Being A Successful Expatriate

16/05/2006

Are you about to make the move and become an expat or are considering or are you considering relocation in the near future? If so, I am sure you want to make the very best of your time working and living abroad. Many expats follow through with their plans with very high hopes, only to be met with extreme disappointment and feelings of failure on the others side. Some of my own family members returned to home base after only 3 months. The second time round though they were more prepared and now live happily and very successfully in Australia. From personal experience, much reading and research projects done by consultants such as Cornelius Grove & Associates it seems that if you are considering relocating it is vital to assess one’s readiness. The “readiness” factor can be determined on both a situational and psychological basis.

To ensure success and in efforts to save yourself a lot of trauma, money and effort I feel that it would be very worthwhile to sit down and be honest with yourself before embarking on what can definitely be the most exciting and inspiring moves of your life.

Determine how well you deal with any disappointments or failures. Do you generally learn from your mistakes? Are you able to pick yourself up and move forward? Look at your past patterns; have you ever made a move before to a different town, city or state? What problems did you experience and how well did you cope? Do you enjoy working with all different types of people? Are you tolerant of different cultures, different environments and can you maintain an open mind? Do your friends and family consider you to be flexible and understanding? Do you feel enriched by different experiences? Have you ever been exposed to completely different cultural setting and experiences, how did you feel? Did you feel excited or threatened? Are you a self-starter? Can you move into a new place and make it into a home within a short period of time? Do you have a strong of identity wherever you are and are you uncomfortable asking for help?

Finally then, ask yourself if it is the right time of your life to be uprooting yourself and your family - is it the right time to relocate to another country? If you can comfortably answer YES to that question, before you embark on your great new adventure, make sure that all your financial, property, and other legal matters are settled.  There is so much to be gained by being both situationally and emotionally prepared – time, money, effort and peace of mind.