Guest Post by Kathy Nicholls

photo by Kathy Nicholls

You feel the sea breeze in the air no matter where you go on the island, and the people, while highly motivated to work hard, understand the importance of having a balance in life. Now back in the States, I do miss those things. Here are just a few things to think about if you are considering Barbados as a place to live.

Barbados is a small island in the Caribbean. When we first arrived, there were so many things to learn culturally. From the accents of the Caribbean, to the Bajan English, it was all a learning experience. Fortunately the people in Barbados are patient teachers, and they were gracious when we made mistakes in the way we said things as well as in teaching us some of the local phrases and sayings.

There are some things to do to prepare for living in Barbados. First, know that if you are working on the island, you must have a work permit. Barbados law says that a business is not allowed to hire a non-national if there is a Barbadian citizen who is qualified to do the job. The process for obtaining a work permit is lengthy, with a lot of paperwork, copies of all of your credentials, and a physical exam. In the meantime, you will have to plan on renewing your visa stamp while you wait as the stamps are only good for 30 days in the country. Be prepared for an exercise in patience as things tend to happen slowly and on what is fondly referred to as “Bajan time.”

Patience is a virtue, or so the saying goes. If you are going to live in Barbados, or any other place in the Caribbean, you quickly learn the meaning of this statement. “Bajan time” simply means it will happen when it happens. If you are coming from the US, you are used to making a call, for example, to get your cable TV hooked up, and finding that it’s done in a day or two, usually a week at the most. Not so here. It is not uncommon to wait three or four months before your time comes up on the schedule.

Food: There are many wonderful dishes in Barbados, so come prepared to try new things. You probably will change some of your eating patterns if you’re used to a lot of US-based foods, for example, cereal. Remember that most things in Barbados are imported. That translates to a higher cost for food than you may be used to paying. My first experience with that was going to the store because I was craving Frosted Flakes. Mind you, it’s not that I couldn’t find them, the store carried them. The box that I normally paid around $2.50 for in the States would now cost me the equivalent of $9 US Dollars! I quickly learned that Frosted Flakes was no longer on a “must have” list anywhere while I lived on the island. The best thing to do is learn to shop in the local grocery stores, visit the fresh fish markets (they are all over the island), and buy your vegetables from the local vegetable stands. Not only do you get fresher food, it is just tastier!

My time living in Barbados was so full of wonderful experiences, not the least of which was my marriage to my new husband. It was an awesome time in my life and I do intend to return some day. To list all of the things I learned while there would make this post longer than any of you would care to read. If you crave island living, the fresh breeze from the sea, and year-round summer weather, Barbados is definitely a place to consider.

Kathy Nicholls lived in Barbados as an expatriate for two years, working with a medical transcription training program. She is now back in the States and owns the Nicholls Leadership Institute, where she blogs about leadership development, as well as two medical transcription-related websites, the Medical Transcription Training Alliance, working with potential medical transcription students and training programs, and MT Tools Online, a continuing education site for medical transcriptionists.

Do you have an expat experience you’d like to share? Click on the comment link below, or send me an email!

In the Expat Web group on LinkedIn, a member asked recently, “As an Expat, which countries do you think have the best and worst healthcare systems?”

Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Malta and France all received positive comments. One poster said Japan’s was “the worst I ever experienced.” The US was mentioned favorably, but “only if you have good insurance. Prices are about 5 to 10 times the costs of France or Belgium.” This kind of anecdotal information is interesting, but not all that useful.

Of course to most expats and would-be expats, especially those of us who are approaching retirement age, health care is an important consideration in where we choose to live. What is its quality? Is it at least as good as what I’m used to? How expensive is it? How accessible is it? Will I have to be in a major city to have quality care available?

So what’s a concerned health care consumer to do?

There’s an interesting bubble chart on the Columbia University website, showing the average life expectancy and health care spending by country.

The US is way off by itself as the biggest spender. But our life expectancy (77 years) lags behind Japan (85), Switzerland, Australia, France, Canada, Norway, Spain, New Zealand, Austria, Korea, Portugal, UK, Luxembourg and Denmark, all of whom spend considerably less (around half!) than we do per capita.

The WHO (World Health Organization) has published a listing of medical care by country. Compiled in the year 2000, it’s a bit outdated, but might provide a good starting point. You can see it here.

A Few Considerations

First, I think it’s safe to assume that the care you’ll receive in rural areas will not be as up-to-date or comprehensive as the care you can receive in major cities. That’s true in the US just as much as anywhere else.

If living in a bustling metro area is not your taste, how fast and easy is transportation to those areas you’re considering? Use your common sense – if your dream retirement is on a remote beach or mountain-top retreat that’s an 8-hour drive over mostly dirt roads to get to the nearest city, that will be an issue in accessing quality health care. If it’s an hour or two over good roads, you’ll have significantly better access.

Are there hot spots of medical tourism in the country you’re considering? If so, you can be pretty well assured those doctors will speak English, have up-to-date training and use modern equipment. According to Business Week:

“The low cost and high quality of medical service is a big selling point for Singapore and Thailand, which have heavily promoted medical tourism in recent years. Hospital costs are as much as one-half what they would cost in the U.S.” Read the entire article here

Other popular medical tourism destinations include Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea, India and Israel. There are plenty of websites which discuss medical tourism, as any Google search will show.

Once you’ve narrowed down some possible destinations with health care facilities that will meet your needs, conduct your own research. When you visit the area, ask a lot of questions, find out what other expats do for health care, visit the hospitals and clinics if you can.

Ultimately, as with any other aspect of your move, you need to just do it.

According to a survey by Mercer, it’s not who you might think! By looking at a country’s statutory annual leave, statutory holidays and public holidays, they compiled a list of where employees get the most time off. One caveat: it’s based on what an employee working a five-day week for 10 years is entitled to.

At the top? Brazil and Lithuania, with 41 days annually. Finland, France and Russia follow, with 40 days. The rest of Europe gets 33-38 days.

Where does the US fit? At the bottom with 10 days, because the US has no statutory vacation requirement. (They do note that many employers give 15 days of vacation after 10 years of service.) China beats the US, with 21 days off. Interestingly, Hungary calculates mandatory vacation time based on the age of the employee, with more time off as you age.

Do you have an experience or story about time off from work you’d like to share? Click the Comment link below.

International Living’s annual Quality of Life Index. Every year, IL produces a Quality of Life index, which usually differs quite a bit from their recommendations on best places to retire. France has topped the list for several years running.

1. France (was #1 last year as well)
2. Australia (moved up from #5 in 2009)
3. Switzerland (down one spot)
4. Germany (up from the #8 spot in 2009)
5. New Zealand (up from #9)
6. Luxembourg (down from #4)
7. USA (down from #3)
8. Belgium (down from #6)
9. Canada (a big jump up, from #19)
10. Italy (down from #7)

Top Ten Retirement Havens from Live and Invest Overseas

1. Argentina
2. Belize
3. Chile
4. Croatia
5. Dominican Republic
6. France
7. Malaysia
8. Panama
9. Uruguay
10. Vietnam

Mercer’s Best Cities for 2009:

1. Vienna, Austria (1st)
2. Zurich, Switzerland (2nd)
3. Geneva, Switzerland (3rd )
4. Vancouver, Canada (tied 4th)
5. Auckland, New Zealand (tied 4th)

Forbes list of The World’s Most Expensive Cities to Live. According to Forbes, the 10 most expensive cities are:

1. Tokyo, Japan
2. Osaka, Japan
3. Moscow, Russia
4. Geneva, Switzerland
5. Hong Kong, China
6. Zurich, Switzerland
7. Copenhagen, Denmark
8. New York, USA
9. Beijing, China
10. Singapore

2009 Best Retirement Havens, according to International Living:

1. Cuenca, Ecuador
2. Merida, Mexico
3. Coronado, Panama
4. Punta del Este, Uruguay
5. Calitri, Italy

So there you have it. Some highly respected lists from 2009, and one for 2010.

Best wishes for a happy expat New Year!

According to Forbes.com, Bahrain scored the top spot in HSBC’s recent survey of 3,100 expats. They admit this might be a fluke — only 31 responses came in from Bahrain, compared to 450 from the UK, for example. But it’s an interesting list, nonetheless. Canada moved down from its No. 1 spot last year to No. 2, followed by Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, and in the No. 10 spot, the US.

Read the article here, and see the scored list of countries here.

Martin Chuzzlewit is not one of Charles Dickens’ best-known novels, but it’s always been one of my favorites because of the wonderful expat section. Martin Chuzzlewit was published in 1842, following by a few years the author’s first visit to the United States. Dickens’ description of the US is witty, satiric, and scathing in its depiction of national follies.


In typical Dickensian fashion, Martin Chuzzlewit weaves together many strands of plot. The entirety revolves, in one way or another, around elderly Martin Chuzzlewit, a wealthy, crotchety old man who likes and trusts nobody. Convinced that all of his relations are only after his money, his mistrust causes him to disown his grandson, also named Martin Chuzzlewit.

Young Martin determines to seek his fortune as a domestic architect in the New World. Martin is accompanied by Mark Tapley, formerly the barman at a village pub. Mark is determined to “come out strong under circumstances as would keep other men down,” to be cheerful and to earn some credit in life by maintaining his good cheer in adverse circumstances. Unfortunately, he’s thwarted at every turn because everyone likes him too much and treats him too well for there to be any credit in being cheerful. When Mark meets Martin, he believes he has finally found his opportunity to shine in adversity and hires on as Martin’s servant.

The two sail to New York. While on board ship, Mark makes numerous friends among the other steerage passengers. Although suffering from sea-sickness as much as anyone else, Mark entertain the others and makes himself useful, and becomes the most popular man in steerage. Martin, on the other hand, stays miserably in his bunk and refuses to go up on deck to get any fresh air. He does so, he explains to Mark, because “I don’t wish to be recognized, in the better days to which I aspire, by any purse-proud citizen, as the many who came over with him among the steerage passengers. I lie here, because I wish to conceal my circumstances and myself, and not to arrive in a new world badged and ticketed as an utterly poverty-stricken man. If I could have afforded a passage in the after-cabin, I should have held up my head with the rest. As I couldn’t, I hide it.”

In New York, Martin makes the acquaintance of Colonel Diver, the Editor of the New York Rowdy Journal. Col. Diver describes the Journal as “the organ of our aristocracy in this city.” Martin is surprised, and asks of what the aristocracy is composed. “Of intelligence, sir,” replied the colonel; “of intelligence and virtue. And of their necessary consequence in this republic. Dollars, sir.”

Thus is the America of Dickens’ experience introduced.

After spending a little time in New York, and meeting a number of interesting people, Martin and Mark head west to a place called the Valley of Eden, where Martin believes there will be more scope for his domestic architecture. Martin spends all their combined funds to purchase a 50-acre lot with a house on it from the Eden Land Company. As the steamboat that would take them to Eden is about to leave, Mark hears that nobody who goes to Eden comes back alive.

“At last they stopped. At Eden too. The waters of the Deluge might have left it but a week before: so choked with slime and matted growth was the hideous swamp which bore that name.”

The first settler they meet is ill, and they are warned not to go out at night. ” ‘The night air ain’t quite wholesome, I suppose?’ said Mark. ‘It’s deadly poison,’ was the settler’s answer.”

The “house” they had purchased with such high hopes was “a miserable cabin, rudely constructed of the trunks of trees; the door of which had either fallen down or been carried away long ago; and which was consequently open to the wild landscape and the dark night.”

Mark tells himself,

“Things is looking about as bad as they can look, young man. You’ll not have such another opportunity for showing your jolly disposition, my fine fellow, as long as you live. And therefore, Tapley, Now’s your time to come out strong; or Never!”

To his astonishment, who should Mark find at Eden but a young family he had befriended on the voyage.”It was the same family, sure enough. Altered by the salubrious air of Eden. But the same.”

Martin then falls sick with fever and ague, very common in those parts. He is recovering, after several weeks, when Mark succumbs. Martin has plenty of time for reflection while tending Mark, and finally realizes how selfish he had grown up in his grandfather’s house, and determines to root it out. Mark begins to recover, and they agree to leave Eden and return to England.

This requires Martin to relinquish his pride and ask for help, as all their money was spent in buying the Eden property and getting there. While waiting weeks for a response to his letter, Martin shows Mark how much he has changed in his consideration for others. ” ‘I’m regularly defrauded,’ thought Mr. Tapley, ‘It’s a swindle. I never entered for this sort of service. There’ll be no credit in being jolly with him!’ ” The expected letter arrives, with money enclosed, and Mark and Martin are able to leave Eden at last.

They meet with their benefactor, and Martin apologizes for having had to beg money from him, and adds, ” ‘But live and learn, Mr. Bevan! Nearly die and learn: and we learn the quicker.’ ”

Mark is able to purchase their passage back to England by signing on as a ship’s cook, and they leave New York. As the ship heads toward England, Mark summarizes their experience of America:

“I was thinking . . . that if I was a painter and was called upon to paint the American Eagle, how should I do it? . . . I should want to draw it like a Bat, for its short-sigtedness; like a Bantam, for its bragging; like a Magpie, for its honesty; like a Peacock, for its vanity; like a Ostrich, for its putting its head in the mud, and thinking nobody sees it’ –

‘And like a Phoenix, for its power of springing from the ashes of its faults and vices, and soaring up anew into the sky!’ said Martin.”

Martin and Mark arrive back in London a year after they left. Their expat experience was an unpleasant one, started in pride and arrogance on Martin’s part, and ending in humility and deep appreciation for what he had left behind in England. Back in their native land at last, Martin experiences some further humiliations and setbacks before finally achieving a reconciliation with his grandfather and rejoining the lady he loves. Mark marries the landlady of the Blue Dragon and changes the name of the pub to the Jolly Tapley. Various other characters meet their rewards or deserts, as appropriate. And, in one final irony, whom should Mark meet unexpectedly in London but the little family they had met on the boat to New York and left behind in Eden.

Although Charles Dickens was equally as popular in the US as in England, following publication of Martin Chuzzlewit, his US sales dropped dramatically and he was severely criticized. About 25 years after his first American visit, Dickens returned to the US and was so impressed with the improvements he saw that he wrote a Postcript to be included with every printing of the book in perpetuity. In it, he declares “how asounded I have been by the amazing changes I have seen around me on every side, — changes moral, changes physical, changes in the amount of land subdued and peopled, changes in the rise of vast new cities, changes in the growth of older citiies almost out of recognition, changes in the graces and amenities of life, changes in the Press, without whose advancement no advancement can take place anywhere.”

If your overseas move will include doing business, the World Bank has just published a list that might help you narrow your search. According to their annual Doing Business report, the countries most favorable to starting a small- to medium-sized business are:

1. Singapore

2. New Zealand
3. United States
4. Hong Kong
5. Denmark
6. United Kingdom
7. Ireland
8. Canada
9. Australia
10. Norway

Obviously, ease of starting a business is not the only criterion for choosing where in the world to live, but if you have years of your working life ahead of you, it’s something to consider. With the exception of Singapore, all the other countries on the list are in Europe and North America.

Expat Explorer Survey: Expat Economics

St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

HSBC has just released the first segment of its 2009 Expat Explorer Survey, Expat Economics. Over 3100 expats working in 26 countries were questioned about their financial circumstances. The survey respondents were all expats who were employed full time in their expat country. Some of the findings were no surprise, but others are worth noting.

Expats in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries whose economies are growing rapidly did well. So did expats in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. In fact, most of the positive movement was in the East.

Expats surveyed were able to save more if they were in Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India and UAE than they could at home. Expats in France, Spain, UK, Japan and the USA saved less. Disposable income was highest in Qatar, Russia, Japan, UAE and Saudi Arabia, lowest in Belgium, Australia, Germany, Canada and France.

Expats in the US and UK were most likely to cut back their spending on essentials.

The survey also looked at quality of life regionally, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas. The report didn’t specify what the quality of life rankings included, but their results were a little surprising: Switzerland, Qatar, Russia and Mexico held the top spots for their respective regions.

The biggest surprise to me was the country that’s home to the wealthiest expats – Russia.

You can download the full report here.

Have a comment? Click the link below.

Vienna State Opera

Forbes Magazine has published a list of the top 20 cities in the world to live in. Europe took the most honors, with three of little Switzerland’s cities (Zurich, Geneva and Bern) in the Top 20 and Vienna, Austria at the top of the list. There were two from Australia (Melbourne and Sydney) and two from New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington). Canada was represented by three provincial capitals, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. The USA, Central and South America, Asia and Africa were conspicuous by their absense. Read the whole article.

The study was conducted by Mercer, and you can read their version here.