Don’t get me wrong – I love being an expat. I love being able to roam around the beautiful streets of a historic city, not having to pile on a thousand layers before leaving the house in November and, of course, the delicious red wine (amongst other things).

But I won’t get carried away writing about this, as this is not a blog about the bonuses of being an expat – it’s about what I miss from home. And with Christmas fast approaching, the void that was once filled with home comforts becomes more profound than ever before. I’ve always been told that it helps to write down your feelings, so I thought I’d do so in the form of a top 5 things I miss from home – and publish it!

So, here’s my list. If you think there’s anything I’ve missed out, go ahead and leave a comment below and add to it!

1. Decent fitting lingerie. I’ve always found it extremely difficult to find a bra that fits well on the continent. Apparently in most European countries, there is a direct correlation between back and breast sizes teamed with a common opinion that women with fuller figures can not wear sexy underwear. I’m sure many women can attest to the fact that this certainly should not be the case!
2. Affordable and tasteful fashion in consistent sizes. Maybe I’m picky, but I’ve spent my years shopping based on British sizing and tailoring. Most male expats I know complain about not being able to find a low cost, stylish suit or double breasted shirts in their new destination. I’ve had moments of horror in shops, when I suddenly find that I’ve jumped up three clothes sizes overnight. I miss knowing that I can walk into a shop, find some clothes I love, try them on and then not have to part with an arm and a leg to walk away with them!
3. A kettle. I want a brew of the tea that I brought over from my last visit home. What’s this? I have to boil the water in a pan? No, thank you.
4. Affordable homeware. Without risking the fact that you are going to have the same living room as all your friends (thanks, Ikea), the general spend on stylish homeware on the continent is extortionate. Furthermore, as a resident in Spain, I was surprised to find that the average shape for a pillow is an extremely long rectangle. This becomes a problem when my pillowcases don’t fit!
5. Children’s books and games in English. Arguably one of the benefits of bringing up children in a foreign country is the richness in culture they are exposed to and the (almost) automatic fluency attained in two languages. However I do agree that it is also important for children to have access to educational books and games in their mother tongue to aid in their development. I was therefore disappointed when I recently struggled to find a decent gift for my nephew’s third birthday.

For the above reasons, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that Littlewoods Europe have recognised the problems that British expats face and are lending a helping hand. They have recently launched in Spain, France, Portugal and Germany and also deliver to the Balearics and BFPO.

They’ve done their research, too. They have identified the products most British expats miss, such as big brands in women and men’s fashion, children’s books and toys and great products for your home abroad. They also provide a service that is essential to the expat lifestyle. They will ship your goods over to you for just €5 or for free if you spend over €50 on your shop before 30th November 2009 – perfect for your Christmas shopping rush. Recognising the fact that when shopping online you run the risk of items not being suitable, they also offer a 14 day home approval guarantee.

On behalf of British expats across Europe, I heave a sigh of relief.

Visit www.littlewoodseurope.com for more information.

In 2004, a great fear took over France, as the entry of the Eastern European countries announced the arrival of the “Polish plumber”. France’s social system would be submerged by cheap workers, who would destroy the welfare state under their pressure and demand for benefits. The country restricted access to its labour market to the new immigrants.

However, Britain, which did open its borders to the new EU countries, seems to have benefited. A recent study undertaken by Christian Dustman, professor of economics at UCL, demonstrates that the new wave of immigrants significantly benefited the UK fiscal system. In the last tax year 2008-2009, the immigrants contributed in direct or indirect tax 33 per cent more than they received from any public service. An amazing result especially when compared with the 20 per cent negative contribution for native Brits. According to Professor Dustman, interviewed in the FT, these new immigrants are “60 per cent less likely than natives to receive state benefits or tax credits, and 58 per cent less likely to live in social housing”.

Another myth busted by this study is that immigrants continue to invade Britain. In 2008, 56,000 of these immigrants left the UK, against 25,000 in 2007. This is confirmed by Tim Finch, head of migration research at the Institute for Public Policy Research, who declares “it is the first time we have anything more than anecdotal evidence that people are going home in quite big numbers” with “signs of immigration tailing off”. Thus, far from destroying Britain’s welfare state, the new immigrants have greatly contributed to the country’s economy and many are actually returning home; proof that the Polish plumber was not so bad.

Beware of populism

Populism is a chronic disease of contemporary politics. A complex problem is given a simple and straightforward explanation in the form of a vote-winning slogan. In the case of immigrants, they are accused, among other allegations, of destroying the welfare state. However, the British example demonstrates that a well regulated immigration framework can be far from negative for a country’s economy, as it can bring many positive results.

We are pleased to announce that the Hungarian guide is now available in German.

Hungary is one of the most attractive destinations for German expats – not only for its beautiful landscape and culture but also for economic relationships. In addition, Germans have always had a strong relationship with Hungary. Today about 3% of the Hungarian population is German. Some cities such as Hévíz even have a German majority population.

Moreover, Germany is Hungary´s most important trading partner, representing nearly one third of total foreign investments in the country. Nearly 300,000 people are employed by German companies in Hungary.

Landesführer für Ungarn

Unser Landesführer für Auswanderer in Ungarn ist nun auch auf Deutsch verfügbar.

Mittlerweile 3% der ungarischen Bevölkerung sind deutsche Staatsbürger. Schon immer war Unagrn ein attraktives Ziel für deutsche Auswanderer. Nicht nur schöne Bauten aus dem frühen zwanzigsten Jahrhundert, auch eine gute Küche und wunderschöne Naturlandschaften sind verlockende Kulturmerkmale. Seit dem Beitritt Ungarns in die EU und dem Abbau der bürokratischen Hürden, ist es für deutsche Staatsbürger noch einfacher geworden nach Ungarn auszuwandern.

Aus wirtschaftlicher Sicht ist Ungarn im Vergleich zu 20 anderen ost- und südosteuropäischen Ländern mit Platz 4 weiterhin eines der attraktivsten Standorte für deutsche Unternehmen. Zudem ist Deutschland Ungarns wichtigster Handelspartner. Mit knapp einem Drittel aller ausländischen Investitionen, ist Deutschland das führende Investitionsland in Ungarn. Fast 300.000 Mitarbeiter werden von deutschen Unternehmen in Ungarn beschäftigt – Jobangebote in Ungarn finden Sie u.a. auf der Just Landed Jobbörse.

Obwohl die ungarische Wirtschaft seit 2007 unter einer starken Rezession leidet (nachdem der Wirtschaftswachstum jahrelang über dem europäischen Durchschnitt war), planen deutsche Unternehmen wie Audi oder E.ON Investitionen über Milliardenhöhe in Ungarn. Drei von vier in Ungarn ansässigen deutschen Unternehmen würden auch heute wieder in Ungarn investieren.

In unserem Landesführer für Ungarn erhalten deutschsprachige Auswanderer die wichtigsten Informationen, die sie für Ihren Umzug nach Ungarn benötigen, z.B. zu Visumsanträgen, zur Wohnungssuche in Ungarn sowie zum ungarische Gesundheitssystem. Einen Erfahrungsaustausch mit anderen Auswanderern ermöglicht die Just Landed Ungarn Community, und wer in Ungarn eine Wohnung mieten oder ein Haus kaufen möchte, findet in der Immobilienbörse eine Vielzahl von Immobilien in Ungarn.

We are pleased to announce that the Switzerland guide is now available in French. France and Switzerland have a strong influence on one another. The French Swiss are well informed of their neighbour’s internal affairs. Indeed, the TSR (French Swiss TV) is scheduled so as to allow their viewers to watch the French news.

Today 150.000 French expats live in Switzerland. This does not take into account the numerous people who commute every day from France to work in Switzerland. Not surprising really when you think Switzerland has one of the highest cost of living in Europe.

Le Guide de la Suisse maintenant en Français!

Nous sommes heureux d’annoncer que le Guide de la Suisse est maintenant disponible en français! Ce petit pays que nous connaissons pour ses yodles, fromages et surtout pour ses banquiers, a une relation forte et historique avec la France. Il suffit de penser à Jean-Jacques Rousseau, le plus fameux des citoyens de Genève,  qui fut entérré dans le plus français des monuments, le Panthéon.

Mais outre l’histoire, cette relation est bien réelle aujourd’hui. En effet, la communauté française forme une des plus grandes en Suisse, avec plus de 150.000 personnes. La plupart vivent dans la Romandie (la Suisse francophone) et sont bien intégrées. De plus, il faut compter les nombreuses personnes travaillant en Suisse et qui font la navette tous les jours depuis la France.

Donc si vous aussi voulez tenter l’aventure suisse, profitez de notre guide! N’hésitez pas à utiliser notre site pour chercher un Emploi en Suisse, un Logement en Suisse ou rencontrer d’autres personnes comme vous dans la communauté pour les expatriés en Suisse. Posez aussi des questions sur le Forum,  car qui mieux pour vous aider que d’autres expatriés et leurs expériences ?

We are pleased to announce that the Turkey Expat guide is now available in German.

Turkey is becoming increasingly attractive to German expats for various reasons. Being one of the most popular holiday destinations for German tourists, many of them fall in love with the beautiful beaches and the friendly Turkish people.

In addition, the Turkish economy experiences a constant growth whereas living expenses and real estate prices are still much lower than in most EU-countries. Germany has been Turkey’s most important trading partner for years and subsidiaries and branches of German companies have sofar increased to a number of 3700 in Turkey.

Türkeiführer auf deutsch

Unser Türkeiführer für Auswanderer ist nun auch auf deutsch verfügbar.

Die Türkei wird für deutsche Auswanderer zunehmend attraktiver. Bereits 2007 war die Türkei auf Platz 9 der beliebtesten Auswandere-Ziele für Deutsche.

Viele verlieben sich im Urlaub in die wunderschönen Strände und die Freundlichkeit der türkischen Bewohner. Hinzu kommt, dass die türkische Wirtschaft seit Jahren stetig anwächst, die Lebensunterhaltskosten und die Immobilienpreise aber dennoch viel niedriger sind als in den meisten EU-Ländern.

Auch aus beruflichen Gründen zieht es immer mehr Deutsche in die Türkei: Deutschland ist seit Jahren der wichtigste Handelspartner der Türkei und einer der wichtigsten Investoren. Schon heute existieren in der Türkei rund 3700 Firmen mit deutscher Kapitalbeteiligun, und ein neues Anreizprogramm mit breit angelegten Fördermaßnahmen soll die ausländischen Investitionen weiter steigern.

Für EU-Bürger inzwischen viel deutlich leichter geworden eine Aufenthalts- oder Arbeitserlaubnis in der Türkei zu bekommen. Nach Ihrem Umzug  sehen sich deutsche Auswanderer in der Türkei jedoch nach wie vor mit einer Vielzahl von Herausforderungen konfrontiert.

Unser Türkei-Landesführer schafft nun Abhilfe: Umfangreiche Informationen zu den Visa und Aufenthaltsgenehmigungen, Immobilienkauf, Gesundheitssystem und praktischen Alltagsfragen sorgen für einen reibungslosen Umzug in die Türkei. Die Just Landed Immobilienbörse bietet eine Vielzahl von Immobilien in der Türkei. Wer dann noch offene Fragen hat, kann sich in der Türkei Community mit anderen Auswanderern austauschen.

We´re pleased to announce the launch of our India expatriate guide. It includes information on visas, work, housing, health, and more, making it the perfect resource if you are travelling or moving to India.

In 2000, India’s expatriate community was relatively small with only about six million foreigners living and working in India and migration rates revolving around zero. But since India’s economy is developing at huge growth rates the demand for skilled workers more and more exceeds the number of graduates of Indian universities.

Since English is widely spoken, it may be easier for expatriates to get used to their new lives in India compared to other countries, but moving to India is still a huge challenge. Not only the culture with its caste system is hard to adapt to, but also the sheer size of the country with regulations varying from state to state can be nerve-stretching.

To be best prepared for your move to India our guide will help you with everything you need to consider. And if you still have doubts, or simply want to meet other expatriates, you can exchange ideas or ask for help in our expat community in India.

We are happy to announce the Just Landed community pages are now available in Italian! The language is spoken by over 70 million people around the world and its expat community is one of the largest and most widespread. Of course the old emigration of the past century comes to mind, the typical image of little Italy in the streets of Brooklyn. But far from it, the Italians abroad are a colourful, vibrant and diverse community. Students, unskilled workers, professors, all can be found abroad. And to prove the point, the Italian version of the website is viewed by 120,000 users a month and this without the community part!

So give it a try! Meet new people and other Italians (or not) living the same experience. See how it feels and we would be happy to get some feedback. Buon divertimento!

Comunità adesso in Italiano! Evviva!

Siamo felici di annunciarvi la messa in rete delle pagine comunità per gli Italiani all’estero! Ora potrete usare uno degli aspetti più importante del sito senza dovere cambiare di lingua. Come ben si sa tantissimi Italiani vivono all’estero, dallo studente, al professore, passando dal cameriere. Infatti, il sito è già utilizzato da più di 120,000 utenti al mese in Italiano, e questo senza la parte comunità! Dunque approffittate di queste nuove pagine per conoscere altre persone! La parte comunità del sito è fatta per incontrare, aiutarsi, e per condividere esperienze, mentre potete anche cercare un lavoro all’estero o un alloggio all’estero nelle altre categorie!

Dunque provatele e saremo molto felici di sapere come le trovate! Allora buon divertimento!

A surprising amount non-Spanish language newspapers are printed in Spain for expatriates living there. The British like their papers; The Sun, The Daily Mail and The Express all have editions printed in Spain. So does The Telegraph, and Mark Wilkins from The Rights Group who blogs here was kind enough to send in this photo from Marbella showing just how enthusiastic they are for printing locally!

The Sunday Telegraph - Now printed daily in Spain

We have an article here about newspapers for expats and other types of expatriate media.

Nearly one billion – or one out of seven – people worldwide are migrants. Though the phenomenon of migration is as old as mankind, it still suffers a negative connotation. Many expats find themselves eyed suspiciously, and unqualified immigrants who move countries to improve their living conditions are often seen as a burden to society.

The latest Human Development Report for 2009, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), comes to a completely different conclusion on migration: According to the reseachers, migration cannnot only enhance human development for those who move, but also for their destination communities and for those who remain at home.

Only a few migrants move to developed countries

An overwhelming majority of migrants move within the borders of their own country. According the report, there are 740 million (around 11 per cent of the world population) internal migrants in the world. 214 million, or 3.1 per cent of the world’s population, are international migrants. Out of those, only 37 per cent move from developing to developed countries, while a majority of 60 per cent international migrants move to countries in the same category of development.

Economic migration is a triple win

Those migrants who move to developed countries mostly do so for socio-economic reasons. The report found those from the poorest countries, on average, experienced a 15-fold increase in income, a doubling of school enrolment rates and a 16-fold reduction in child mortality after moving to a developed country.

However, the migrants themselves are not the only ones to profit from the move. In 2008, migrants sent more than 300 billion US-dollars to their families in their country of origin. The amount of remittances that migrants send home are thus four times greater in volume than development aid from all donor countries combined.

The third winning party are the destination countries receiving migrants. Contrary to commonly held beliefs, migrants typically boost economic output and give more than they take. According to the report immigration generally increases employment in host communities, does not crowd out locals from the job market and improves rates of investment in new businesses and initiatives. Almost all migrants make a contribution to economy and society by paying taxes, expanding the demand for goods, adding to national production and, supporting pension and health care systems, which is especially important for developed countries with an aging population.

Whatever the public perception is, migration is here to stay: “With recovery, many of the same underlying trends that have been driving movement during the past half-century will resurface, attracting more people to move.” says Jeni Klugman, lead author of the report. The UN therefore calls for a “new deal of migration” to lower barriers to movement and improve policies towards those who move.

Recent research from Halifax International is showing France as the most popular destination for Brits moving abroad:

Most Popular Destinations for British Expatriates

16% of British expatriates currently live in France, with Spain in second place with 10% of the total. The most popular overseas destination for people to move to outside of Europe was the USA at 8%. Australia, Switzerland and Germany came in joint 4th place at 4% of the total each.

British Expatriates Living In France

Over two thirds (67%) of British expatriates living in France are aged 55 and over. Nearly one third (32%) are aged between 55 and 64 years of age. This shows a that a large percentage of these expatriates have chosen to spend the later part of their lives in France. Maybe the famously love/hate relationship between the English and the French is a myth, because an estimated 115,000 French people live in the UK (~8% or so of the total French expatriate population).

Age of British Expatriates Living In France

Of those British expatriates living in the USA, half (50%) were aged between 45 and 64. Compared to France this is a relatively younger population pointing to a higher percentage of professional expats.

Age of British Expatriates Living In USA