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Written by J.M.J
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Monday, 28 September 2009 02:33 |
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Many people who would have never considered working overseas a year or two ago are starting to take a chance on the many opportunities out there around the world. With the unemployment rate in the U.S. closing in on double digits people are taking jobs where ever they can find them even if it means taking a job in another country. Many of those who make up this new wave of expats have no overseas experience and do not know many of the questions they need to ask of a potential employer. Picking a location to work in can be tricky and with no overseas experience these new expats may not know what kind of information they need to find out about a country before they decide to work there. By knowing what to expect from your new location can go a long way to making your overseas experience a good experience.
Picking a location comes down to what you are looking for. You need to make a list of things you are looking for from your overseas experience. For each item you place on your list mark how a country rates from a scale from one to ten. After you have all the items you want to rate a country by place them in order from the most important thing to the least important thing. This will let you see how well each country rates and you can decide what countries have what you are looking for. Some of the things you will want to place on your list is
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Written by J.J.Marshall
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Saturday, 26 September 2009 19:49 |
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Dubai is a destination in the Middle East those looking for Middle East jobs flock to for a few reasons. The pay is much higher than an expat can get in his or her home country. Dubai is one of the more open cities in the Middle East. Located in the UAE the city of Dubai is a cross between Las Vegas and Disney world. With most of the other locations in the Middle East being much more conservative with laws that disallow the use, import or purchase of alcoholic beverages Dubai has plenty of night clubs and bars one can go to if they want to unwind on the weekends and have a few drinks. You can do pretty much anything you could do in any other place in the world from enjoying the night life to skiing at there indoor ski slope. This all comes at a price though. Dubai has a higher cost of living than most places an expat will find work. Their apartment prices are some of the highest in the world and some landlords expect you to pay for the whole years rent up front rather than pay month to month like most other places. If you are going to take a job in Dubai make sure you stay out of debt because if you lose your job and still owe money to a Dubai business you will be put on a no fly list and be stuck in country until you can pay it off.
Apartment Prices
A lot of companies that will hire you to work in Dubai will either place you in company housing or give you a housing allowance. With the price of apartments so high in Dubai I do not suggest taking a job with a company that does not provide you a cost of living allowance or housing and a vehicle allowance. A furnished for room apartment will run you between $7,090 to $3,950 and a unfurnished three room apartment cost between $4,930 and $2,880. The UBS Prices and Earnings report for 2009 has $2,160 as the normal amount locals pay for rent. The most affordable housing in Dubai will be the smaller apartments and may cost the same as a bigger place in Middle Eastern country like Kuwait where you can get a three room villa with a huge second room set up to be an office for under $1,800. The average price for a Villa in Kuwait runs about $1,225 and you can find a two to three room apartment for around $875 and the pay in Kuwait is usually higher than the pay in Dubai. With the high cost of an apartment in Dubai if you are responsible for your own housing make sure your salary is high enough to cover the cost of your apartment and that living in a more liberal country is worth the extra money you will be forking out to live in Dubai.
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Written by J.J. Marshall
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Thursday, 24 September 2009 21:44 |
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Germany is represented by Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich on the UBS Prices and Earnings Report for 2009. Here you will be able to see differences a country can have in its cost of living depending on what city you live in within that country. From the start it is important to know that Germany may be one of the worst countries to work in when it comes to taxes. The cost of Apartments in Germany are little on the high side with food prices coming out a little higher than average. Whith the cost of living and high tax rates make sure you know what you are getting into before you take a job in Germany.
Apartment Prices:
In Berlin you will find a furnished four room apartment for between $3,100 to $1320 and a unfurnished 3 room apartment between $1390 and $710. Frankfurt is a bit more expensive with a furnished four room apartment running you between $3,610 and $2,090 and a unfurnished three room apartment running you between $2,480 and $1,110. Munich has a higher price associated with its more expensive apartments but at the low end it has a price range lower than Frankfurt. In Munich you will find a furnished four room apartment will run you between $3,770 and $1,920 and a unfurnished three room apartment will run you between $2,500 and $1,090. You can see that Munich may have more expensive apartments than both Berlin and Frankfurt but you can still find an apartment in Munich cheaper than an apartment in Frankfurt because on the low end of the scale Munich prices droop to $1,920 for a four room furnished apartment compared to Frankfurt’s low end of $2,090. The same goes with the three room unfurnished apartments were Munich as a low end of $1,090 and Frankfurt has a low end of $1,110. By far an apartment in Berlin is much cheaper than both Frankfurt and Munich. The farther you get from the city the cheaper your accommodations will be. There are other cities in Germany as well and you may find the cost of an apartment much more manageable if you decide to take a job in one of them.
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Written by J.J. Marshall
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Friday, 25 September 2009 20:31 |
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Spain is a country many expats like to work in. The country side and city life may be two different environments but one thing they both share is a rich culture. There are plenty of reasons why someone who enjoys a career working overseas would choose Spain as a place to live but I am going to cover what you need to expect when it comes to the cost of living if you choose to live there. Many places around the world are great places for an expat to work in and like those countries Spain has a cost associated with living there. If you want to enjoy your time in a new country you need to know as much about that country as you can before you take a job there. Knowing what to expect ahead of time financially can greatly improve your overseas experience. The first thing you want to find out is how much taxes you will be liable for so you know how much net income you will have to pay for your living expenses. WorldWide-Tax.com shows that Spain has a 24% to 43% tax on Individual Income. You will need to find out what tax bracket your salary will fall into. You will also want to find out if there are any exemptions you can take as an Expat. Knowing how much you will be taxed by your home country is important too. Many countries do not tax there expats but places like the U.S. only allow their expats to exclude so much of their pay check a year. Once you know what your net income will be you can than look at the prices of apartments in the area in Spain you plan to work in along with other cost of living expenses.
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Written by J.J. Marshall
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Wednesday, 23 September 2009 19:10 |
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Singapore is place where many expats try to find work. Like other cities around the world you need to do some research to decide how much you will need to make to be able to live on the local economy before you take a job their. Singapore is not a cheep city to live in by any means but it is cheaper than places like Hong Kong.
Apartment:
A furnished four room apartment in the city will cost you somewhere between $5,430 to $2460 and a unfurnished three bedroom apartment will run you between $4,900 to $1900. Of course you can always find a smaller apartment but be prepared to pay over $1500. The UBS Prices and Earnings Report – 2009 states the normal local rent for a moderately priced apartment is about $1630. If you are taking a job in Singapore you will want to see if the company provides your housing or a cost of living allowance. If you are staying in company housing it may make your salary look a whole lot better than if the cost of housing came out of your own pocket. You will find that Singapore has some of the highest housing costs out of the cities in the UBS report.
Food Prices:
You will find Singapore’s food prices to be rather high. The food prices are up at the top of the list of the most expensive cities to purchase food. Only eleven other cities on the UBS report have higher food prices than Singapore, Tokyo being the most expensive. If you are given a good cost of living allowance it may not only offset your housing prices but may help out when it comes to the cost of groceries. On the UBS report they put 39 food items in a basket based on a Western European diet and priced them at $510. The basket had a cost of one dollar over the price of the same basket in Miami but $202 cheaper than if the products were purchased in Tokyo.
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