People decide to pack up and leave homes for lots of reasons, but new research has revealed expats can be categorised into several different types.
Expat portal Internations has carried out a statistical analysis on a group of 14,000 expats living in almost 200 countries to find out what groups they fit – and some trends emerged.
Most expats fit into one of 10 categories – although not everyone can be pigeon-holed and many may fit more than one type.
The different categories of expat
Here are the 10 categories, so see where you fit into the expat community:
- Foreign assignee (16% of all expats) – 60% are men working an average 46 hours a week. Three-quarters are both satisfied with their work and financial status. Around 15% have lived in at least five other countries
- Career expat (9%) – Slightly more than half are men, a fifth are teachers, 45% have a post-graduate degree and 14% a Phd
- Foreign recruits (6%) – Two thirds are men, around 30% are middle or senior managers earning at least $100,000 a year. Typical places of residence are the Gulf states and Tanzania
- Former students (6%) – Two-thirds women, 68% stayed abroad after graduating, a third are involved romantically with a partner. Typically live in Europe and the USA
- Travelling spouses (9%) – 84% women, 40% work part time, a third care for children
- Romantics (9%) – Two thirds women, 44% are struggling financially, a quarter work part time and nearly half plan to stay where they are for good
- Family expats (6%) – A third have lived overseas for more than 10 years, 22% have taken citizenship in their new home, almost an even split between men and women
- Dreamer expats (7%) – 50:50 men and women, retirees make up 14% of this category and 21% of dreamers have part time jobs.
- Greener pastures expats (21%) – 54% are men, 28% are entrepreneurs, self-employed professionals or freelances. A fifth moved for financial reasons and 26% have spent 10 years or more in their new home
- Adventurers (12%) – 59% women, half enjoy travelling and 22% intend staying overseas for up to three years. Many live in exotic locations such as Kazakhstan and China as well as Britain
