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18 | HSBC Survey
HSBC Bank International
Expat Explorer Survey 08
Report Three: Expat Experience
The Expat Explorer survey to expats’ lives including lifestyle elements such as living standards and an
The HSBC Bank International Expat Explorer survey is the largest ever expat’s ability to earn and save; to issues affecting expat children such as
independent survey of expatriates, questioning 2,155 expats across four how much it costs to raise them and how long they spend studying; to
continents. The results of the survey, which have been divided into three
reports (Expat Existence; Offshore Offspring and Expat Experience), reveal circle6
how easy expats find it to integrate in a new environment.
For the Expat Experience report, each country was measured on whether
a fascinating insight into how expat life differs across expats made friends with local people, joined a community group (such
the globe. as religious or sports club), learned the local language and bought prop-
erty. The final ranking in the data table is based on the average score gen-
Integration
The Expat Experience report examines the challenges faced by individuals
relocating to a new country. The survey looked at cultural and social differ-
ences and how they make a difference to ease of integration.
R
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espondents were asked to rate their host countries in four areas:
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Whether they made friends with people from the local population
Whether they joined a local community, such as a religious or sports
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group
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Whether they learned the local language
Whether they bought property
In addition, expats were also questioned on their experience in other circle6
erated using the criteria below:
aspects of life including whether they married someone local and/or had
children; whether they set up a new business or put down permanent roots circle6
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Each of the criteria is weighted evenly
Sample size of 2,155 expats living in more than 48 countries
Only countries with more than 30 responses were included in overall
by changing their citizenship.
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table (14 in total) to be statistically significant
Individual country data has also been used to indicate interesting trends
Key Findings
Making friends with the locals Overall results for Expat Experience
Canada is the friendliest location for expats, where most found it easy to
build relationships with local people, followed by Germany and Australia.
Germany came out as a popular destination for expats to marry someone
from the local population, followed by the Netherlands.
Learning the local language
Germany ranked highest in the category of expats learning the local lan-
guage, with three-quarters of expats learning German. Expats in Spain and
Belgium were also likely to blend into the local culture, with 70% of
respondents in both countries saying that they had adopted the language of
their country of residence.
Property hotspots
France came out as a property hotspot, ranking highest in the category of
expats buying property, with approximately two-thirds (64%) of respon-
dents stating that they had purchased a property in the country. Expats in
Asia are the least likely to buy a home with India, China and Singapore
ranking as the lowest countries for purchasing property.
Expat Experienc
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e methodology
The Expat Explorer survey was conducted by independent research com-
panies – data capturing was undertaken by Virtual Surveys between the Making friends with the locals
months of February – April 2008, with data analysis conducted by Canada is the most welcoming to expats, with almost all (95%) of respon-
Freshminds. The whole survey looked at a wide range of topics relevant dents claiming that they made friends with local people. This was followed
June 2009 Investment International www.investmentinternational.com
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