A survey by Expat.com reveals that 73% of British expats have been affected by the rise in prices. This economic crisis has even caused 21% of British expats to review their plans with 4% deciding to leave their host country.
73% of Brits affected by rising prices across the world
The increase in the cost of living across the globe during the last year has impacted the lives of almost three quarters of British expats living abroads. British expats who noted a rise in prices mostly lived in Spain, France and Thailand. Food, utility bills and the automobile sector were the most affected by this increase according to British respondents to the survey. 22% believe that this increase is a direct consequence of the health crisis but most were not sure where the sudden rise in cost of living originated from.
Cost of living cause Brits abroad to change their plans
According to the data collected, 21% of British expats have decided to review their expatriation project because of the cost of living and 7% even decided to leave their host country. British who have been pushed to change their plans again mostly lived in Spain, France and Thailand and those who decided to move back home were mostly living in the Philippines, Malaysia and Spain.
An interesting fact is that, contrary to the global data and the data collected on Americans, it is mostly employed expats who decided to move back home amidst the economic crisis. The global data showed that retirees living abroad were more likely to decide to move back home and suggested that because of the cost of living and the sanitary restrictions, they were not living their retirement in the sun anymore and therefore, decided to move back home. For the British, however, 47% of expats who decided to move back home were employed.
Case study of expats who have decided to head back to England
A quick look at the open-ended answers, however, quickly helps us understand that there is more at stake than just the cost of living for employed expats. It is more about what the rise in cost of living has meant for their quality of life. An employed British expat living in Malaysia explains that they had to worry more about budgeting and their spending than ever before which has meant a lower quality of life. Another expat who was also living in Malaysia explained that the expenditure became larger than they had been before. “We had additional costs as compared to before the pandemic. Our property rental increased, our daily activities, eating out is expensive and even the gym fees have spiked significantly. It is difficult to justify staying here while this is happening,” explains the expat.
For another British expat living in Mauritius this time, the rising cost of living had simply meant they had to work more and could not enjoy what the island had to offer anymore. “Being here seemed pointless”, they mentioned in the survey.
Then, there is also the role of the healthcare system. Indeed, a lot of responses mentioned that the pandemic had also shed light on the fragile healthcare system of their host country and had caused them to rethink their plans. The cost of living, of course, did not help. A British expat formerly living in the Philippines explained that they had decided to move back to England because they were not able to find a doctor to fix their chronic pain and at an affordable cost. “Everytime I travel for my health, it involves a lot of money. Food is becoming expensive, gas is expensive, hospital bills are a lot higher now. If I lose my job, it will be a disaster so I'd rather go home than live with this stress”, they say.
A total of 8,000 expatriates and future expatriates participated in this study, including 150 British expatriates. The majority of the respondents were over 60 years old (52.6%) and between 40 and 60 years old (35.3%). Not surprisingly, 46% of the British expatriates surveyed were retired. 29.3% were salaried and the rest were entrepreneurs, students and unemployed.
