses on the challenges experienced by families raising children while living and working abroad.”

Countries were ranked according to:

– Amount of time children spent outdoors
– Amount of time children spent studying
– Cost of raising children
– Number of languages the children could speak
– Likelihood (according to the parents) that the children would remain in the host country as adults

This is clearly seen through the parents’ eyes, not the children’s, and therefore does not claim to be a measure of the children’s happiness while residing in the host country.
Expat writer Robin Pascoe took exception to this approach, in particular the inclusion of the cost of rearing children in the survey. I for one think that the criteria are quite relevant, unlike those chosen for the Expat Existence report (don’t get me started on that report again!)

Another interesting feature is the Healthy Children report. This mini survey-within-the-survey focused on where the healthiest expat children resided, based on:

– How much sport they played
– How much junk food they ate
– Amount of time they spent playing video games
– Amount of time they spent watching TV

In case you were wondering, the top-ranking country for healthy expat children is India, followed by Australia and France. You can read the full report here.

All things considered, this seems like a fairly thorough, down-to-earth and interesting report to me. However, I do not have children, so I would love to hear a few comments from parents: what did the survey leave out? What else would be helpful for you to know when relocating to a new country with your children?

Emmanuelle

Related post: The Expat Life: HSBC Expat Explorer Survey

HSBC Expat Experience: It’s All About The Money… Or Is It?

Posted on 05. Mar, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Life
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As promised earlier this week, I took a closer look at the 2008 HSBC “Expat Existence” report… and I am puzzled.

According to HSBC, this report “ranks the top rated places to live based on expats’ own personal experiences.“ Visibly, our personal experiences solely depend on how much money we make and how luxurious our lifestyles are. Because that is all this report is about.

I guess I would agree with this approach if the survey set out to measure earning and spending power, or even standards of living. Instead, HSBC claims to rate countries on the lifestyle they offer, based on four categories:

– Longevity (how long expats spend in a country)
– Earn and Save
– Luxury
– Quality of accommodation

Is that all? Can you really do a lifestyle survey and not take into account criteria like safety, pollution, convenience or recreation?

You may be wondering why this is getting me so worked up. The survey does focus on money, you say, but after all a bank conducts it! What else could we expect?

Well, here is why I am getting up on my soapbox (in heels, no less!):

Surveys like this reinforce the idea that expatriation equals a luxurious, easy lifestyle- “seeking the good life abroad”, as the report puts it.

Don’t get me wrong; I have absolutely nothing against making money. I have a master’s in business management and I am an entrepreneur. I definitely do not think that money is evil, or that earning a lot of it is shameful.

From the point of view of expat happiness, however, I do worry about those who accept international assignments for the financial rewards alone.

- If things do not work out, expats are often torn between giving up on a lucrative assignment and leaving a location that is simply not right for them. Not only are they miserable, they have a lot at stake financially, which makes it even harder to decide whether to stay or go.
- High earning and a high standard of living come with their own challenges, such as finding the right tax strategy or dealing with household staff. Conversely, readjusting to their home country after the end of their assignment may prove more difficult for expats who got used to having a cook, driver and live-in nanny.
- I still see many people on expat message boards enquiring about finding a job in Dubai or Hong Kong, lured by the prospect of “easy” money. As we all know, things have changed drastically over the past few months, but even before the financial crisis, the trend was for corporations to cut down on expat perks and offer local packages to their employees. Which means that in the future, more and more expats will have to make ends meet living in Shanghai on a Chinese salary, or in Cairo on Egyptian wages.

I am not suggesting that we should all stop negotiating expat packages, or give up looking for better opportunities overseas. Far from it. If on top of being a wonderful adventure, expatriation proves to be a wise financial move, by all means go for it!
However, we may want to reconsider money as the prime or sole motivation for moving abroad. It is a fast-changing world we live in, so the more legs our life choices have to stand on, the better.

Emmanuelle

Related post: The Expat Life: HSBC Expat Explorer Survey

The Expat Life: HSBC Expat Explorer Survey

Posted on 03. Mar, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Life
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Each year, the HSBC Expat Explorer survey brings a wealth of information on expat lifestyle, happiness and challenges.

There are three reports available on the 2008 survey:
- Expat Existence focuses on the top rated places to live, based mostly on living standards;
- Offshore Offsprings (now that’s a catchy title for a report!) takes a look at the challenges facing families raising children abroad
- Expat Experience deals with relocation and the challenges that come with it.

I have downloaded all three reports to study. I will take a more detailed look at each of them and post my comments here. As a former market research specialist, I would have loved to have access to the actual results (i.e. the detailed breakdown of responses to each question), but it looks like only the final reports are available.

If you would like to take the 2009 Expat Explorer Survey, please go to www.offshore.hsbc.com/expatsurvey – it will take you 10 to 15 minutes to complete. An interesting feature of this year’s survey is that it includes several questions about savings and the financial crisis. A sign of the times for sure!

Emmanuelle

Related posts:
HSBC Expat Experience: It’s All About The Money… Or Is It?
HSBC Offshore Offspring Report
HSBC Expat Experience Report