The Expat Explorer survey this year highlights the impact of the Eurozone crisis on expats in the region. Expats in Spain are feeling the impact most acutely, being twice as likely (39%) to feel that their country is off on the wrong track than the global average (19%).
In turn, this has affected Spain-based expats. Some 58% of expats living in Spain said they thought the country is getting worse for expats. Although not quite as pronounced as Spain, expats in other European nations including the UK (44%), Netherlands (43%), Italy (37%) and France (33%) are also more likely than expats globally (28%) to believe their country is getting worse as a place to live and work.
Satisfaction with the economies of the Eurozone countries is similarly bleak. While those in Spain are most likely to report dissatisfaction with the current state of the economy (92%), expats in Italy (70%), the UK (68%), Belgium (53%) and France (48%) are also more likely to be dissatisfied with the current state of the economy than satisfied.
However, despite the pessimism towards the current economic environment, expats in Spain are proving extremely resilient to Eurozone woes. No expats (0%) in Spain are actively looking to leave Spain in favour of their home country or another expat posting, compared to a global average of 13%. In fact three-quarters (74%) are intending to stay. Similarly, expats in the UK and France are also, by and large, intending to stay in their country with 71% and 69% respectively intending to stay put (compared to a global average of 62%).
The countries that are showing marked resilience have a strong contingent of expat lifers (expats who have lived in their current country for at least three years). In the UK, 89% of expats have lived in the country for more than three years, alongside 68% in Spain and 61% in France. In addition, a high proportion of expats in France (41%) and Spain (32%) are retirees - much higher than the global average of one in ten (9%). It seems that while economic conditions might be difficult in the current country, expats in these nations have a long-term mindset and so are willing to weather economic fluctuations.
