Expat Focus Blog

Running A Business In France - A Tax Nightmare?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:50:00 +0000

One of the most common complaints I hear from expats in France (and there are an estimated half a million British expats alone living there) is that although France is a wonderful place to live, it is one of the worst places on earth to try and run a business. Many foreigners in France call the country ‘business hostile’ due partly to the vast and largely pointless bureaucracy that many businesses find themselves bogged down in, and partly due to taxes.

I don’t personally own a business in France so I’m not sure I fully understand all the ins-and-outs but essentially it seems to boil down to the fact that French taxes are some of the highest on the planet. Apparently the French tax system is divided into two – taxes proper such as VAT/TVA, income tax, property taxes and so on, then come the much dreaded ‘social charges’.

The social charges are mandatory payments made to the state to cover things such as health contributions, retirement benefits, invalidity cover etc. They are the rough equivalent of DSS contributions in the UK but about 5 times higher as a minimum. These are of course all taxes but are called ‘social contributions’ in France as the semantics of this sound warmer and cosier than ‘tax’.

Historically it has been the social charges that have crippled and destroyed many expat (and French) businesses. There are many different issues and legal ways of setting up a company and paying them, but it doesn’t seem to matter how you do it, you can be sure that around 40% of your turnover or profit (depending upon how you set up your business) will be taken by the state in social charges. Income and other taxes could be payable in addition to this huge percentage.

I know of many expats in France who have given up their small businesses claiming that the state was just bleeding them dry – several telling me that it was a complete waste of time trying to make a living there.

There may be some good news. Finally the French government have created a system to simplify the process of starting a company (in the past even that could be a nightmare I’m told) and much of it can be done online. More importantly, the payment of taxes and social charges for small businesses has been simplified at a lower flat rate. If I understand it, the new rate is 12-13% of your turnover and provides all income tax and social charges cover.

This may be a lifeline for those thinking of starting a business.

I believe the French state site at www.auto-entrepreneur.fr has all the details and also it has an outline of the new system in English. It may be worth having a look though be aware that the site has been unavailable a lot recently due to traffic ‘overloading’.

Keep an eye on Expat Focus for a more in-depth article about running a French business – it’ll be available shortly.

Nasty Nudies

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:51:00 +0000

More controversy in the forums surrounding Portuguese beaches:

"Whats do you folks think about horrid naked adults on local beaches? Mainly Clerigo - as this is the beach I most often visit.

Personally I hate seeing rotten old wrinklies in their birthday suits, when I am taking a stroll along the beach taking in the wonderful sights and smells of nature - suddenly, there they are, jiggling willies and flabby bums ugh! I just wish these people would go to remote beaches where they cant offend anyone - or perhaps they are exhibitionists. In that case, they should be arrested. Its gainst the law to walk around the streets naked, so why are the beaches any different?"

More here

To be and yet not to be

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:43:00 +0000

by guest blogger Karen Monesi

I am a Dutch Citizen, holder of a Dutch passport since 1985 when the Feminists got their way and offspring of a Dutch Mother became entitled to receive their citizenship, something which had been an XY chromosome privilege up to that time.

I still remember my parents’ joy (my father is Brazilian) when we received the unexpected letter from the Dutch Consulate in Sao Paulo, Brazil. At that time, even though the European Community was still in its cradle, we knew that having a passport from any of its countries would give us free transit in Europe. So, off we went to the Consulate and had our passports done.

Actually my parents weren’t wrong – these passports did open doors for us. My brother has been on a 2 years assignment in Luxembourg and one of the reasons why he was chosen was because he was a European citizen. He afterwards lived in Wales (some people might find this is not really an advantage but, hey, it was good for his career! [Ed. - no Welsh jokes please, it's not the Weakest Link you know!]) Life is easy when you have one: no queues at the airport, no time constraints about how long you can stay in Europe. No struggle. You’re just one of the gang. Period.

In 2003 I decided to honor my Dutch genes and roots. I packed 2 suitcases, sold my car, rented my apartment and landed in Amsterdam. Absolutely decided to learn Dutch and after 3 months I was able to do some small talk. A year later I decided to enroll for a language course – NATT (in Dutch, it means “Dutch as Second Language”) – at the University of Amsterdam.

When you enroll for these they request you to rate yourself from 1 to 6, 1 being absolute beginners and 6 the most advanced level you can reach. I considered myself a level 4. After this, you have to take a written test and have an interview with the Principal. According to her, after correcting my test and speaking the whole time in Dutch with me, I was definitely on level 6.

After attending the classes and having my Certificate, you’d assume that my Dutch skills were very good – so did I. However, every time I say something in Dutch to a Dutch person in the Netherlands they answer me in English. Very few exceptions allowed me to practice and I am very grateful to them. It has always been beyond my capacity to understand how come my language skills were good enough to have a conversation with a University Professor but not with a waiter or shop attendant (which, most of the time, are also University students). Really. The part that hurts is to hear many Dutch people saying that “so many foreigners have been living here forever and can’t say a word of Dutch”. Maybe they can, if you give them a chance?!

Every time I meet a Dutch person abroad they say: “But you are not Dutch” – and I have then to flash them my passport – which they return to me afterwards with a bitter grin, saying: “Yes, you are”. Hearing that I am not Dutch used to hurt me – nowadays, I just reply with a large grin – “No, I am not, I’m just a passport holder”. Or, if I am in a different mood: “No, fortunately not”, never knowing if they got the sarcasm in my voice.

I still treasure my European citizenship and wouldn’t change my papers for gold. Moving back to the Netherlands, however, is out of question. To be and yet not to be – sometimes it’s not even funny…

Karen can be contacted by email on karen_monesi@hotmail.com

Expat economics - is opportunity knocking?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:55:00 +0000

It’s interesting how economics can change people’s behaviour very quickly and how those that are ‘fleet of foot’ can benefit.

For a long time the euro was very weak against the US dollar and Sterling. The halcyon days for many were when the pound Sterling was at 1.45 euros and many things in Europe, notably property, seemed very cheap.

Now that’s all changed of course. At some levels the euro and pound touched parity and as I write it’s sitting at about 1 pound to 1.16 euros. That’s been bad news for many British expats who get their income such as pensions in Sterling but are now living in Europe in the Eurozone. Suddenly prices in continental Europe don’t look so cheap and I know many are struggling to survive on their old income.

Even so, some dynamics are already swinging into action. Suddenly Brits in Europe are starting to buy more and more over the Internet from the UK as a lot of stuff ‘back home’ suddenly looks much better priced than the same items being sold in the local town. The ferries are suddenly full of vans going over to the UK to ‘stock up’ on various items - notably DIY, Electrical Goods, Clothes and, wait for it, alcohol! The clinks of mass bottles can now be heard on ferries docking at the channel ports coming FROM the UK!

How times have changed!

Perhaps one of the biggest growth areas in this respect are the new and second hand car markets. There are now a number of specialist UK based car suppliers of left-hand drive vehicles based in the UK and they are selling their vehicles in Sterling not Euros. I know someone that recently purchased a LHD car from the UK in Sterling and saved approximately 4500 euros on the same car if purchased locally.

It’s also noticeable how small businesses, predominantly Internet based, are now springing up in many Euro countries and they are all targeting locally resident British expats that want to stretch their pounds further. Many of these include delivery services to a range of specified European countries.

As they say, “It’s an ill wind that blows no man any good”.

Of course this isn’t quite so good for those British expats living outside of Europe. The idea of running a white transit van from Calais to Sydney filled up with light bulbs and DIY kits isn’t perhaps a terribly sensible one, though then again Sterling’s decline has been less marked against many other currencies that it has been against the Euro.

So, for those expats in continental Europe, it may be worth looking on the Internet for the prices of at least some of the things you need if purchased in Britain and in Sterling. You never know, you could save yourself a lot of money!

This Marriage Thing - Navigating Love Abroad

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:14:00 +0000

by guest blogger Suzer from Suzer's Expat Adventures

Since meeting on a backpacker tour of Ireland, my husband and I have lived and loved in four different countries, before we were finally able to settle down in his home country of Australia. Along the way, we have faced challenges particular to a marriage on the move.

Starting on the Road

As I said, my husband and I met in Ireland. At the time we were both living in different parts of England, myself while studying and himself on a working holiday. For 8 months, we met up every 2 or 3 weeks on weekends, and for our last 4 months in the country, after my degree was complete, I moved into his London flat. This involved my husband staying in the UK longer than originally planned. In fact, he was away from home for a couple of years longer than he’d expected to be as a result of meeting me and I ended up permanently moving to a country I had intentionally left off my list of places to ever even visit. We found ourselves talking about marriage 4 months into the relationship, much sooner than we would have if we didn’t have to think about how to avoid living 10,000 miles apart. We went from the UK to a long visit to the US, then on to Australia where I got a working holiday visa for a few months, simply because he wanted me to suss it out before he felt ok with my decision to move there permanently. After that, we were off to New Zealand, where we got married and spent the better part of our time there waiting out a spousal visa. Almost 3 years later, we’ve now been back in Australia for about 9 months, where we are being patient with settling back into our home and marriage...

More here

Fury at Inconsiderate Dog Owners in Portugal

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:24:00 +0000

Interesting discussion going on in the Portugal forum, kicked off by this post:

"I have been reading this forum for sometime and have finally been prompted to join to air my frustrations regarding dogs on beaches and the owners total disrespect for other people.

Am I alone?

Today, I went to the beach and low and behold as always several dogs on the beach DESPITE signs stating NO DOGS…do these owners think the sign does not apply to them and their prized pooch, I ask myself? These dogs roam around poohing and weeing on the soft golden sand their presents awaiting some unsuspecting child to share the same “spot” of soiled sand as they play.

The final straw came today when I sit there minding my own business and low and behold another dog owner arrives the dog heads straight to a families towels and picnic bag and cocks its leg spraying and contaminating the unattended “camp” with urine!! Is this fair??

I chased after the dog and berated the English owner who just shrugged their shoulders and carried on. I was absolutely fuming as the unsuspecting family whose possessions the dog had urinated on had a young child

Who can I report this to as I followed the person back to the car and took their registration details?

If there is no consequence why display signs??. Owners should be responsible for their pets actions…if they were parents they would be or are DOGS held above humans??

Who else has witnessed this total lack of respect?

I look forward to your coments"

Follow up comments can be read here

Are you an expat in Portugal? Are you a dog owner? What is the situation like in other countries? Comments very welcome.

Of Mad Dogs and Expats

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:31:00 +0000

Interesting blog post from Peter Foster over at Telegraph Blogs:

"I see from local news-reports that Guangzhou is about to institute a 'one-dog' policy despite the weeping and gnashing from two-dog owners who must now choose which of their best friends they like the most.

Might seem a little cruel, but speaking as a resident of a Beijing tower block where dogs are a complete menace, I'd thoroughly support the idea. In fact if I was emperor for the day (God save us) I'd have a 'zero-dog' policy."

More here

Interesting comments too - I didn't realise dogs (especially those little yappy ones) were seen as status symbols!

The Value of Mateship

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:29:00 +0000

by guest blogger Suzer from Suzer's Expat Adventures

After I got all of my spousal visa paperwork submitted for my move to Australia, a slim envelope turned up in my mailbox with another form to fill out. It was called an Australian Values Statement, and required my signature as acknowledgement that I would accept certain Australian values as a newcomer to Oz, one of which was the value of mateship. At the time, I thought it was somewhat amusing, and wondered how it came to rank up there with equality, democracy, and respect for the law. Looking back, I should have seen how it struck a certain resonance with my biggest worry about my move to Australia, which was leaving friends behind. Wondering how long it would take to meet and get to know new people, I was concerned about being lonely, and wondering how I would fit in to this new place.

Hoping to do something ahead of time that might alleviate my fears, I started up an online social group for expats in Adelaide. Within no time the numbers of the group soared, and just over a year later, there are over 250 members. Some members have been in Adelaide only a few days, others for many years, and we even have some local Aussies who’ve been here a lifetime but are keen to meet new people. We have a monthly pub meet, and help each other out with information on adjusting to life in a new country. The best outcome of starting up this group, however, has been the new friends I have made. Some are acquaintances that I only see once a month, some are friends that live nearby, and some are mates that I have even had the luck to work with. We meet up for coffee, go on hikes, and often explore new places in Adelaide together for the first time.

Once a month, we have a ladies lunch with members of the group. It’s an informal, relaxed way to meet or catch up with new friends, have a glass of wine and a meal, and share stories about our new lives down under. We talk about what it’s like to be a woman in Australia, how we relate to our Aussie husband’s family and friends, the challenges with meeting new people and settling in. I had a very emotional response to the first ladies lunch, which included a group of women who came from places as far as the US, Canada, China, Colombia and Singapore. One of our main topics of conversation was that of friendship and the feeling of belonging and identity. Three are married to Aussie blokes, and for us, this poses a particular challenge. Not that Aussie lads are flawed in any way, but more so that fitting into their already existing circle of friends can take time. This could be said for anyone moving to their partner's country and trying to find their way into a life already begun. Being a long way from your own friends and family, you are in a position where you not only have to try and fit in, but also find a new identity for yourself, while at the same time maintain who you are. It’s no easy task, but it’s a rewarding one. Hearing these women sitting around me talk about going through the same things was a very validating experience.

I still keep in touch with my friends back home, but I sometimes think my ‘new Australian’ mates understand me better, in some respects. It’s still hard at times to be so far from my best friends who I’ve known the longest, but I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to have new people in my life. I can still vividly remember how lonely I was when I first arrived in Australia, but so much has changed since day one, much of it due to meeting my fellow expat ladies. I've been really lucky that in the short space of time I've been here in Australia I've met some great quality people, and while I miss catching up with my friends back home, I'm not lonely here. I tell newcomers these days that Australia is a place where the earth is red, you can see the stars, and there’s always a mate around to brighten your day.

Bi-Lingual, kinda

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:58:00 +0000

by guest blogger Toni Summers Hargis, author of "Rules, Britannia; An Insider’s Guide to Life in the United Kingdom"

Having lived in the States for nineteen years, I like to boast that I’m “bi-lingual”. What? You think there’s no new language to learn? “How different could it be?” you ask. Let’s just say the learning never ceases. Only last week, as we were heading off to an outdoor concert with some friends, one asked if I had the “church key”. I thought he was referring to the front door key, which I proudly produced, to gales of laughter from everyone. Come on – how was I supposed to infer that he was talking about a bottle opener?

For the most part, American English and British English are similar enough for us to be able to communicate; British goose pimples become goose bumps across the Pond, the phrase six and two threes translates to six of one and half a dozen of the other” (or six and one half when pressed for time), and fanny simply means one’s bottom instead of, well, a female front bottom. Some of the differences are hilarious either to Americans or Brits, depending on the situation. For some reason behoove, (which is the American version of “behove”) cracks me up every time I hear it. If you’re trying to warn me that it would “behoove” me to do something, you’ll need to choose a different word to be taken seriously. Similarly, every time I pronounce the word herb with an audible “h”, all the Americans in the room will smile indulgently at each me and then repeat my pronunciation exactly. The most hilarious of all is when Brits come across Americans named Randy. There’s much elbowing, winking and general Monty Python-esque behavior, which falls on utterly deaf ears as Americans don’t use the word “randy” to mean “horny”.

Generally, the differences cause mirth instead of confusion, but when your husband tells you he’s been shagging flies, it’s important to jump for the dictionary rather than jump to conclusions. (The term means to throw and catch baseballs in the outfield when the baseball game isn’t in progress.) Similarly, when your teenagers tell you they’re boning up on something, you should know that they’re studying (or claiming to) rather than getting up to anything more illicit...

Living the dream - on 1000 euros per month?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:22:00 +0000

Yesterday happened to be a nice day. The sun came out and it was fairly warm. Suddenly, as if by magic, out came all the tables and chairs onto the pavements. Flowers appeared in vases in the windows, birds were chirping away in the trees and everyone seemed to be smiling.

A lot of women decided to declare an end to spring and had their summer togs on, though oddly most of the men seemed to still be hedging their bets and were still wrapped up. I suspect there is something very significant in that difference although I can’t see it (I’m sure every female reader is now screaming at this point “It’s easy - men are all wimps” or the equivalent).

Certainly there was suddenly that ‘continental atmosphere’ around – that thing that one can rarely if ever find in an English speaking country. Felling pretty good and refreshed, I returned home to pick up some expat news. As always at the moment, it was full of doom, gloom and calamity but one item on British expats living in the Algarve caught my eye.

It was talking about how they have suffered a triple whammy this year. Firstly house prices have declined by around 25%, secondly the decline of Sterling has reduced their income levels in Euros, and thirdly they’ve had the wettest winter for 15 years.

Much of this was well-travelled stuff and nothing new. What did surprise me though was that the article happened to mention that one needs 1000 euros per month to have a modest but OK lifestyle. Well, I guess it depends a lot on how one lives, one’s personal circumstances and what one considers ‘modest’ but if you read the article I would caution against taking this as a fact.

Allow me to climb onto my soapbox for a second. In many parts of Europe there is a widespread quoting of this almost holy figure of 1000 euros per month. I have heard accountants in at least three European countries telling their clients that they should be able to have a reasonable lifestyle on that sort of profit per month (assuming they have no mortgage) and I have seen it mentioned in other articles previously.

My message is – be careful! It doesn’t really matter what EU country you’re living in, 250 euros coming in each week is NOT a lot of money to survive on even if you are mortgage free. You can probably rule it out as pure fantasy if you have children. Even if you do not or your kids have flown the nest, when your washing machine breaks down and the repairman wants 150 euros to fix it, can you pay everything else that week with 100 euros? If you have a car repair bill of 500 euros to pay, do you not eat for the next two weeks? What happens when the car repair bill and the broken down washing machine happen in the same week?

Living the dream is possible and I believe in going for it but it is important to keep a level head. Financial trouble and difficulties in making ends meet are the most commonly cited reasons for expats needing to return ‘home’ permanently. Keep a level head and do your sums before heading off to foreign parts and above all, don’t take as gospel this casually thrown-about figure of 1000 euros per month!

BBC infuriates expat audience

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:35:00 +0000

A storm is brewing over at the BBC website about changes made to the BBC news section, in particular the way in which UK news is served to those outside the UK. Further information and comments (scroll down to see the comments) at the following pages:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2009/06/change_to_international_pages.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2009/06/changes_to_international_pages.html

Returning home for the summer

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:29:00 +0000

Great article over at the Telegraph about expats returning home for the holidays:

"It's that time of year again. The suitcases come out, kids get fractious and the dog follows every move with melting eyes and slouching movements that give added meaning to the expression "dogged".

Swarms of expatriate wives and children from all over the globe descend on clogged airports intent on "going home" for the summer. Plans are made for Dad to join the fray, for a couple of weeks, in the middle of this madness of visiting grandparents and living out of suitcases..."

More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/5542307/Returning-home-for-the-summer.html

The excitement of expat life (really? where?)

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:07:00 +0000

A little while ago an American expat living in Moscow made news with a novel called ‘EXPAT’.

This got attention because

· It was raunchy
· Her publicity site for it included photos of herself in scanty underclothes
· Her name is Deidre Dare
· Perhaps most of all, she is (or was at the time) a senior lawyer for a major British law firm.

The novel and her poetry appeared to suggest that the life of an expat in Moscow consists largely of drink, parties and sexual excesses.

I’ve never lived in Moscow so I can’t speak from personal experience – maybe it is like that there. The key point about her exploits (of the literary and publicity kind) is that it fuels the stereotypical view of the average expat. I’ve commented on this before – that widely held view that all expats everywhere spend all their time by the pool, drinking themselves senseless and engaging in various forms of what I’ll politely term ‘frolics’.

The reality of course is not like that for the vast majority. If you’re considering the expat life, maybe you’re now thinking “oh that’s a pity”! Perhaps so, but in my own humble way I’ve decided to set the record strait and put a few words of my life experience diary down.

Day 1.

Got up. Raining. Went to work. Got hung up due to delays on the trams. Received a phone call at night from someone trying to sell me cheap car insurance.

Day 2.

Lights fused. Repaired quickly. Can’t find my favourite pencil.

Day 3.

Wrote my blog for Expat Focus. Got a phone call in the evening – wrong number. Watched some TV.

OK, a fairly hefty exaggeration for laughs but I hope making the point that while every day as an expat can bring something new and rewarding relating to living overseas, a life of non-stop excitement it isn’t.

Now having made that great and no doubt noble point, I’m starting to wonder if it IS such a life for everyone else and it’s only me that isn’t part of it? Do comment and let me have your opinion. !

Home and Away – USA, Property and Visas

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:05:00 +0000

I don’t normally comment on those “let’s help you find a home overseas” type TV programmes but I’m going to make an exception here. Some of these programmes are well made and some are not at all to my taste. Many people, though, find them great entertainment and a motivation to do something about their overseas living dream.

I have recently watched some of the new series relating to the USA as an expat destination and two things have consistently annoyed me.

For a start, the potential expats are consistently shown a property in the UK and another in the USA and asked which one they like best. Due to differences in house prices and the impact of the recession, this often involves them looking at (e.g.) a one bedroom tiny flat somewhere directly outside a waste disposal tip in the UK, then asking the participants to compare this to a 10 bedroom mansion with swimming pool and private lake in somewhere like Florida.

“Do you know yet which house you prefer?” is usually the inane question.

OK, that’s subjective and moderately (but only moderately) exaggerated I know. The point is that nobody doubts that in many parts of the USA at the moment your money will buy you a lot more in bricks and mortar than it would in many parts of the UK. It may or may not be a good time to invest in US property - that’s a subject for specialist advice - but the key thing is that this programme is meant to be about changing one’s life, not just finding investment opportunities and/or holiday homes.

That leads onto the second point. This programme and others like it rarely discuss in detail the participants’ visa or citizenship status. There are sometimes some passing references and at times one can deduce from the fact that one of the people involved has a US accent that possibly they have residency rights.

The trouble is that programmes like this can mislead people. Buying property in the USA is not at all difficult and it is about 1% of the issue if contemplating lifestyle relocation there. What IS difficult, in some cases insurmountably difficult, for many potential expats is obtaining residency and work permissions. In the USA owning property in itself does NOT guarantee that you will get the right to live in your dream home permanently and there is no such thing as a retirement visa.

You can use various Expat Focus resources to read up more on this, sometimes complicated subject and there are specialist organisations that will help people relocate to the USA, usually for a fee. You can find their details on the Internet – there are many of them.

All in all, you need to do your homework before starting to fly over to the USA to check out properties with or without a TV presenter’s help! Maybe I’m just being grumpy, but I wish this issue were covered a little more realistically in these sorts of TV programmes!

Feeling the strain?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:58:00 +0000

It is a fact that sometimes expats can have need of counselling. The stresses of being an expat can be significant and some studies have shown that this is particularly so for those on work assignments overseas as opposed to family relocations.

In a sense that is unsurprising. If you have moved with your family to start a new life overseas then there is a group around you to share the (hopefully numerous) highs and of course, the odd low from time to time. If on the other hand you are on your own overseas or perhaps you are the partner of someone working long hours in the office while you’re at home alone surrounded by strangers, then it’s fairly easy to start ‘turning in’ on yourself and feeling a bit blue.

In fact, some statistics indicate that about 50% of expats of the overseas work assignment variety actually request re-assignment back home after less than 1 year of what should have been a 2 or three-year contract. Of those cases, about 95% of the time the reason given relates to isolation and loneliness either of the expat or their partner.

Under these circumstances, it may be nice to have someone to chat to just to get some sense of reality. There are usually local expat organisations that can help, although you may have to make the effort to go and find it or other forms of support.

Of course it is possible that the idea of sharing your concerns with your next-door neighbour or the chairman of the local expats’ association isn’t quite what you had in mind. Sometimes it may be beneficial to talk to someone unbiased and impartial.

If that happens, it may be possible to seek some form of counselling. It’s important to note that in this I do not mean psychiatric counselling! It is beyond my sphere of expertise to discuss when those occasional and perfectly normal attacks of ‘expat blues’ may be in danger of turning into clinical depression – a doctor should be able to advise you.

What I am talking about is the counsellor who has been through relocation and understands some of the pressures an expat can be under. The trouble is that for expats living in non-English speaking countries, finding such a person may not be easy. There are some webs sites that claim to offer expat counselling - try Googling for a few minutes and see what you find.

Please note that I am not necessarily recommending these services or advising you to use them – there are several such sites and offerings on the web and you should do your own search and preferably take references. The point is that if you are feeling a little low then there is no reason for you to keep this to yourself. There are people to talk to out there - whether it be your neighbour, new friends on expat forums or a good counsellor.

Don't keep things bottled up, we've all been there at one time or another.

How to park a car - Aussie style!

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:08:00 +0000

by guest blogger Vicky Gray from Australia Uncovered

Parking in Australia is free in most places, barring airports and Hospitals. Unlike in Essex where I was horrified to discover that I had to pay and display at my local Somerfield store, even when I was just popping in for a pint of milk and some peanut MandM’s. I was reimbursed when I produced the other half of my ticket at the checkout, but that really wasn’t the point, it’s extremely inconvenient and if you don’t have a 20p coin on you, you’re buggered and forced to shop elsewhere.

Anyway, all you have to do here in Oz is observe the clearly marked signs that tell you how long you can park - and on which days. Car park bays are spacious and you no longer have to squeeze carefully out of your car to avoid banging into the car next to you with your door. The child parking bays are ridiculously oversized and you feel unworthy of using them unless you have a minimum of three children, a dog, two goats and a couple of loose chickens.

One rule that must be obeyed, which is totally different from England is that you can only park your car on the road the way the traffic is flowing. So you can no longer eagerly hop across to the other side of the road when you spy a space, you must first turn around and then go into it. Otherwise you may face a fine and even some penalty points.

Reverse angle parking seems to be the rage in Queensland – but this varies from State to State. If you do come across these type of bays, never park ‘nose in first’ – you will be frowned and tutted at, but only by Australians as they are justifiably fed up of seeing Poms hopelessly manoeuvring their 4WD’s into relatively easy spaces. You will probably find though, that fellow Poms will recognise you as a ‘newbie’- wonder over to introduce themselves and maybe even become firm friends!

Affected by the global economic downturn? Contact the BBC!

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Kirsty Good at the BBC has asked me to post the following:

"I'm a producer working within the Business Economics Centre at the BBC. Has the global economic downturn forced you back to the UK? I'm looking for an expat who's recently moved back to Britain because they simply couldn't afford to remain living abroad. I can be contacted on email at kirsty.good@bbc.co.uk

My telephone number is +44 (0)208 225 8266

Many thanks
Kirsty Good"

If you'd like to help Kirsty, please drop her a line!

The International Retirement Directory - can you help?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:02:00 +0000

Expat Focus is pleased to be contributing to The International Retirement Directory to be published in June. Its editor, David Creffield, is also looking for personal contributions from those who have happily (or unhappily!) settled/retired abroad. The directory will cover 50+ countries so contributions are welcome from any country in the world. David would appreciate contributions of 500 words or so and a (high-resolution) photo. You can see more about this project at www.internationalretirement.co.uk and contact David directly at david.creffield@tiscali.co.uk

The Ghanaian Job

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:49:00 +0000

by guest blogger Holli from Holli's ramblings

So my friend and interior decorating inspirational counsellor and I conspired to revamp my son’s bedroom and bathroom recently.

In our attempt to do it all on the cheap in a company provided, 70’s throwback style house (which was incidentally the Libyan Embassy in Ghana before we lived in it…), one of the aspects of our clever plan was to paint the en suite bathroom walls gold (to bring out the best in the hideous tiles). I mean, seems natural enough? No? Well, you’d be surprised how difficult it is to find gold paint in Ghana. Or maybe you wouldn’t…

So, as we do, we picked a Saturday when we were feeling particularly brave and energetic, and headed into ‘the Market’, the infamous neverending rolling squalor of Makola…There is a saying that anyone who has traversed the pathways of Makola knows, ‘You can find anything in that market!’ … but you might not find your way back out!!

So true to its legend, as we trudged through with green solid slime gutters underfoot, chickens and goats skirting around, and a constant flow of hot pulsing bodies surrounding us under the oppressively beating sun, we poked in and out of crowded alleys and deeper and deeper into the abyss, and we stumbled upon some sellers with.. wait.. GOLD SPRAY PAINT!!! So I bargained and bought two tins. The seller assured me this would easily cover a small bathroom. (All the walls are tiled halfway up).

We found our way out of the maze, after walking the ‘gauntlet’ of used clothes sellers, and buying more than a few “Selection, Madam!” items…at about $2 each.

And as things go in Ghana, we didn’t actually plan to do the dirty work ourselves! We’d have Eric, the house help do it… Therein lies the ultimate Ghanaian experience. You want something done. It seems simple and straightforward. You convince yourself you are too busy etc. and ask the ‘helpers’ to do it. What could go wrong???

Silly question, really. Monday morning I armed Eric with three week’s worth of old Sunday Times, an industrial roll of tape, and the two spray paint cans, with strict and precise instructions – cover all the tiles, ceiling, sink, toilet etc. with the papers…

Monday I arrived home from work and opened the door of the bathroom… drum roll please…

The two empty spray cans tossed on the floor caught my eye first. Then the white walls... What’s wrong with this picture?

Then I opened the door further and there in the back corner behind the door, on a 2 x 2 ft. section of the wall, was gold.spray.paint. Newspaper was taped to the tiles below, about a half inch below where the tiles begin (hence the top of the tiles is now gold spray painted), and every few inches a piece of tape, placed vertically, right into the spray painted area of the wall. So that when you remove the tape, there is a tape shaped white rectangle on the gold portion of the wall.

Question to self: Where is Zen when you need him? Deep breaths. This is funny, right? Cute even... Don't snap, just avoid Eric for the day...

Really I should just leave it. What did I expect when I said, tape paper over everything? That it was assumed the REASON for this was to create protection from the gold paint? And how else would one tape up the paper, if not with thumbstrips of tape?! You mean you wanted the paint to be uniform?

I looked up at the ceiling – a fine mist of tapering gold…

When I asked Eric, determined to stay calm, about all these absolute F^&%^ ups, not to mention the fact that he didn’t bother to spray across the wall but over and over on the same spot until both cans were completely empty… he shrugged and said “Oh Madam, the paint wasn’t plenty, o. The man who sold it to you was cheating… And I forgot about the paper for the ceiling. Also, I don’t know how to put paper up on the ceiling. Madam, please, it will fall. …”

I’m tempted to give up, just as is and leave the mess that is there. After all, TIG (like “This Is Africa”, but my more dear to the heart version, ‘This Is Ghana’…). But I just can’t. So I will painstakingly explain what I REALLY meant the first time about the tape and then describe how one goes about spray painting, and send Eric himself to find more of the paint…

After all, I’m a glutton for punishment and Eric may never find his way out of the market…

Saying Goodbye to China

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:27:00 +0000

"My experience in China has not been about demystifying this culturally complex place or becoming a Sinophile. Old China Hand, China expert--I'm none of those and don't feel any more qualified to write about "the Middle Kingdom" now than I did when I arrived three years ago. The only thing I can say for sure is that I'm leaving a different person from when I arrived. There is nothing like being skyrocketed out of your comfort zone and landing in an unknown place to turn you inward and make you reflect--on the world as you know it, and your place in it--and being in China has certainly done that for me......"

Click here to read the rest of this post

Hotel Expat

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:52:00 +0000

One of the things the newer expat discovers very quickly is that they suddenly have a large number of new friends.

Some of that will have been expected - the new neighbours, the other expats living along the road, the nice local people in the nearby shop or bar etc.

What is often more of a surprise is just how many ‘old-new’ friends they suddenly also discover back home! There is a proven mathematical relationship that governs this phenomenon. It runs along the lines that the number of ‘old-new friends back home’ made will be directly proportional to the tourist attraction rating of your new location.

This really isn’t a joke! Many people see the newly settled expat as an ideal opportunity for a free stop over or cheap holiday. Obviously most expats welcome family and close friend visits as they would anywhere, but sometimes this can become a little too much and a problem.

One expat was telling me that between late June and the end of August, she and her family had not had a single weekend without visitors.

Another family was also telling me that having opened a small hotel, they’d had several awkward situations with friends asking if they could stay for periods. They said it had been very tricky because their various friends always wanted to come during the relatively short holiday season thereby occupying rooms they could otherwise let out. This meant that their real and precious income was being hit hard. Apparently some friends had reacted very negatively when they’d been asked to re-schedule their planned visit or pay for the room(s).

I also know of another working family who had a fairly ‘distant’ friend coming to stay for a few days. The day before arrival he very considerately emailed them with a list of places he’d like to visit and a rough itinerary – he’d also been doubly thoughtful and included a reminder that he couldn’t drive so they’d need to factor that in when making arrangements to take him around!

These are of course exceptional cases, or at least I hope they are. The vast majority of those that descend upon the conveniently located expat are well-intentioned and considerate people and their visits are welcomed. The trouble is that although each individual visit may be welcome, cumulatively they can be a strain.

What those old next-door neighbours of yours who have just popped in for a few days fail to realise is that being an expat is not usually the same thing as being on holiday. Perhaps they think that spending a day or two with them is not a big ask, but if they’re the fourth visitors in the past 6 weeks then that’s a total of 8 days you’ve had to take off work to entertain and show people around – and this says nothing about the cumulative costs of food and drink etc.

So is there an answer to this?

I suppose you could try to avoid moving somewhere that is too picturesque or which has beautiful sea and beaches. Certainly beaches, cute city-centres or historic towns with castles can be risky in terms of attracting old-new friends.

On the positive side you could try only handing out your contact details to very close family and true friends while swearing them to secrecy.

If that’s not your scene then what about taking some photos of a cement factory somewhere and sending them to all your old acquaintances back home on a post card labelled “view from our garden”?

You can be subtle and email back home to one and all making casual little asides such as “really enjoying it here in spite of the local health scares”.

These are all techniques that real expats claimed to have actually used with some success. I wonder if they were serious?

Expat travel deals - have YOU found any?

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:27:00 +0000

Here comes a moan...

Quite a few expats need to travel regularly. Many spend endless hours trying to find the best deals possible on flights and ferries through various clubs, associations and special offers.

Many consider themselves experts on the numerous cheap travel web sites and tend to have their own favourites.

The trouble is, I’m one of those who always seem to find it difficult to get these deals!

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had expat friends and contacts telling me how they found 2 first-class air tickets round the globe for only 50 euros each or how they got their ferry tickets, a luxury cabin and dinner with the captain thrown in for a grand total of 15 euros. I am also seemingly the only person on Earth that has never been spontaneously offered a free upgrade or 10 free flight tickets when boarding a flight just because one of the cabin crew liked my tie, shoes etc.

It’s worth stating here that I do not for one-second doubt these stories, I’m only moaning that I am never the beneficiary of such luck or largesse!

I do get angry and frustrated when the "fly via private jet for only 30 euros anywhere in the world" offers emblazoned onto a web site’s home page immediately disappears at the next click never to be seen again. Equally frustrating are the "fly X to Y from 50 euros" offers. Try as I may to key in every single conceivable combination of dates and times, I can never get these deals as the system invariably keeps telling me I’ve got to find, say, 675 euros instead.

Now, there are some good sites out there for expat travel and we have some good links and advice on Expat Focus covering that subject. You may also want to look at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/index.jhtml - a section of the British Telegraph newspaper aimed specifically at expats – I’ve seen some useful travel tips and offers there also.

I’m also a fan of the budget airlines and don’t have any problem accepting their ads for flights at 1 cent then finding they’re going to add 40 euros in taxes – in fairness they highlight that clearly up front.

All this, though, doesn’t hide the fact that for all the great information and stunning offers, one can still struggle to get good deals. One site for a ferry company, I’ll mention no names, does provide an excellent deal between France and the UK but in fact to get it you effectively have to buy two return tickets (UK/France/UK and another France/UK/France) and throw one leg of each away to make a ‘merged’ return. I’m sure it must make sense to someone, but it certainly doesn’t to me.

One airline offers a great deal on flights between the UK and Spain, but nowhere indicates how one goes about getting it – you certainly won’t find it on their website and their sales staff seem equally baffled when one asks.

Maybe that’s why so many people do seem to track down these great offers and I seem to find it difficult. Perhaps one needs to be skilled at cryptic crosswords coupled with Sherlock Holmes-like powers of deduction AND have the patience of a saint to be able to find them!

How to avoid sales calls as an expat!

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:47:00 +0000

There are a few times when being an expat and ‘dumb foreigner’ can be really useful.

Take telephone sales calls for example. When the phone rings at lunchtime these days, I can be fairly sure it’ll be a “do you want to save money on your fuel bills?” sort of call. It is just so nice to be able to say that I’m sorry but I don’t speak the language.

This also works well with door-to-door salesmen. I don’t know much about their schedules but quite often the moment they think they’re going to have to try and work in a foreign language then you wont see them for dust.

The approach can also be useful in city centres when that student approaches you with their clipboard and the “excuse me do you have a few minutes?” opening line that’s usually a prelude to trying to get your name for an insurance sales company.

The technique is great and even allows one to walk around some large exhibitions without being grabbed and delayed at every stand by the hovering sales folk.

The trouble is, sales folk are a bit like a virus. Once you think your antibodies are getting the upper hand, they just change their structure and start to become a nuisance again.

In quite a few countries English is fairly widely spoken as a second tongue and business language. Many telephone sales companies now employ staff with some knowledge of the language to ‘get you’ if you try and play the foreigner card.

Ingenuity and technology is also playing its part. One expat in France told me that a salesman knocked at the door. The expat played the “I don’t speak French” card – basically lying. No problem! The salesman immediately pulled out of his pocket a little tape machine and played a pre-recorded message in English!

Another case I heard of was equally odd. The expat concerned played their card and was amazed to see the salesman take out a mobile phone with various national flags stuck to keys. He only had to press a flag for the phone to connect immediately to someone the other end who spoke the prospect’s language and hey presto – the sale effort could continue via phone!

The students and other sales people collecting names and phone numbers in the street have also been tightened up. They have always operated in ‘hunting packs’ and now their masters tend to ensure that in the pack there is at least one that speaks some English and can be called over quickly to aid the discussion.

So, what’s the answer for the poor expat that’s seeing their trump card trumped?

I’ve a few suggestions that may help scare them off:

1. You could learn a few sentences in an incredibly obscure language and claim to speak nothing but it.
2. You could set up some form of interference grid around your front door that will disrupt any mobile signal or portable electronic device – though you may have to watch out for any poor salesperson that has a pacemaker installed.
3. Claim to be an alien visitor then start making beeping and clucking sounds.
4. Say at the outset that you’re a politician and would like to explain your policies.

Now I think about it, perhaps just hanging up or slamming the door is easier!

Gambling in Gambia

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:02:00 +0000

A widely travelled expat told me recently of a couple of experiences he’d had in Gambia in West Africa – and they offer an insight into how one can make wild and inaccurate assumptions about local cultures.

The very first day he’d arrived with his wife, the doorman was carrying one of their cases for them into the apartment. Being completely new to Africa, they’d dutifully read up in advance everything they could on the destination and knew that English was fairly widely spoken but not outside of major centres. They’d spoken slowly and enunciated clearly to their temporary companion, who’d nodded in comprehension.

Upon entering the apartment, the doorman spoke for the first time when putting down the case

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you know how Spurs got on yesterday against Arsenal?”’

For those who know little about UK football (soccer), Spurs and Arsenal are both London based clubs and traditional rivals. Incredibly, both the expat and the local man were both life-long fans of Spurs and spent some time standing on the edge of the Gambian bush discussing the past 30-40 years of the football club. The expat found to his amazement that not only did the local man speak perfect English, but also knew at least as much and possibly more than he did about the football club’s history.

A week or so later, the couple decided the try and get out one night for a change of scenery. Nightlife was limited and they’d been advised by local people not to venture out alone but instead to hire a taxi and driver for the evening.

They’d seen billboards advertising a casino and although it wasn’t their normal ‘thing’, they’d decided to give it a go.

They hired a taxi for 3 hours that evening and set off on the journey of around 15kilometres to the casino, arriving safely. Having spent an enjoyable hour or two, their taxi returned for them. On the way back, and on a deserted and unlit road in total blackness, a car overtook their taxi with its driver leaning out of the window shouting at their driver in the local language.

To their horror, the other car steered their taxi off the road and onto a totally black tiny track into the bush. Their driver said, looking very worried, that the other car driver had said he was a policeman but that he wasn’t completely sure. The couple now were very scared – the other car had no markings and the man wore no uniform but the track was too narrow for the taxi to turn and the taxi driver said the other driver had told him to drive down it for 200 metres or so.

Eventually the taxi arrived at a tiny clearing surrounded by bush. In the pitch darkness with no lighting whatsoever apart from the taxi’s headlights, the couple were able to see around 20-30 silhouettes of people appear from the bush, who then proceeded to surround the taxi in a circle.

The other car pulled up directly behind the taxi, blocking the exit. The driver got out, walked up to their driver’s window and stared shouting. The taxi driver got out looking very nervous indeed and disappeared into the 2am darkness leaving the expat couple alone surrounded by the silhouettes and the bush.

The expat told me that he assumed at that point that they’d never be heard of again.

Suddenly a large figure appeared by the side of their car window. A voice boomed out in perfect Oxford English;

“Good evening. Sorry to delay you like this but we’re doing some random checks on taxis to make sure their insurance documents are all in order. We won’t keep you long”

True to his word, a few minutes later the taxi driver re-appeared looking shaken but relieved and they drove off arriving safely back and without incident. The taxi driver told them that it was a police check though as no uniforms had ever been seen the expats were never entirely sure.

Two interesting little stories that indicate that some aspects of life are universal and one shouldn’t jump to conclusions about ‘the way things are’ when overseas!

Expats and the Internet - don't be (too) afraid!

noreply@blogger.com (admin) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:12:00 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me that even in the 21st century there are still large numbers of people around that claim to have never heard of the Internet.

There are even larger numbers who know of it, but avoid it like the plague because of all those nasty things they’ve read about viruses, id-theft or spy-ware and of course it is a known fact that just about everyone trying to do business on the net is a crook looking to rip people off!

I blame the TV myself. The amount of negative publicity put out by some sections of the media, notably some consumer affairs programmes, is truly disproportionate to the problems involved. Much of this negative publicity is very poorly informed, inappropriately researched and many of the cases covered show a total absence of investigative journalism in the sense that the claims are simply never put to critical evaluation.

Nobody denies that there can be problems when dealing over the Internet, just as one can have if dealing by post or via telephone, yet the Internet gets the bulk of negative attention. In reality, with some modest spending on security software and the adoption of some good common-sense practices, the Internet can be a safe place to find information and trade.

It’s hard not to wonder sometimes if the fact that the Internet poses a threat to TV advertising revenues is not a possible contributory factor in the coverage it gets, but perhaps that’s just too cynical!

Now, at face value this may not be anything directly related to expats, but it can be.

Expats overseas are in constant need of information and advice, particularly in the early months or years after their arrival. If they are unfamiliar with the language or live in a rural area, they may also need to purchase items from far afield. As a group they also frequently need to identify some unconventional (by local standards) ways of generating income through business.

In all these areas the Internet is at face value the obvious answer.

Yet sadly, some of even the younger expats are put off by all the negative coverage. In a recent expat forum meeting one woman, who was probably under 40, said she would not use the Internet to find information;

“…because of all the Trojan’s on it”

No, she had nothing against the ancient inhabitants of modern Western Turkey, and she did not know what a ‘Trojan’ was in technology terms, but she had been scared-off using the Internet by TV coverage throwing around frightening terminology.

This widespread fear is a pity. For example, it is always regrettable to see people paying far more for items than they need to simply because they have been frightened off the Internet by often exaggerated and unrepresentative stories.

In terms of finding information, the Internet is a must for expats. Just one example from today alone when trying to advise someone on a legal aspect of living in France (a subject I know little about) I found a site called

http://www.frenchlaw.com

This is a mine of information relating to all aspects of the French legal system and they can also put you in touch with an English-speaking French lawyer immediately.

There are literally dozens upon dozens of similar sites available to help expats in almost any country of the world. There is no need for any expat to feel cut off and alone.

Of course if you’re reading this then you presumably don’t need to be told how useful the Internet can be! Do though spread the word locally – let’s get all expats on-line and sharing their experiences if nothing else!