Are expats' dreams of a friendly community dependent on personal wealth

The dream of retiring overseas isn’t confined to any one nationality, with the world’s expat communities as diverse as its members' home countries.

Becoming an expat is no longer just for the few whose jobs include relocation, with moving overseas now seen as an everyday occurrence. Reasons for the move are as diverse as the nationalities of those who choose to leave their countries of birth, and include retirement, entrepreneurship, the desire to experience different cultures and the need to get out of a country they no longer consider as home.

For the majority of expats from English-speaking countries, an established expatriate community in their chosen destination is important, especially if the local language is hard to master. Making friends and being able to communicate in a common tongue eases the feeling of being alone in a strange land, and is especially important for elderly expats. However, the difference and diversity between English-speaking world nations can cause problems in creating true friendships, as can different financial situations.

Researching expat destinations online invariably brings up advertorials for certain locations, often including cost of living details. The average US Social Security monthly payment is twice that of UK state pensioners, thus excluding retired Britons living in the same places from the majority of expat events as well as restricting them from social activity in clubs and societies. For many, the success of their new lives wasn’t expected to be exclusively dependent on personal wealth.

For decades, Spain has been an all-time favourite for British pensioners and expats with slender means. For the more adventurous, several Southeast Asian countries including Thailand and the Philippines have become the destination of choice. Advertorials aimed at US citizens have concentrated on Mexico and other south of the border hubs, with monthly incomes of $1,000 and upwards promising the perfect lifestyle. This financial differential causes the formation of ‘little USAs’ in many destinations, with ‘little Englands’ clustered around the Mediterranean.

Where the two sides meet, as in Southeast Asian countries, the juxtaposition isn’t usually a happy one. US-centric groups don’t mix with their British counterparts, many of whom are attempting to live lives which aren’t all about money. New arrivals who’d not envisaged exclusions of any kind often move on to other destinations without realising it’s the same the world over. Perhaps the best guide for would-be expats looking for a friendly, inclusive new home is to follow local online forums and expat club notices and judge by respondents’ comments and advertised events.