International Man of Mystery's blog

Expat destinations: Düsseldorf, Germany

Düsseldorf is the capital of North-Rhine Westphalia, and with its population of just under 600,000 people, the city is the second-largest in the state. Just down the road from Cologne, the cities apparently have a strong rivalry - much of which is based around beer. 

According to Wikipedia:

People in Cologne prefer Kölsch while people in Düsseldorf prefer Alt. Waiters and patrons will "scorn" and make a "mockery" of people who order Alt beer in Cologne and Kölsch in Düsseldorf. The rivalry has been described as a "love–hate relationship".

Perhaps it's because of the strength of this rivalry that the cities are so strikingly different from one another. Cologne is imposing and really has a feel of history - maybe that's down to the almost Harry Potter style proportions of the cathedral, it really sets the tone for any trip there. Düsseldorf on the other hand may not be so visually striking - but it has a feel of modernity and there's a groovy, laid back feel to the city - which has a lot going on in the media and advertising industries.

Expats abound in Düsseldorf - no doubt down to the fact that not only is it a nice place to live, there's a robust economy and a very definite feeling of condidence in the future. So if you're sitting in one of the city's great coffee places (even the Düsseldorf Starbucks branches feel like independent coffee retailers) then don't be suprised if you hear Kiwis, UK people, Americans and so on. This is a cosmopolitan kinda place. And that's something further underlined by the city's large Japanese population - and there are some authentic Japanese restaurants too -well worth checking out.

Another of the city's many plus points is its proximity to Belgium and the Netherlands, meaning that you can go and check out various other cool cities and be home by teatime.

As expat locations go, this one is pretty special. Of course if you're planning on an extended stay it is important to get all your research done before getting on the plane. Check out this Guardian article for  one expat's interesting experiences living in Berlin. She mention sin the article that if you want to work in a bookshop in Germany you need a specific bookselling degree that takes five years. Now, that could explain why so much in Germany just seems to work effortlessly - it must all be in the training!

Expats in Paris

Paris is surely one of the world's most captivating cities. Sure, it may not have a reputation for in-your-face friendliness, but few must be the folk who have landed in Paris and not found it something extra special.

And Paris is an expat city - head up to Montmartre and there's an eclectic, arty vibe - a place where the Bohemian atmosphere as recreated in films like Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris is still in the breeze. Although London is home to a lot of French people, there are still plenty of expats who reside in Paris who are from the UK (as well as other places).

In the FT this week is the story Niyz Najafov, an artist who is originally from Azerbaijan who now lives in the French capital. It's a fascinating - and unusual - expat story and well worth a read. In the article Najafov explains how the area he lives in has people in it from North Africa and eastern Europe, and how "the city embraces these communities and the other way round".

Expat Russia blogs

How much do I love expat blogs? Let me count the ways...

As a traveller, blogs mean that I can get a feel for places I've not (yet) been to - and find out what it's like for people living there who are themselves foreigners. So even if I find myself reading about a place I've not been to and am not intending on visiting any time soon, there's still that element of familiarity - reading about someone's experiences of a new country. So there's a kind of double attraction to expat and traveller blogs - learning specifics about places but also just the general shared travelling thing.

So in honour of my blog love, I've decided to do a series of posts on noteable blogs in various parts of the world, starting with Russia. 

This country holds a long-term fascination for me, although it's not somewhere I'd consider living long-term. This is because its biggest cities are all just a little bit too cold in winter for me. Take Moscow for instance. Being from the north, albeit within the UK, I'm used to temperatures of about 0 or minus 1 celsius in winter, but the regular minus 10 of Moscow would be just a tad too much cold.

In the Telegraph's expat guide to Moscow,there's a quote from AXA PPP International, whose marketing operations manager states that "Private medical insurance with emergency evacuation cover for any expatriate outside the large cities in western Russia is essential" so it's always worth bearing in mind just how incredibly vast a country this is. And as it is large, so it is diverse - wih healthcare being one of the things that contrasts between urban and rural areas.

First up we have Northern lad In Moscow - this blog is candid and very much from the viewpoint of someone just getting on with day to day life except in another country. Highly recommended.

Sadly now discontinued, but well worth a look for its rich and well written posts, A Year In Moscow is - well, exactly that. Written by a woman who'd been working in London but took off for the Russian capital.

Also worth a read is Russianess - the adventures of an English teacher in Moscow.

If you're in Russia and blogging as an expat, we'd be interested in featuring your blog here and maybe even getting you to answer a few questions in an online interview - so if that's you, get in touch!

 

Expat destinations and the cost of living

Many of us move abroad to popular expat destinations, and places where there's already an established expat community - this is partly down to the convenience of living in a country where we can join a network of expats and enjoy learning about a new culture while also enjoying the support that network can bring.

Then there are the more remote locations - the places fewer expats go but which also have a lot to offer in terms of their culture and scenery. From Costa Rica to South Korea, you can bet that you'll find expatriates of all nations, enjoying an off-the-beaten-treack kind of an existence.

And then there are the expat destinations that are just downright inspiring - the places that offer something unique and exciting for people looking to live abroad, such as New York or Sydney. 

These days, though, an important factor in anyone's decisions on where to live has to be the cost of living. Tokyo in recent years has topped a lot of lists for having a high cost of living - with the price of a cup of coffee among the most-quoted exensive items, as well as the expense of rental property. But it's worth bearing in mind that where goods and services re more expensive, salaries can often be higher too. 

So, with a loaf of bread reportedly costing around £1.95 in Manhattan, it might seem like an expensive place given that the same item would cost pennies in other parts of the world. But if you took your Manhattan-weighted salary and communted in from somewhere upstate or in New Jersey or other surrounding areas, it's likely you'd be able to - if not live cheaply exactly, - then still make your money go that little bit further.

Increasing the happiness factor: UAE to boost liveability factor

How happy is the country you live in?

If you're Danish, you may find there's plenty to smile about in your country right now, if the rankings for happiness of world nations are anything to go by - since it's currently at the top of the list, which was produced by the United Nations and Columbia University's Earth Institute.

Denmark was joined in the top 3 by Finland and Norway making it a uniformly Nordic top of the world happiness tree. According to the accompanying report, 

It is no accident that the happiest countries in the world tend to be high-income countries that also have a high degree of social equality, trust, and quality of governance

So despite the cooler temperatures and lack of sunbathing opportunities in the north, the key drivers for happiness may be more than simply warmth and sunshine. In fact, the first truly nation on the list is Australia, which comes in at number 9. 

The UAE, another truly warm place on the list, this week announced that it intends to work towards swapping its place at number 17 for a top ten placing in future rankings - and will work with the Earth Institute who'll provide advice for boosting the happiness factor.

According to UAE online newspaper The National, the government is seeking to drive foreign direct investment - and this could prove to be a pioneering way of doing so. The report in The National also states that wellbeing is now often seen as "an alternative indicator for measuring the success of a country" in place of the more conventional GDP and so on. 

In the Telegraph's expat blog, the paper's UAE expat correspondent outlines some of the actions that the country could focus on inorder to bump its happiness rankings up a few notches. One of the things she suggests is an improvement in road safety within the UAE, which - for all the country's expat attractions and advatages - is still a concern, with a far greater number of accidents than in the UK.

Another suggestion made in the Telegraph article is that the introduction of log-term visas would mean that not only could long term residents be freed from the effort of needing to reapply avery couple of years, it would also lead to long term expats being greater stakeholders in the country.

 

Living abroad: healthcare systems and cover

If you go abroad to live, then who looks after your health?

Since the NHS is a healthcare system that's based on the residence (ie the UK) of its users, this obviously means that when you no longer reside in the UK,  you can no longer access its services.

For many who move abroad, the health system in the new country of residence is an important factor in terms of deciding what's required healthcare-wise. For instance, you may move to a country where there is an adequate state system that you have access to and can enrol it. But it may be that the system works significantly differently from the one at home - and often this is the case.

Quite often - even if you have the same access to a healthcare system as a national of that country, you'll still have to pay towards treaments and medicines.

On top of this, a lot of times there can be long waiting lists for various things. And additionally there's the language barrier too. All of which means that getting international cover is recommended and in the case of people working abroad on an international assignment it's often provided by their employer as part of the employment package. This is especially important if employees are being sent to work in areas where the facilities are basic.

If you're an employer it's worth checking out the different levels of international health cover that are available - it's possible to add optional cover compnents to suit the requirements of your employees and also your budget as an employer.