It’s official, Expats are happier!

Do expats enjoy a better quality of life than those who stay in their country of origin? 89% of respondents to NatWest’s International Personal Banking Department’s Quality of Life survey think so.

The image of an expat may typically conjure up the idea of a retired person relaxing on a golf course, but the Quality of Life survey revealed that British expats want to work hard. They just want a decent work/life balance too. 87% of those asked said that their work/life balance was good, and a further 89% said that the environment in which they worked in was good or excellent.

Commenting on the survey a NatWest spokesman said that the figures showed that British expats really were living it up abroad. The statistic that he felt told the most about expat lifestyles was that this year only 19% of expats said they would return to the United Kingdom at some point in the future – compared to the 26% who said that they were planning to go back eventually in 2008. Given the global economic downturn that has taken place in the last two years, expats appear to be weathering the storm wherever they are, and the majority do not feel the need to return home.

But moving abroad does not mean living in the slow lane at work. The expats who took part in the survey seem to have the best of both worlds – a developing career that is financially rewarding as well as not too time consuming. The survey found that on average, a professional expat earns £20,000 per annum more than their counterpart back home. 92% of those surveyed said that they had received a pay rise in the last three years (on average a media rise of 13% over that time period). If you consider also that taxes in their new home may be significantly lower, and offshore investment opportunities may be available, the expat life seems very attractive indeed.