The total number of expatriates has reached 230 million worldwide, according to data collected by Feedbacq, an international movers platform. If you were to put all these expats together they would form the fifth largest country in the world. This expatriate nation would have a greater population than Brazil, Pakistan or Russia.

Moving abroad is increasingly seen as commonplace rather than an unusual lifestyle choice – with the number of expats rising from 73 million in 1960 to the 230 million living abroad today. With increased globalisation, more people, and companies, are seeing fewer barriers to relocating.

Big business

Many expats move abroad to work and think nothing of sending a large percentage of their salary home to their families. These remittances make up a huge sum, estimated at US$440 billion per year.

The total amount of expat remittance to developing countries was US$328 billion in 2012, which is equivalent to the annual GDP of Denmark. India, China and Mexico are the top three recipients of expat remittances.

If the number of expats continues to rise as it has since 1960 then in 30 years time there could be as many as 320 million expatriates around the world. This represents a large market for businesses targeting those living abroad, everything from currency exchange to relocation companies.

Expat destinations

The countries with the highest percentage of expats out of the total population are unsurprisingly, Qatar (86.5%), the UAE (70%) and Kuwait (68.8%). Jordan and Singapore came in fourth and fifth place respectively.

In OECD countries expats account for 13% of the population. In other words 1 in 10 people is an expat. If you look at the HSBC Expat Explorer survey, the top countries for expats are Singapore, Thailand and the Cayman Islands. The survey considers financial criteria, as well as quality of life factors.

Feedbacq calculates there are 6.32 million American living abroad, which makes up around 2% of the total population of the U.S. However, British people seem more inclined to live abroad – 4.7 million or 7.5% of the UK’s population are expats.

Why did you move abroad? Do you live in an expat dominated country like Qatar? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

Just Landed’s expat guide to Brazil is now available in Portuguese, the country’s official language. Portuguese speakers can take advantage of all the information within the guide, from getting a visa, to finding a job and accommodation.

Representing the “B” in the growing BRIC economies (Russia, India and China are the others), Brazil is fast becoming a popular destination for international assignments. In addition, playing host to the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the 2014 football World Cup, will propel Brazil to the front of the world stage over the coming years.

Before you arrive, make friends and ask questions in our busy Brazil expat forum. Whether you’re living in lively Rio de Janeiro, or taking it easy in Salvador, our guide will help make your relocation a smooth process.

Guia para expatriados no Brasil agora em Português!

O guia para expatriados no Brasil da Just Landed está agora disponível em Português, a língua oficial do país. Todos os que dominam a língua portuguesa podem agora beneficiar dos conteúdos do guia, desde os pedidos de vistos, a encontrar emprego e a pesquisar por alojamento.

A representar o “B” na sigla das economias emergentes BRIC (Rússia, Índia e China são as restantes), o Brasil é um destino cada vez mais desejado pelas comissões internacionais. Para além disso, ao ser o organizador dos Jogos Olímpicos e Paraolímpicos de 2016 e do Mundial de Futebol de 2014, o Brasil ficará, nos próximos anos, nas luzes da ribalta.

Antes de chegar, faça amizades e coloque as suas questões no nosso Fórum para Expatriados no Brasil.

Quer esteja na vibrante cidade do Rio de Janeiro ou esteja na descontraída cidade de São Salvador, o nosso guia irá ajudá-lo a simplicar o seu processo de mudança.

 The mountainous surroundings, adorned with lakes, forests, and rivers give way to awe-inspiring vistas with over 300 days of sunshine a year. Just Landed has just launched a brand new expat guide for Andorra featuring tips and advice on obtaining visas, finding accommodation, searching for jobs and more.

 Andorra is your passport to duty free shopping and offers relatively low living costs and a superb location due to its close proximity to the Spanish north-east coast as well as the French Riviera. Expats who flock to this tax haven can also enjoy free healthcare and postal services. With one of the world’s lowest unemployment rates (2.9% in 2012), Andorra is a perfect place to search for a job.

 Andorra’s official language is Catalan, but because of its geographical propinquity, it’s not uncommon to hear bouts of French, Spanish and Portuguese. If Catalan is a language you are thinking of learning, why not browse our expat community to help you find a language exchange partner or course.

For expats with families, Andorra maintains an extremely low crime rate, provides secure banking systems and offers a wide range of French, Spanish and Andorran schools in which most children are brought up bilingual or even trilingual. Leisure time can be spent engaging in popular winter sports, bathing in thermal springs and sampling the local gastronomy.

For more information about moving to Andorra, put your skis on and head over to our new expat country guide today!

Last month, the U.N. coined the first International Day of Happiness, drawing the world’s attention to the idea that a country’s happiness is not only based on money. Results showed Costa Rica and many other Latin American countries have the happiest people in the world ahead of wealth powerhouse, the USA.

According to the Happy Planet Index (HPI) 2012 report, happiness is measured by an equation that calculates a country’s well-being, life expectancy and ecological footprint. Rather than only taking a country’s GDP into account, the sustainability of its people and resources are considered just as important.

Sustainability

Sustainability is crucial to the HPI because, according to the report, we live in an environment of scarce resources and ‘unless you care nothing for the future – neither your own, nor that of your children, nor that of future generations – environmental impact matters’.

For the second time, Costa Rica leads the HPI report due to its national policies: It produces 99 per cent of its energy from renewable sources; has reversed deforestation in the country, and plans to become carbon neutral by 2021. Costa Rica also has the second highest life expectancy in the Americas, higher even than in the USA, as well as an ecological footprint one third the size of the USA’s.

However, as Costa Rica demonstrated, a single country cannot achieve sustainability alone as goods consumed by a population are not only produced in that country. This means that global sustainability is unbalanced, as countries such as Costa Rica import goods from countries with less sustainable energy policies.

Living in an unhappy world

According to the HPI report, ‘we are still not living on a happy planet.’ Their figures show that no country performs well on all three indicators for being a happy country. These indicators include life expectancy, experienced well-being, and ecological footprint.

Only nine countries are in the second best category. Eight of these are Latin American or in the Caribbean. According to the UN, Argentina and Chile are ‘very high development countries’ and Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica and Belize are classed as ‘high development countries.’

Wealth is clearly not the creator of happiness. Amongst the top 40 countries, only four have a GDP capita of over $15,000 US Dollars. Norway is the highest scoring Western European nation in 29th place, just behind New Zealand which is 28th.

Shoes that cost the earth

The USA ranks 105th, out of 151 countries. High income countries’ scores are brought down considerably by their mammoth sized ecological footprints. According to the HPI, in 2008 the USA’s footprint was 7.2g, meaning that if every country lived like American people, four planets would be needed to maintain human consumption.

The International Day of Happiness was originally suggested by Bhutan, who instead of using a GDP model, use the Gross National Happiness Index to evaluate their development.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said: ‘On this first International Day of Happiness, let us reinforce our commitment to inclusive and sustainable human development and renew our pledge to help others.’

Angola, debilitated after years of war and unseen by foreign visitors since the early 1970s, is now attracting skilled expats to its oil-rich land. Identifying a lack of information for expats moving to Angola, Just Landed has now launched the Angola guide. We guarantee a move to Angola will guarantee you an experience not found in other expat destinations!

Located on the West coast of Southern Africa, Angola is divided into 18 provinces, with Luanda as the capital. The backbone of Angola’s economy is oil, making up 90% of the country’s exports. However, other minerals and resources also abound, including iron ores, marble, granite, and quartz reserves.

However, Angola is not only a country for engineers and oil workers, and our section on expat jobs in Angola includes everything from volunteering to income tax information.

For expat families relocating to Angola, the price of schooling may be daunting, but there are a good number of international schools to choose from. If the Portuguese language is something you want to learn, our expat community can help you find a language partner or course.

Nature lovers will be happy to know that many natural parks and reserves have been created to protect animals and plants. Some species only exist in Angola and others are close to extinction. Kids will love the safari tours available in the parks and reserves.

As you can see, Angola is full of things waiting for you to discover and our guide is there to help you smoothly navigate the relocation process.

Image: Anders Lagerås (wikimedia.org)

Easter is happily celebrated all around the world in many different ways. It is chiefly considered a Christian holiday but it has always been a traditional way of welcoming spring (sometimes considered the New Year in ancient pagan times).

The word itself, Easter, is related to the German word for Easter, Ostern. This in turn developed from the old English word Ēastre or Ēostre meaning “the month of opening”.

One of the most well-known Easter traditions, decorating eggs, stems from Paganism. The eggs come from the time when Egyptians, and also Romans, would offer them in spring as a symbol of life and rebirth.

The first Christians, the Copts, used to paint the eggs red to symbolise the blood of Christ, a tradition that many orthodox Christians continue to this day. In other countries, the eggs are made of chocolate and sugar, and offered to children.

Aside from exchanging eggs, there are some very interesting Easter traditions around the world, from the very passionate celebrations in Spain or the Philippines, to the fun water fights in Poland. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Sweden – Easter witches

On the Thursday or Saturday before Easter, little girls dress up as witches, in headscarves and old clothes. They then knock at people’s doors and exchange drawings and pictures for treats. The tradition is said to come from the belief that witches would fly from a mountain in Germany to cavort with Satan on the Thursday before Easter so many Swedes light bonfires and fireworks to scare them away.

The Philippines – voluntary crucifixion

On Good Friday, the most devoted Catholics participate in a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus. Some people play Romans accompanying the penitents as they walk towards “Calvary”. The volunteers carry the cross the same way Jesus did, and others whip themselves as they walk. The participants are then nailed or tied to the cross. Obviously, they are not left there to die but they are displayed there for some time with a wooden shelf to stand on.

Spain – traditional processions

Image: Michal Osmenda (Flickr.com)

One of the most famous holidays in Spain is celebrated in many places with Procesiones (processions). Different local Catholic confraternities (groups of lay-people who promote the work of the church) carry a large, wooden statue representing a part of the life of Jesus over their shoulders each day during the Holy Week.

They are surrounded by other members of the confraternity (nazarenos) wearing long tunics and pointy hats and, depending on the procession, women in traditional mourning clothes along with dramatic music played live.

Greece – Judas and fireworks

In some places in Greece on Easter Sunday night, a figure of Judas that was hanged on the Thursday before is burnt on a bonfire. This tradition takes place in other countries too, sometimes accompanied by fireworks. Burning Judas used to be a common tradition in Europe but it got lost during the ages. Some Latin American countries still follow this tradition, though the exact days involved vary from country to country.

Poland – get your water pistol

Other than painting eggs, a curious Polish tradition is to have a water fight, especially when the weather is not very cold. During śmigus-dyngus (Wet Monday), it used to be a custom to sprinkle young women with perfumed water. Nowadays it has evolved into massive water battles in the street that include men and women.

Chile has one of South America’s most stable economies and is a top destination for expats interested in moving to the region. With the mountainous Andes to the east and coastal towns and sandy beaches to the west, Chile has something to offer everyone.

Whether expats choose the hustle and bustle of the capital Santiago, or the slower pace of a coastal resort like Valparaiso, there are plenty of job opportunities. English teaching, investing in the tourism industry and the traditional heavy industries like mining all continue to attract international workers.

Expats relocating to the country will find first class health care, a reason many retirees are drawn to Chile. With a range of international schools both in and outside of Santiago, if you’re relocating with children you needn’t worry about schooling options.

Friendly and welcoming locals mean expats will feel at home very quickly in this popular South American country.

La guía de Chile, ¡ahora en español!

Chile tiene una de las economías más estables de Sudamérica y es el destino estrella para los inmigrantes que quieren mudarse a este continente. Desde las montañas de los Andes al este hasta las ciudades costeras de arenosas playas en el oeste, Chile tiene algo distinto para cada uno.

Se puede elegir entre el ajetreo de la capital, Santiago, o la tranquilidad de una zona residencial como Valparaíso. Hay muchas posibilidades de trabajo para extranjeros en Chile, dar clases de inglés, invertir en la boyante industria turística o en las tradicionales industriras pesadas como la minería siguen atrayendo trabajadores internacionales.

En Chile, encontrarás atención sanitaria de primera, una de las razones que atraen a los jubilados para venir a Chile. Y si te mudas con tus hijos, no tienes que preocuparte por la educación: hay una amplia variedad de escuelas internacionales dentro y fuera de Santiago.

Los chilenos son abiertos y acogedores así que los extranjeros se sienten como en casa en seguida en este fantástico país latinoamericano.

While most countries outside Ireland and Northern Ireland do not recognise the holiday officially, you can celebrate the festivities by joining a mass of drinkers wearing grotesquely large Guinness branded hats in the many Irish bars across the globe.

Irish settlers in Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand claim to be the biggest St. Patricks day drinkers outside the Emerald Isle.

Aside from drinking, celebrations include parades, going to church, attending a céilidh (a traditional Gaelic gathering involving folk-music and dance), wearing green or orange (even though the traditional colour is blue), and wearing shamrocks.

Most people will stick with tradition and drink Guinness throughout the day and perhaps a few Irish whiskeys. If you don’t like the heavy taste of Guinness nor the fierce burn of whiskey, you could order a baby Guinness, a shot of Kahlua and Bailey’s.

Let’s see where our very international Just Landed Team have celebrated this auspicious day.

Japan – Tokyo

After living there for several months I was surprised to find Tokyo is home to the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in Asia. In fact, Tokyo gets so into the Irish festivities, the iconic Tokyo Tower is illuminated with green lights for the occasion.

So excited was I for a taste of something from home (or at least near home), I took the afternoon off work for the parade. Pipers, dancers and Irish expats trooped down Omotesando, one of Tokyo’s major boulevards. There was even a group of Irish setters dressed in dog-sized green hats and jackets. Once the parade had passed, in St. Patrick’s day tradition we all headed to a nearby Irish bar to partake of the black stuff.

The parade spirit wasn’t dampened by the drizzly weather, perhaps Ireland was sending some of its infamous weather over for the occasion! All nationalities were represented in the procession, from Australian to French, and of course many Japanese. One thing’s for sure, though St Patrick died over 1,500 years ago, he is doing a good job of bringing people together today.

Bryony Ashcroft 

Cambodia – Phnom Penh

Going out in Cambodia’s bustling capital on any evening was an interesting experience: overloaded moto-taxis and tuk-tuks careening round the streets; street vendors, markets, and the overripe smell of the river flowing by the tourist hotspot of Sisowath Quay.

On the night of the most international excuse for excessive merriment, Phnom Penh’s expat districts are suddenly overtaken by an emerald mass as the city’s expat community digs out their best green, white and orange clothing and heads for any bar promising Irish stew, Guiness and Jameson’s.

It was strange to see in a nation that is so climatically unfriendly to those of a celtic complexion, and it does show how thin the pretense to celebrate is, but I’ll admit it’s entertaining to see the enterprising spirit of the local-run Irish bars of Phnom Penh; who’ll see to it that any barang (foreigner) leaves full of food, happy, drunk and clutching the back of the poor fellow tasked with getting them home on his ancient Honda.

Charlie Bailey

Ireland – Dublin

I’ve had the chance to attend St Patrick’s festival in Dublin. The event takes place over several days and includes a parade, family events, live music, and the part that I enjoy the most, a céilidh: where hundreds of people gather for traditional Irish folk dancing in the streets, be it sunny or rainy!

The parade, which goes through the main streets of the city, is attended by thousands of people, dressed in green, wearing funny hats and face paint. Pubs are then taken over for the rest of the day and serve mainly Guinness to crowds singing Irish songs, an occasion for all to party as the Irish know best!

Fany Guelah

Do you have an expat St Patrick’s Day tale to tell? Let us know in the comments below.

My experiences as a student were a good introduction to the culture of the countries I was going to end up working in, even if at the time I didn’t realise it. Some things shocked me quite a lot – lunch at 12 o’clock? Really? Not even a handshake when meeting people?

Some things were not what I expected either. Russians turned out to be extremely hospitable and affectionate even if travelling to Russia was like travelling back in time, old, Communist-style buildings and a 1950’s mentality. In France, despite the wonderful sense of humour and politeness of French people, I discovered French administration works terribly.

Paperwork minefields

As a student, I travelled with exchange programs, which means that most of my paperwork was done before leaving my own country. Then, the university helps you out, exchange students follow set procedures and a lot of it was done for me.

As an employee, you are on your own. I didn’t need any visas (or even a passport) for France but French paperwork is pretty bad, and that’s coming from Spain! In the end I decided not to apply for a CAF, the financial aid for renting, I had had enough bureaucracy trying to open a bank account.

Culture shock

Although, French paperwork is not as horrifying as the situation in Russia. Where I ended up wandering around Kazan for a month looking for 9 different people, including not only my boss, but also a gynecologist and the fire station chief to sign my contract so that I could get my salary.

Regarding culture shock, I studied abroad before working abroad, so I experienced most of the cultural misunderstandings as a young and distracted student.

For example, in Russia when you visit a Russian friend, the last effort you need to make is to walk up the stairs, because once you arrive they will treat you like a queen, giving you everything that they can possibly imagine you may need. This was of great help when I went there to work: I knew what I was going to find, what I was going to like and what I wouldn’t, and how to avoid certain problems.

As a student I was not fully involved in the local lifestyle since I often hung out with foreigners, giving me a safety net which allowed me to be an observer of local life.As a student, there were some experiences, as far as working was concerned, that I just didn’t have, not even in my own country. Whereas as an employee, I couldn’t be all innocent and blind regarding certain things, especially in Russia, where lots of women work but are completely ignored and disregarded or when corruption was taking over the Spanish department at university.

I am satisfied and proud of the way I have acted, just the same way life works actually, studies first, working life afterwards. If other people have the opportunity to do the same, I would recommend an introduction to the country such as a holiday first, this just helps smooth the process. Don’t feel guilty for hanging out with fellow exchange students either, though you might not be “going local” you are still meeting people different to yourself and that is a big part of living abroad.

The classics

We begin our voyage into the best expat novels from the start, when travelling still had a certain romance to it, unlike nowadays, where even on a hike you will be in stumbling distance of a motorway.

A Time of Gifts – Patrick Leigh Fermor
Patrick Leigh Fermor, known as ‘the last renaissance man,’ decided at the age of 18 to walk from London to Constantinople and this book details this travel. The first novel will take you as far as Hungary and the second, Between the Woods and the Water, as far as the divide between the Constantinople and the Balkan mountains.

The journey begins in 1933, just as Hitler came to power. The novel details a constant fragile paradox between the author’s sophisticated language with his innocence of pre-World War Two Europe. A Europe when you could go door-to-door being welcomed by hospitable strangers willing to take you in. A Europe where nature was undestroyed. Fermor’s plentiful language will guide you through every last blade of grass in a world forever lost.

The stumbling romantics’ adventure

The list of these intoxicated travel authors of the Beat Generation is endless. Kerouac’s On the Road is the obvious choice, alongside Hunter S. Thompson’s good-bad Hemingway style novels. However, there is an expat novel out there which revels in utter bohemian decadence.

A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
This memoir-style novel will transport you to Hemingway’s little 1920s piece of Paris where you will be invited into the Lost Generation, meeting characters such as the Fitzgeralds and watching the world go by from Hemingway’s alluring Parisien Café point of view.

Hemingway depicts himself as an impoverished artist, struggling to survive in a stylish community. He does not just struggle with moving to a new country, the writer portrays his transition to becoming a great writer and how writing should be performed, that is an accurate portrayal of truth, no matter how ugly. And it does get ugly. Sadly, it has surfaced that when writing these memoirs, Hemingway was not as impoverished and starving as his descriptions state.

The heart warmer

Expat life can have its tough moments and a cheery novel by someone who knows what you’re going through can sometimes be just what you need.

Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia – Chris Stewart

This former Genesis drummer decided to leave his rock-star lifestyle to become a sheep shearer and travel writer based in Andalucia, Spain. Driving Over Lemons recounts his own story set in a remote valley in Andalucia. There, he bought a peasant farm without water, electricity and even a nearby road.

As you can imagine, the story is far from the usual British expat story on the Costa Blanca and his heartfelt and sometimes odd meetings with local farmers, New Age travellers and artists show his deep content for this rural lifestyle. Where most in this situation would run back to Blighty, the author’s cheery optimism about the hassles of a simple Andalucian life is what makes it a dazzling read.

Chick-lit

Travel writing is a male dominated category, unless you want to include Eat, Pray, Yawn… I mean Love. There are a few female travel novelists that did have other things to talk about than food and romance.

A Winter in Arabia: Travels Through Yemen – Freya Stark

A Winter in Arabia describes the travels of Freya Stark in the 1930s through Hadhramaut, a region in today’s Yemen. She was the first female to travel this area alone and her depictions of the Middle-East offer a rare peek into the luxuries and hardships of the Muslim peninsula before it was opened up to Western societies. She illustrates the people she meets along the way with a sympathised understanding of their culture in rich detail, such as the little girls in magenta silk trousers, silver frilled with bells around their anklets.

She also includes snippets of her own feelings of isolation or joy as a constant traveller. She was not a female writer trying to be a boisterous Hemingway-type, as she once said ‘There are few sorrows through which a new dress or hat will not send a little gleam of pleasure, however furtive.’

Fantasy

The list of sci-fi and adventure novels list is as long as the tales are old. However, there is one familiar fantasy travel novel that stands out amongst the rest.

Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift

This novel is more of a misadventure than a real adventure, as the protagonist is washed up on the island, Lilliput, and greeted by the 6 inch tall inhabitants and then thrown into the rescue of a 72 foot tall farmer.

He travels to other islands, meeting various races and interesting characters only to realise, in true Swift style that, he would prefer to reside amongst the intelligent Houyhnhnm horses than the vile human race. The novel surpasses the imagination and takes you on a satirical adventure suitable for kids and adults. It is an stimulus for reckless travel which has inspired throughout the ages.