XTM-Group: Expats Struggle With Children's Education
Research among expat investors in 30 countries reveals how they are responding to the everyday challenges of life away from home.
Online, January 14, 2013 (Newswire.com) - According to the latest survey from Tokyo based XTM-Group, a leading online commodity trading advisors and home to international investors in 110 countries, less than half say they are meeting the challenge of children's education with 10% claiming to be coping badly.
Expats are happy in their work, with 81% claiming to cope well with the demands of their jobs. Looking at the differences between locations, expats in the Middle East cope better than their European and Asian colleagues (96% vs 76% of expats in Europe and 80% in Asia). They also blend in well, with 76%
saying they have adapted to the local culture and 69% happily making friends.
But the numbers drop significantly where family life is concerned. Among those with families, 40% of expats in Europe claim to be coping very well, 29% expats in Asia and only 20% expats in Middle East.
In the words of one expat; "I'm happy, my wife isn't".
Alexander Hoffman, General Manager at XTM-GROUP: "International employers appear to succeed in attracting and motivating their executives, but the research shows the underlying pressures on families and on children's abilities to blend in at school in particular".
When asked if they would rather retire abroad or take the first plane home, 62% of expats wanted to stay away from home, especially those based in Europe where 68% said yes, compared to 60% of those based in Asia.
Only 10% of all XTM-Group investors said they definitely would not relocate permanently. While 92% of international and expat investors are happy with their lives abroad, only 37% say they are very happy. The happiest of all are based in the EU, with Spain topping the list (69%) followed by Belgium (58%), France (53%). Elsewhere, the proportion drops significantly. Only 37% of those based in China are very happy, with the UAE lowest of all at 30%.
Among the pluses, respondents site tax free income, working alongside other 'open minded people' as well as medical services in Europe and the cost of living in China. Chief concerns appear to be the growing cost of living in the UAE compared to earnings, the dollar exchange rate against the euro and pollution in Asia.
XTM-Group is a managed futures advisory firm which assists investors with investing through professional money managers known as Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs). CTAs belong to an asset class called Managed Futures. XTM-Group helps investors select a Managed Futures Program that's right for them, open a trading account for the CTA to manage, and monitor the trading activity of the Managed Futures Program on an ongoing basis.