Hong Kong
With a strong global financial centre and the link between trade in the east and the west, many are moving to Hong Kong to relocate for work. The cost of living, however, is steep. To rent within the city is expensive and to eat out is quite costly and it can be quite common practice to eat out several times a week. If you do opt to cook and are missing a few familiar foods, Hong Kong is well-equipped with international supermarkets where you can buy foods and brands from all over the world.
Whilst Hong Kong has a variety of landscapes encompassing hilly areas, rocky coastlines and beaches, there is a metropolis of over 7 million inhabitants. Around 350,000 of these citizens are British expats. In terms of the schools system in Hong Kong, many expat families opt for private, international schooling as the public schools teach in Cantonese.
Singapore
Home to 45,000 British expats, Singapore offers a good standard of living. The city-state has a thriving tech industry, which draws in expats relocating from abroad. The free-market economy has created an appealing destination for global companies to establish a base. Singapore will offer, excellent public transport links and an education system which is held in particularly high regard- offering expats the choice of either public schools or a number of private international schools. The public schools don’t use English as a first language, so many expats do opt for private schools.
The cost of living is high in Singapore and the salaries are correspondingly higher to account for this. It’s worth bearing in mind that the cost of renting accommodation, can set you back quite a bit and needs to be factored into the cost of moving to Singapore and stating a new life there.
Thailand
Most famous across the globe as a tourist destination, Thailand is in fact home to 41,000 British expats. The cost of living there is known to be quite low. For example, if your move to Thailand involves renting accommodation- this can be anywhere up to 50% cheaper than you’d pay in the UK.
Bangkok tends to draw in professionals relocating for work, whilst Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin tend to have quite notable expat communities where English is spoken widely.
Malaysia
A community of around 13,000 British expats have made the move to Malaysia and now call it home. Expats tend to integrate into local Malay communities rather than clustering together into particular expat neighbourhoods. The country also has very low living costs and average salaries in Malaysia can be up to 70% lower than in the UK. The education system also tends to work quite well for expats, with most expat families sending their children to private or international schools to be taught in English and again, at a fraction of the cost of UK schools.
Kuala Lumpur is the hub for the financial industry and Malay economy has developed exports in rubber and tin.
With a low population density, the country can offer expats a lot of space and the benefits of beautiful rainforest and tropical beach landscapes.
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