Expat Forum 2010: October 12, Washington

Hi Everyone, I am very excited today to share with you news of the upcoming Expat Forum 2010 (a guest speaker panel event discussing issues about expatriate life), being hosted by our wonderful Silver Sponsor, Clements International, at the U.S. Navy Heritage Center, Washington, Tuesday October 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 

I am really looking forward to being on the panel, and if you are an expat in the Washington area, a visiting expat, a provider of international benefits or perhaps a global mobility manager interested in expat issues, please try to join us.

Joining me on the panel will be:

* Alan Paul, “The Expat Life” columnist for WSJ.com and author of the forthcoming book, "Big in China";

* Alyson Rose-Wood, Foreign Service Youth Foundation Board member; &

* Maureen Johnston, resource specialist at the Overseas Briefing Center for the U.S. Department of State.

So it should make for a great discussion and audience Q&A session.

To find out more, please click here to read the full press release today and click here to register.

Washington-based expats/providers/managers, I hope to see you there!  Warmest thanks for your support, Andrea.

Please tell your friends and tweet this for us.  Thanks. :-)

Clements International is a leading provider of insurance solutions for expatriates and international organizations. Founded in 1947, Clements offers worldwide auto, property, health, life and commercial insurance with superior customer service and claims response to customers in more than 170 countries.

Globetrotting Our Children Abroad

Hi Everyone, I keep meaning to share with you this well-written article of Catriona Ling's that was published in The Telegraph UK last month: Our Ceaseless Globetrotting Is Hard For The Children.

Catriona, a veteran of six international moves abroad over 18 years, shares her own family's experiences, her sense of guilt for moving her children several times, but also her positivity:

"If I had known, standing at the altar in Edinburgh, that we were destined to become the family with six crossed out entries in friends' address books, I might have quailed, but in fact it has been the most wonderful experience. I hope that my children will see these years of global wandering as I do, as a gift that that we've been so lucky and privileged to have been given."

If you have children, have a read of the article. Good job, Catriona.

Expat Assignments: Are You Addicted?

Hello Everyone, We had this article published online yesterday in The Telegraph UK: Expat Assignments: Are You Addicted?

Here's how it starts:

"If you love living abroad, you see your passport more than your home country, you enjoy a much-envied lifestyle and you hate the thought of repatriating, there is a good chance that you, like many expats before you, have been seduced by the addictive nature of international assignments.

So what exactly is it that makes such assignments so addictive? The answers are many and varied, but here are six of the big ones..."

It is aimed at expats (and their partners/families) sent abroad by their employer on international assignments.

If you would like to read more, just click here. Feedback and constructive criticism always welcome.

Best wishes for your weekend! Andrea

HSBC Survey Results: Pack Your Bag And Head To Singapore, the US or the UAE!

Hello Everyone, If you have not already seen the impressive array of news articles in the expat media in the past few days about the HSBC International Expat Explorer Survey results, released on 24 July, here are some of the highlights:

• 2,155 expatriates surveyed, over 4 continents;
• Singapore, US and the UAE were ranked as the best overall expat locations;
• 74% of expats living in Singapore said their quality of accommodation was better than back home;
• 58% of expats save and invest more than they did in their country of origin; Hong Kong-based expats (on the whole) have the highest salaries;
• In terms of longevity, The Netherlands rated the highest, with 82% of expats there already residing there for 3+ years; and
• The UK and France were among the lowest-rated destinations, scoring poorly on their levels of luxury and standards of accommodation.

However, unlike all of the other sites that we've seen, we can offer you the full PDF summary of the survey results (great for expat research, articles, HR strategy, or just plain curiosity), thanks to our good friends at HSBC Offshore (a valued Expat Women Gold Sponsor). Just Click Here. :-)