Immigrants on the Move

When we got our first overseas posting it was to the Maldives, it was an island with all the facilities needed to survive provided by our employers. The weather was guaranteed (mostly) and all we needed was a suitcase of work appropriate wear and some swimming costumes. I think in some ways it gave us a false sense of how easy and relatively cost-free moving overseas could be.

Moving to France was the antithesis of that experience. Transport was not paid by the company, and we were told relocation packages were a thing of the past. They were generous enough to give us a room in the hotel adjacent to the golf course while we tried to find accommodation (something they didn’t help with) but there was no kitchen and we were in a tiny village with no facilities. We ended up buying a microwave grill and eating from that and the nearest supermarket for those first couple of months. Once we found a house and had our personal items shipped over from the UK, there was still the inevitable necessities we had to purchase to complete our home. In this way we were shocked to find that the first two months wages disappeared very quickly.

The cost of living in France was also something we hadn’t even considered. It has always been an idea thrown around that Europe is much cheaper to live in than the UK, and while I would possibly agree with that now, ten years ago it was not the case. Eating out was twice as expensive, the meat in the supermarket was astronomical compared to what we were used to paying, and that was before we started receiving water and electricity bills. The truth was that these were the costs we had not been prepared for.

Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. Before you die, give. William A. Ward

Our move to Spain was a little easier, we were provided with an apartment with a kitchen and every facility needed while we searched for a place to live. There was no pressure on us to move out quickly, although we did want to find a place to settle and make our own. Our things were moved into a storage unit having been transferred to Spain before I’d even left France. The cost of living in Spain was a welcome relief from the high prices of France with vegetables and meat being often as little as half the price. Eating out could be done cheaply (although my husband’s love of great cuisine meant that we were often in the more expensive restaurants), and most of the activities/events were geared towards the lower wages of the Spanish meaning that entry to castles, fiestas, and museums was affordable to even the lowest of wages.

Our move to Azerbaijan allowed for three suitcases each, there was no offer of a crate for our belongings, but our relocation costs were paid for. Trying to pack enough belongings into three (what ended up being 4) suitcases each was torture for me. The act of moving to somewhere unknown has always been aided by having those little trinkets that I love around me to make a place feel instantly familiar. We were given an apartment which was paid for and a car, so thought this would be an opportunity to put some savings away. But the thing about being so far away, and in a country that is not easy to live in, is that your desire to escape more often becomes overwhelming. Flying out of Baku is expensive, there are none of the cheap European flights I love for less than 200€.

Our story may be particular to my husband’s industry, I have met other people whose husband’s have three flights out of the country a year paid for, their entire relocation is paid for, along with a crate of their belongings with a seemingly uncapped capacity. But I have also met people who are in the same industry who have worked for eighteen years in a country and their crate capacity is no different than if they had lived one year. The point is regardless of the support your employer does or doesn’t provide, moving countries is costly.

When we lived in Spain we were surrounded by British immigrants who had ran away to the country for a cheaper life. The commonality between them was that they found their money didn’t stretch as far as they hoped, most of these people ended up looking for work to bring in a little extra spending money. Just because somewhere is cheaper to live, it doesn’t equate that it is cheaper to relocate there, to set up a comfortable home there. The topic of money is so often charged, or taboo, or just not mentioned, but when you’re looking at moving overseas you have to allow for those extra costs that can quite easily eat into a sizable chunk of the savings you thought could keep you comfortable.