I recently came across a very interesting article in The Economist entitled “A Tale of Two Expats.” As many of our readers are expats or at least know someone who is an expat, I figured this would be of interest to many of you. The article specifically talks about the lives of Western expats in China and Chinese expats in the West, but I think many of the issues they discuss applies to any expat, no matter where you live now and where you come from.
The article cites two men, one anonymously named “James Smith, an Britist expat in China, and the other named Mr. So, a Chinese expat in London. The article generally takes the stance that life is easier for Western expats in China then it is for Chinese expats in the West.
Mr. Smith talks about the difficulties of working and living in China such as the strict and inconsistent rules, the highly polluted air, and the many examples of government intervention in business. There are many pleasantries that come along with these drawbacks, though, such as the higher salary, cheaper cost of living, and the ease of doing business in an economy that is quickly growing in the midst of a global recession.
On the other hand, Mr. So has come from a country with a booming economy and low cost of living and moved to a country with a failing economy and in a city that is among one of the most expensive in the world. Because the West doesn’t cater to the Chinese like the Chinese caters to Westerners, many Chinese expats have trouble getting around if they cannot speak English, which many of them don’t. On the other hand, many Chinese speak English and Mr. Smith can always find his way around because the subways and roads also have signs in English.
Many Chinese Executive expats go to the West because they are forced to, where as Westerners who go to China do it because they want a piece of the quickly growing economy, and because of the lucrative expat packages. Chinese expats generally do not get allowances for their families, so they are often alone, where as Western expats can generally bring their families and put their kids in a nice private school. Perhaps these reasons are why many Western countries ranked so low in the 2010 Expat Survey.
Do you have any input to share about the negative/positive aspects of being an expat? If so, please share them in our comments section below!
By @StanaMark
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