January 2016 Most Expensive Expat Cities Globally

For the full list of expatriate cities from most to least expensive go here.

Introducing NEW Xpatulator.com Offerings

Introducing the many new exciting additions to our website is just the start.

Redesigned for your convenience.  The new Xpatulator.com user interface introduces an easier-to-use functional menu structure, faster reaction times, and superior usability on mobile devices.

Xpatulator.com

We have categorized  all the Home pages into user friendly sections for easy convenience. All the Premium Calculators are now easier to find under our second menu item CALCULATORS, this includes the invaluable new International Assignment Management Calculator;

general information on each calculator is available when you are signed out and the actual working calculators are available when you are logged in,

all your Reports will be saved into REPORT ARCHIVES when you are logged in and can now be found in their calculator Menu Item - Cost of Living Allowance, Cost of Living Index, Salary Purchasing Power Parity or International Assignment Management.

The old favourites are still available under COL Rankings for all location ranking information and Location Info is the Old Cost of Living Reviews section where you can still find all the usual country information.

Keep your eyes peeled on our blog for new information on what else has changed.

To come take a peak at the new site, go here.

Xpatulator.com is your superior international expatriate mobility cost of living calculator specialist.

Addis Ababa, "New Flower"

Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, this is a fast evolving city, not only the diplomatic capital of Africa but also a thriving metropolis. Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia and has the status of both a city and a state. It is where the African Union and its predecessor the OAU are based. The economic activities in Addis Ababa are diverse, with people who mainly speak Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya, and Somali.

If sent here on an assignment will experience weather that is tropical monsoon with wide topographic-induced variation.

The cost of clothing is high, the cost of food and beverages is very low, the cost of housing is average and the cost of transport is low. You will experience a high degree of hardship.

Source: Xpatulator.com

Assignment in Tallinn

Today I would like to discuss Tallinn in Estonia. If you were to be sent to Tallinn on an expatriate assignment or if you were to relocate there, you are likely to experience weather that is maritime with wet, moderate winters and cool summers. You will meet people who speak Estonian and Russian.

The cost of clothing and food and beverages is very high. The cost of housing is low. The cost of transport is average. Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. The most important economic sectors of Tallinn are the light, textile, and food industry, as well as the service and government sector. Tallinn also has a well developed information technology sector In addition to a seaport.

From a day to day comfort perspective, you are likely to experience extreme hardship. Be sure to negotiate an appropriate salary or allowance to compensate for the cost of living. If you live in Tallinn or if you lived there recently, let us know what your experience has been. Would you live in Tallinn again?

Source: Xpatulator.com

Assignment in Malabo

Today I would like to discuss Malabo in Equatorial Guinea. If you were to be sent to Malabo on an expatriate assignment or if you were to relocate there, you are likely to experience weather that is tropical,  always hot and humid. You will meet people who speak Spanish and French.

The cost of clothing and transport is very high. The cost of food and beverages is high. The cost of housing is average. Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea. Despite its status as the capital of Equatorial Guinea for several decades, Malabo's street network remains poorly developed. Malabo itself has few paved roads leading into it, and fewer than one hundred paved and developed streets.

From a day to day comfort perspective, you are likely to experience extreme hardship. Be sure to negotiate an appropriate salary or allowance to compensate for the cost of living. If you live in Malabo or if you lived there recently, let us know what your experience has been. Would you live in Malabo again?

Source: Xpatulator.com

Assignment in Cairo

Today I would like to discuss Cairo in Egypt. If you were to be sent to Cairo on an expatriate assignment or if you were to relocate there, you are likely to experience weather that is desert with hot, dry summers and moderate winters. You will meet people who speak Arabic.

The cost of clothing is high compared to other places. The cost of food and beverages, as well as transport is very low compared to other places. The cost of housing is average compared to other places. Cairo is a megacity and a global city serving as the capital of Egypt. Cairo is the centre of Egypt, as it has been almost since its founding in 969 AD. 15% of all Egyptians live there. The majority of the nation's commerce is generated there, or passes through the city.

From a day to day comfort perspective, you are likely to experience extreme hardship. Be sure to negotiate an appropriate salary or allowance to compensate for the cost of living. If you live in Cairo or if you lived there recently, let us know what your experience has been. Would you live in Cairo again?

Source: Xpatulator.com

Assignment in Quito

Today I would like to discuss Quito in Ecuador. If you were to be sent to Quito on an expatriate assignment or if you were to relocate there, you are likely to experience weather that is cooler being inland at a higher elevation compared to the tropical coast and the Amazonian jungle in the lowlands. You will meet people who speak Spanish and indigenous languages.

The cost of clothing is high compared to other places. The cost of food and beverages and transport is very low compared to other places. The cost of housing is low compared to other places. Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador. Quito is the second-highest administrative capital city in the world (after La Paz, Bolivia), and the highest legal capital (ahead of Sucre, also in Bolivia, and Bogota, Colombia). From a day to day comfort perspective, you are likely to experience high degree of hardship.

Be sure to negotiate an appropriate salary or allowance to compensate for the cost of living. If you live in Quito or if you lived there recently, let us know what your experience has been. Would you live in Quito again?

Source: Xpatulator.com

Assignment in Santo Domingo

Today I would like to discuss Santo Domingo in Dominican Republic. If you were to be sent to Santo Domingo on an expatriate assignment or if you were to relocate there, you are likely to experience weather that is tropical maritime with little seasonal temperature variation but with seasonal variation in rainfall. You will meet people who speak Spanish.

The cost of clothing, food and beverages and transport is average compared to other places. The cost of housing is high compared to other places. Santo Domingo, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Santo Domingo is the centre of economic activity in the Dominican Republic. Many national and international firms have their headquarters or regional offices in the city. The city attracts many international firms and franchises due to its geographic location, stability and vibrant economy.

From a day to day comfort perspective, you are likely to experience extreme hardship. Be sure to negotiate an appropriate salary or allowance to compensate for the cost of living. If you live in Santo Domingo or if you lived there recently, let us know what your experience has been. Would you live in Santo Domingo again?

Source: Xpatulator.com

Assignment in Roseau

Today I would like to discuss Roseau in Dominica. If you were to be sent to Roseau on an expatriate assignment or if you were to relocate there, you are likely to experience weather that is tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds and heavy rainfall. You will meet people who speak English (official), French, and Patois.

The cost of clothing is average compared to other places. The cost of food and beverages and housing is high compared to other places. The cost of transport is low compared to other places. Roseau is the capital and largest city of Dominica. The urban structure of Central Roseau is based on an irregular grid system of miniature proportions. Exports include bananas, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges and cocoa, services.

From a day to day comfort perspective, you are likely to experience extreme hardship. Be sure to negotiate an appropriate salary or allowance to compensate for the cost of living. If you live in Roseau or if you lived there recently, let us know what your experience has been. Would you live in Roseau again?

Source: Xpatulator.com

Assignment in Djibouti

Today I would like to discuss Djibouti. If you were to be sent to Djibouti on an expatriate assignment or if you were to relocate there, you are likely to experience weather that is desert, torrid, and dry. You will meet people who speak French, Arabic, Somali, and Afar.

The cost of clothing is are average compared to other places. The cost of food and beverages, and housing is high compared to other places. The cost of transport is very low compared to other places. The City of Djibouti is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Djibouti. The Djibouti-Addis Ababa Railway runs from the city to Addis Ababa, while it is also home to the Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport. Northwest of the city centre lies the city's port, used for international trade, for fishing, and by ferries to Obock and Tadjoura.

From a day to day comfort perspective, you are likely to experience extreme hardship. Be sure to negotiate an appropriate salary or allowance to compensate for the cost of living. If you live in Djibouti or if you lived there recently, let us know what your experience has been. Would you live in Djibouti again?

Source: Xpatulator.com

How to Save Money on Your International Move

As an expat many of us move from place to place on a regular basis, determining a standard removal cost can be challenging and not without its hitches.

http://blog.xpatulator.com/2013/01/how-to-save-money-on-your-international.html

How to Save Money on Your International Move

As an expat many of us move from place to place on a regular basis, determining a standard removal cost can be challenging and not without its hitches. An international airfreight move is billed according to the weight and volume, while a container cost in contrast depends largely on the size of the container or space you may wish to share with another client. So shipping all your belongings abroad might prove to be an expensive affair. However, with careful planning, you can reduce the cost of your international move considerably. Here are some effective ways to control these expenses:

1) Consider selling your car

Moving your car abroad is a tedious process, not to mention a huge additional expense. It might be cheaper to buy a car abroad or if you are moving to a city with an efficient public transport system, you might not need a car at all.

Also factor in the cost of owning a car in a place like central London for example, where you are required to pay a hefty congestion charge. In some cases it is just not practical at all, as countries like the UK, Australia and India drive on the left hand side of the road.

2) Take a good look at your wardrobe

A good size wardrobe weighs more than you think. Make a note of all the items of clothing and footwear that you have not worn in the last year. Keep the ones that have sentimental value. Give the rest away to your local charity.

If you are moving to a warm tropical country, you are not going to need your winter clothes. Sell them if possible or if not, donate them to a homeless shelter. If you are moving abroad for a short-term assignment, consider placing them in a storage facility.

3) Use up all your stored food

Plan ahead. Store just enough food to last you until your move. Use up your frozen and canned food. It is best not to pack surplus canned food, many countries do not allow food, food products, or alcohol to be included in the container, check this with your removal company. In case you have unopened canned food, donate it to your local food bank.

4) Sell your fitness equipment

Home gyms, treadmills, rowing machines and weight training equipment take up a lot of space and add substantial weight to your shipment. You can sell it online or place an ad in your local newspaper.

5) Hold a moving sale

Clear out the attic and basement. Chances are that you are not going to need any of your old furniture, toys, collectibles and paraphernalia that has accumulated over the years. You can sell your lawn mower, heavy work tools, stationery, carpets and curtains or put them in storage. A great advantage in the era of technology is that you can now sell these items online or via social networking sites, see what is available in your area.

6) Give away or sell hobby equipment

Camping gear, bikes and other bulky hobby equipment can be sold as per above. Also, most countries do have restrictions on importing plants, once again check this with your removal company. If you have potted plants, consider giving them to your friends and family as a goodbye present.

7) Keep your belongings in storage

If you going abroad on a short to medium term assignment, renting a storage space makes sense. Heavy furniture, carpets, household appliances, books, DVDs and the like can be held in storage till the time you are back.

8) Take along as baggage

Book your travel tickets early, on an airline that offers maximum luggage allowance. Check if you can purchase excess baggage in advance at a lower price or via your air-miles if you belong to an airline scheme. Utilize your luggage allowance to pack your clothes, valuables, personal electronic equipment and important documents.

9) Hire a competent international mover

A quality international mover can save you money in the long run, as they deliver your possessions just like they were when they left your door. Get a minimum of 3 international movers to do a visual survey of the items you need shipped.

Ask for an all-inclusive door-to-door quote if possible, including the disassembly and reassembly of furniture if required. When you give your mover your destination address, make sure to mention if there is parking nearby or if your building does not have an elevator. This will help the mover prepare a more accurate quote.

Find out about any ‘hidden extras’, customs duties, port taxes, etc., if applicable and get details of any additional charges in writing, from your mover. Find out about insuring the items you would like to replace if they are stolen or lost.

When the removal company is packing, check that all the boxes and items are accounted for and more importantly check each and every cupboard in the house to ensure that nothing is left behind.

Finally be sure to read user reviews of international movers on FeedbacQ, before you make a decision.

Author Bio

Tishana is an international move specialist with www.feedbacq.com, a platform for expats and would-be expats to connect with quality verified international household movers. She likes tennis, yoga, dancing and stand-up comedy. 

The Cost of Living in Doha, Qatar

Qatar is a peninsula bordering the Arabian Gulf and Saudi Arabia.  Arabic is the national language and English is spoken by most locals and expatriates.

Doha is Qatar's largest city, with over 80% of the nation's population residing here or its surrounding suburbs, and is also the economic center of the country.

The overall cost of living rank in Doha is 84 out of 300 global locations, which equates it with high cost of living locations for expatriates to live. 

In terms of the hardship people are likely to experience, assessed in global terms, Doha is ranked as a some hardship location with a hardship index of 20%.

According to the recent Consumer Price Index released by the Qatar Statistics Authority, the cost of everything but rent in Qatar has gone up. Compared to the cost of things like clothes, food and transportation in May 2010, prices have gone up between 0.4 to 7.8 percent, QSA reports:

“The highest increase was in the Clothing and Footwear group, where prices went up by 7.8%, followed by Transport and Communications by 5.2%, , Miscellaneous Goods and Services, by 4.8%, Food & Beverages group, by 4.5%. Prices in the group of Rent declined by (3.8%).”

CPI has also been calculated excluding the group of rent. After eliminating the effect of rent, the overall index shows a 1 month increase of 0.4% in May 2011 compared to April 2011, and an increase of 4.1 % for the full year compared to the month of May 2010, as published in Doha News.

Added to this, all citizens employed by the Government will be receiving up to a 60% increase in their salaries, which will likely snowball the already increasing prices. As an expatriate this is not good news, if salaries do not increase on the expatriate front as well.  Increasing prices will decrease expatriate purchasing power and result in expats unable to send money home, save or sustain a decent standard of living.

To get a full evaluation of your cost of living status go to xpatulator.com

Xpatulator.com provides cost of living comparison calculators by city. Choose salary, cost of living allowance, or cost of living index report for international comparison of global locations across the world.

Cost of living and hardship (quality of life) data is updated quarterly. Current data is as at 1 July 2011 based on data collected during the second quarter of 2011. Exchange rates are updated daily. The latest free cost of living rankings as well as free cost of living reviews are available for all 300 global locations and all 13 cost of living baskets.

Cost of living index (percentage) and hardship (quality of life) index information for 13 different cost of living baskets in 300 international locations are delivered via 3 premium content self service comparison calculators (Report Wizards) that generate personalised reports online:

Salary Purchasing Power Parity Calculator

Cost of Living Allowance Calculator

Cost of Living Index Calculator

Denise is an Expat, Mom, Wife, writer and Marketing Manager at  http://www.xpatulator.com/ a website that provides cost of living index information and calculates what you need to earn in a different location to compensate for cost of living, hardship, and exchange rate differences. The complete cost of living rank for all 300 locations for all 13 baskets is available here.

The Cost of Leaving Loved Ones Behind

Today, I held my mother’s hand as they prodded her arm for a vein, my heart broke as they pulled it out as the left arm veins are no longer usable.  A hysterectomy to remove the mass of cancer and thirteen chemo sessions later, she is starting all over again as the last six sessions did not work in reducing the remaining tumors sitting close to the bladder, colon and one kidney.  

The second time they tried in the right arm and found a good vein, no collapsing, but the pain was evident on Mom’s face as her knees lifted towards her chest and her face visibly sunk deeper into itself.  

Two days earlier, my father who turns 80 in November, fell down some concrete steps onto the tar road. He was picking up his post, a normal everyday event.  He wasn’t hurt too badly, a bloodied finger and damaged pride. He couldn’t understand how he could possibly have misplaced his foot. He has fallen three times on this visit.

My stomach knots and my heart saddens into itself when I think of the fight that my mother still needs to face and of my aging father. This is part of their lives that I will not be around to support. 

I am lucky, I have two wonderful sisters who have been around to drive my mother to and from the oncology center, to hold her hand when needed and to support and love her through part of this challenge.  All four of her daughters were with her when she was diagnosed, all four of us were with her at her first meeting with the Oncologist and all four of us were there for the first chemo session.  Unfortunately, my two sisters still living in the country live 11 hours away from her actual home, one of us is in Ireland and I am an expat. Mom has been living with my two sisters that are still here, one year on and she wants to go home to fight this fight, with her husband at her side and in her own home.  This leaves her four daughters many miles away from her, with an aging husband for support and the hospital an hour away. It is not the ideal situation.

In the last year, two of my friends have lost their fathers, they are both expats. Both knew their fathers were ill but were not there in the final moments. Another friend rushed home (a 2 day trip to the USA) because her mother had been given the last rights, she survived and is still going strong.  This is the reality when you are an expat living far from your home and have aging parents. You hope that they have sufficient support or family around to help with their requirements, that they have love and comfort, but you just never know what the future holds and that is the toughest part of leaving them behind. Each visit home I make sure that we spend quality time together, knowing that “You just never know”. 

On this visit I have been trying to convince my parents that the house with 12 steps up to the front door is not the best option to grow old in. We have looked at retirement homes, options of frail care, discussed the what ifs and what nots of cancer and ageing, the pros and cons of moving, and that at the end of the day the decision cannot be made by anyone other than themselves (at this stage anyway). This is their decision, where they want to spend their final years and quite frankly I want them to be happy, cared for and loved.  We are concerned for their welfare and we as their children will have to finalize whatever the outcome of their decision is.  

An Expat friend of mine wrote a blog with regards a Granny who was left tied to the toilet in an old age home, where she died READ Gwendaline Gleeson.  This is not what I want for my parents.  

I am frayed, how can you force your parents who have looked after you into adulthood, to do something that they are not comfortable doing. Yet, you know that the options are limited. They have no daughters close at hand to check in on them on a daily basis, they live in a house with numerous staircases that need to be maneuvered more agilely than they are capable of, chemotherapy is 50 minutes away which requires driving, while housework and meals need to be considered.

Thanks to medical science, our parents are living longer and so will we. Adults over the age of 80 are a fast growing segment of our population and unless they have provided a good pension for themselves, they will be dependent on others for their basic needs and medical support. 

So what are the solutions?

Firstly you need to consider your cultural roots, is it disrespectful to place your parents into an old age home?  Do you come from a culture where parents live in their children’s homes when they can no longer care for themselves? As an expat how can you accommodate this?

Consider the society you live in, if your parents live at home but both you and your partner work, who is there to look after them? Would you need to consider a caregiver? What about their social lives, can you cater for them to socialize during the day while you are not around? Where is their safety net when you are not around to help?

Allow your parents to make an informed decision, give them all the options that are available. These can include retirement villages with frail care units, remaining in their home or yours with part time or full time nursing staff, hospitals that are close by, etc.  

As an expat this decision becomes more difficult to answer, if you are not in the country to care for your parents, do you have the answers? 

As an expat have you thought about where you are going to lay your head to rest? Have you thought of the consequences and have you planned for your own retirement years?

I always think that if I was in the same situation, I would want to make the decision of where I would want to grow old, the view I would want to appreciate and where I would want to die.

Wouldn’t you?

Denise is an Expat, Mom, Wife and Marketing Manager at  http://www.xpatulator.com/ a website that provides cost of living index information and calculates what you need to earn in a different location to compensate for cost of living, hardship, and exchange rate differences. The complete cost of living rank for all 300 locations for all 13 baskets is available here.

The cost of connecting

For 3 years I have been a nomadic expat, for 3 years I have battled to find an easy accessible and cheap way to connect while on the road.  Why?  Well I don't always stay in hotels where internet access has now become part of the package, although not all hotels offer this service for free and for those who do I am eternally grateful.

Holiday flats also offer the option of connecting to a specific service provider but at quite a hefty fee for a holiday maker who needs to be connected at all times.  

Try use an internet connect card from your service provider and you may as well mortgage your home for your trip as well.  Lucky are those who have their corporate accounts to keep connected anywhere in the world.  For the small business owner, or the employees who do not have this as a company benefit when travelling, good luck.

I often travel to destinations where I can vacation with friends or family or simply reside in holiday apartments which offer space and convenience.  However, it requires me devising improved ways of connecting with the outside world with the required connection speed. In my efforts to find better solutions, I have converted most of my family members to broadband and wifi in their homes. Back at home base and I am comfortably settled into my unlimited bandwidth and if I am disconnected for the odd reason or two, I can frequent a hotspot to complete my work without fee payments or bandwidth worries.

Some of the countries I have visited have proven impossibly difficult to obtain easy, accessible and convenient pc cards. One of these was South Africa, I was confronted with the requirements for the variety documents to obtain a simple sim card to connect to the internet ludicrous.  Once I had acquired a card it was immensely expensive, I was buying airtime nearly every 2 days at an obscene expense that eventually became unaffordable.  

Fast forward to our first visit to Cyprus, we bought a sim card for our Vodafone laptop connection. It did not work, it would not work due to the fact that we bought the USB Vodafone modem in South Africa, and it proved not to be compatible with the Cyprus Vodafone sim card.  Please explain that?  We had to go through a local service provider to get ourselves set up, in the interim we used a connection in the hotel at great expense.

This year I have looked for hotspots to connect to on my travels, this is relatively inexpensive if you can find the right hotspot with the right service provider. In some countries you find free hotspot points in parks, in others I have found them in airports, coffee shops, restaurants, Bed and Breakfasts, hotels, and hospitals to name a few. You just have to know where to look and then seek and find.

So although there is no simple solution to travelling and having instant internet connection at a normal local rate and in the area you have decided to reside in for that moment, you can find hotspots and some service providers in some countries that are user friendly, cost effective and a lifesaver.

What are your thoughts on connecting when on the road?

I have listed some service providers below that provide payable hotspots :

http://www.alwayson.co.za

http://www.hotspot-locations.com/

http://www.hotspotsystem.com

http://www.hotspotsusa.com

http://www.free-hotspots.com

http://goeurope.about.com

http://www.getisp.info/wireless-internet.html

The Seasoned Expat

An image of a juicy piece of sirloin comes to mind that is ever so lightly seasoned and seared lightly on the outside but still rare inside and so it should be for the seasoned expat, moving from one country to another should be like a trip to your favorite restaurant with the finest meal placed before you without having to be in the kitchen to cook it.

However, as any expat can tell you from the outset becoming a nomad takes a considerable amount of expertise, experience and well earned years on the road.  Our travels as proficient expats still needs much to be desired, but we have encountered those that have been down this path many times and for many years. They divulge information regarding their travels with the knowledge that us novices wish we had when we first set out on our adventures.

Generally our conversations with other expats goes along the following lines: How long have you been here for?  Eliciting remarks of “Oooohhhhh, shame you will get used to it, it takes a bit of time”.  Little smiles of understanding lilt other expats lips as we all know what the new recruits are going through and just how they are feeling. 

Everyone takes their own time to settle and in their own way.

I know we would have made several different choices knowing what we know now from leaving our home to where we would stay on our arrival. Here are some of the questions that I have come across over the years, that can perhaps help those that endeavor to go on this voyage of expatriation.

I have broken this blog up into a series of questions that you need to ask yourself each step of the way, I will post each section of questions throughout the week.

Before you accept the assignment and are at home ask yourself the following:

1. Why do I want to become an expat, what is making me make this move?

Is this due to a career advancement, career move, or to move from a personal situation or country politics.  Make sure you are moving for the right reasons.

2. Will this be a good move for me and my family?

3. Will my marriage survive this move?

4. Will the family be happy?

5. Have I discussed all the details with them and what their needs are?

6. Have I included the children in the conversations?

7. Who is this going to benefit?

Initially, we discussed every detail about the move between ourselves, we went through the pros and cons, both financially and emotionally for the family.  Then included the children in our discussions and found a way for them to feel that they had made the decision, a smart move on my husband’s part. (If the children are too small then they cannot be part of this decision but if they understand how their lives will change then they should be included in the discussions).

Once each member of the family is in agreement with the move, then start asking the following questions:

Is the assignment an open one or a specific contract that will last for 2 or 3 years? 

This will help answer questions the following questions -

1. Should I sell my home or rent it out?
2. Can the animals come with, what are the laws regarding this?

3. What relocation company is the best to use for international assignments?

4. What furniture, clothes, personal belongings should we take with us?

5. Where is the country and city we are moving to, i.e. on a map? 

6. What do we know about this country?

7. What is the population, culture, religion, political situation and economy?

8. Is there a dress requirement e.g. having to wear an Abaya in Saudi Arabia, suite to work, etc?

9. What is the weather like?

10. What are the local people like?

11. How many hours will it take to get home (back to our own country) if we need to?

12. Is there a consulate for my country there?

13. How safe is it?

14. How many other expatriates live there and which countries do they come from?

Then consider your next plan of action, set dates for each of your objectives.

1. Selling / Renting house out
2. Finding a relocation / removal company
3. Finding an animal relocation company, if you are taking the animals with
4. Buying airline tickets
5. Settling any debts that may arise while you are away
6. Setting up a way to pay for any debts that may arise
7. Saying goodbye to family and friends
8. Selecting a family member or friend to deal with any business / banking issues that may arise

Answer these and I will post more for you to consider tomorrow.

From Paris with Love

Paris the "City of Love". Who has not wished to live in Paris once in their lives? There is a line in a Baz Luhrmann song called Sunscreen that goes "Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft." I think this applies to Paris too, perhaps the saying should be "Live in Paris once but leave before it makes you too French," unless you are French of course.

Paris has a magic about it that draws people. What is it about this city that is so special? Is it the notion that French people are undeniably romantic? Couples walking hand in hand along the Seine, sharing bread, wine and cheese in the gorgeous green parks, snuggling up on park benches in winter, whispering to each other in cafes! Or is it just that the French sound so unbelievably sexy when they speak?

I am not sure, but whatever it is I would love to live in Paris just once in my life. Paris has all the romantic attractions for me, I could imagine myself as an expat walking the streets, shopping at Galleries Lafeyette or Avenue Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré for the crème de la crème. Left bank or right bank you will have a ball.
 
Then there are the museums from The Louvre  (which could take your entire stay in Paris to get through), Musee D'Orsay and the Centre Pompidou.  The beautifully manicured parks will take your breath away and you could spend hours sunning yourself in deck chairs while life passes you by, from the elegant Luxembourg Gardens or Place des Vosges which is in the fashionable Marais quarter, and most importantly the Château de Versailles, which is opulent, fanciful and luxurious, the gardens cover more than 800 hectares - with woodland, ponds, fountains and statues. Picnicking is certainly one of the best Parisian past times that I have ever experienced.

Then there are the flea markets to browse, cafes and tearooms to experience, street markets, and last but not least the architectural wonders of the Eiffel Tower, The Opera House, Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, and Notre Dame Cathedral to name a few.  Oh Paris, you are calling.

This is certainly not where it stops, as living in Paris gives you access to the rest of the France and well, Paris may well take you a year or two to get through, and then there is the rest of the country to experience.
Certainly enough good reasons to want to be an Expat in Paris!

But what will Paris cost you if you decided to make a career move here? What are you earning and what would you need to earn to live it up in Paris and her night clubs?

Use Xpatulator.com's SPPP calculator which calculates how much you need to earn in Paris to compensate for cost of living, hardship, and exchange rate differences, in order to have the same relative spending power and as a result have a similar standard of living as you have where you live now. If, for example, you live in New York and earn 100,000 USD, what would you need to earn in Paris to have the same spending power?

Salary Purchasing Power Parity

Applying the cost of living difference based on what will be paid from salary, together with the hardship difference, and arbitrage exchange rate, the Xpatulator calculation is as follows:

Home/Current location salary	100,000.00	US Dollar (USD )
+ Cost of living difference 4.9121%	4,912.08	US Dollar (USD )
+ Hardship Difference 0%	0.00	US Dollar (USD )
Total	104,912.08	US Dollar (USD )
x Exchange Rate 0.7186
Salary in Host/New location	75,389.82	Euro (EUR )

This means, based on all the above factors, that you would require a salary of 75,389.82 Euro (EUR ) in France, Paris to have the same standard of living as currently enjoyed in USA, New York NY on a salary of 100,000.00 US Dollar (USD ). This salary compensates for the overall cost of living difference of 4.9121%, the hardship difference of 0%, and the exchange rate. 

Cost of living with Xpatulator.com

And to end off with Baz again:
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.....the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

As an Expat how do you communicate?

As expats we are far away from the ones we love (maybe distance does make the heart grow fonder), our communication systems of today however do make our loved ones within our grasp even across the miles.

Having left home 3 years ago to follow the road of the expat for the very first time, those first few weeks away from home were the worst of my life.  We had sold almost everything, the beautiful home that I had spent 3 years renovating, our investment flats, our weekend home at the dam with our speed boat, the new plot at a much bigger dam that was meant to be our retirement home, and bits and pieces of furniture that we were not taking with us.  Everything gone in less than 6 weeks, our lives sold up and never to be returned to.  We were not only becoming expats but we were moving our family out of a country that we felt had no future for them.  We packed up our container with the bits and pieces we felt we had to hold onto, said our final goodbyes to our family and friends at the airport and boarded the plane to our new lives.

Little did I realize how lonely those first few months were going to be, we were in the midst of summer vacation, everyone had taken their leave and gone home to visit their families and we were sitting in 45 – 50C degree heat.  The kids had no one to play with, other than themselves and their 30 odd year old mother, we had no car, no clue where to go and have fun, no initial internet connection, no household help, and heat that was suffocating.  To say we were not very happy campers would be under estimating  the situation.  Imagine a polar bear at the equator, and that is probably half of how awful the experience was for us.

Then suddenly we were given a lifeline, the internet was installed in our villa, we were like children in a candy store, the possibilities were endless. My laptop became my communication tool out to the world.  Skype, Facebook, gmail, (email, call phone and chat), msn, yahoo, (email, phone and chat), then what about the Blackberry (where once you have a BB account you can text anyone anywhere in the world for no cost), then there is just the normal texting where there is a cost via your cell phone (these are only a few ways of communicating), all of these became my friends.  I skyped my best friend every day to get a piece of normality into my daily life.   My friend who I had gone to gym with every day  and shared a coffee chat with afterwards was gone, and now once again we could chat with a coffee in hand across the miles. She was my godsend for those first few weeks.  

Although my parents were not on Skype, we ensured that on our next visit home they were connected and up and running so that we could have visual contact with them whenever we could, which was also a godsend when my mother was diagnosed with cancer.  My ritual is to sms my mother and say, I am on skype tonight, 7pm your time 8pm mine…. Be there and we can have  a nice long chat.  All my sisters and friends are connected too and if we don’t get to skype we sure get to catch up via Facebook, be it with photos of what has been happening in their lives or merely a status update.  Little happens without me knowing about it the same day.

I sometimes think of those people who are on their adventures as expats in the Congo, or the Amazon or a remote island in the Pacific, where the internet has no connection, cell phones are foreign and satellite phones are the most likely way to communicate.  That connection to the outside world is of such importance to keep your sanity intact, it is interesting to imagine not having some form or communication around to have contact with your loved ones.

And let’s be clear, it is not only for expats but for people who find themselves living in another part of the country to those of their loved ones.  The East Coast USA versus the West Coast USA, North Australia vs South Australia, the miles are vast and the need for communication with loved ones will never fade. 

So what is your form of communication across the miles?? 

 

Denise is an Expat, Mom, Wife and Marketing Manager at  http://www.xpatulator.com/ a website that provides cost of living index information and calculates what you need to earn in a different location to compensate for cost of living, hardship, and exchange rate differences. The complete cost of living rank for all 300 locations for all 13 baskets is available here.

What do you miss about Home?

Initially there is the interview, the prospect of something new on the horizon, the excitement of travel, of the unknown. There is a flutter of energy that embraces the family as possessions are sold or stored, clothes and personal belongings are packed and plans are made to travel to this new and exciting foreign destination.

You can feel the anticipation in the air, it travels with you on the plane, steps out onto the tarmac and into the airport.  Your expectations are high as you get whisked away by the new companies driver to the hotel where you will reside for the next few weeks until a home is found, furniture is bought or your container arrives, working visas are completed and work life begins.

That first day of work arrives, that sensation of your first job resurfaces, you feel nervous and anxious and slowly settle into the new culture, the language barrier, the new hours, the new colleagues, the new work load, everything that feels not as familiar as before.

Your family settle into their new schools, new friends, new home and that initial excitement of the unknown starts to settle over everyone.  Then one day a family member falls ill, you need to find a doctor fast and you need to find someone who has the know how to help you out.  This is when you start to experience that little twinge of the unknown, the unfamiliar, the nervousness returns and that feeling of wanting the familiarity of home becomes the strongest.

Missing home comes in all shapes and sizes, it just depends on what you are experiencing at that specific moment.  The family doctor that has your child's history from when they were born and would know what to do with her immediately.  Your Mom or Dad, Sister or Brother, your best friend who you spend Christmas, birthdays, Easter, anniversaries or holiday's with. The emotional tags that make you who you are.

The grocery store down the road that has your specific brand of cereal.  The local cinema, mall, clothing brand, toothpaste, what do you miss from home?

For me it is family, friends and the things that I am accustomed to, which doctor or dentist to go to, which social club suites my needs, my restaurants, my old very familiar life.

These emotions can waiver depending on the situation, mostly we as expats are constant.  The decision to leave our comfort zone was informed and mutually agreed upon, so often we need to consider those moments when we are at our lowest and missing home the most and reassess why the decision to become an expat was made.  Then spur ourselves on to incorporate a few home essentials into our daily lives.  A call to the person we are missing, a call to our local doctor for some advice, a trip down the road to that friend that may have good advice on how to handle the situation or which doctor would be the wisest choice.

I am not suggesting that the feeling of missing home will dissolve never to be reignited again, but it may just help hat little bit to make it more bearable.

Denise is an Expat, Mom, Wife and Marketing Manager at  http://www.xpatulator.com/ a website that provides cost of living index information and calculates what you need to earn in a different location to compensate for cost of living, hardship, and exchange rate differences. The complete cost of living rank for all 300 locations for all 13 baskets is available here.