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78% of UK expats are happier living abroad
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Launch of the UKForex Happiness Index shows top destinations and lifestyle trends of British expats
Almost 80% of people who emigrated from the UK are happy with their decision to move overseas, with those in Spain the happiest of all*, according to the first annual UKForex Happiness Index. This compares with just 51.77% of respondents who were happy with their previous life in the UK.
UKForex, provider of online 24-hour currency services, compiled the UKForex Happiness Index in conjunction with expatriate website BritishExpats.com. The Index shows the top five destinations for emigrants from the UK are:
- Australia (39%)
- USA (18%)
- Canada (13%)
- Spain (8%)
- New Zealand (8%)
The happiest people surveyed live in Spain, with 91% of emigrants saying that they were happy or very happy with their lives there. New Zealand emigrants were also relatively happy, with 88% of respondents satisfied with their new life. Canadian and Australian emigrants followed close behind on 86.4% and 84.2% respectively.
Chris Humphrey, General Manager at UKForex, commented:
"With the number of people emigrating from the UK to foreign climes likely to increase in the coming years, it's good to see that the majority of those who have already made the move are happy with their decision! At UKForex we have seen increasing demand for Forex services in many of the countries discussed in this survey and anticipate that this will increase still further moving forward."
"The UKForex Happiness Index will provide a very useful insight into key trends in emigration from the UK. It is already possible to gauge the numbers of people who are moving abroad, but this is the first indexation of the actual happiness of those who have made the move, the key areas of their lives that they are satisfied with and those that have left them disappointed."
The main reason given for moving was to gain a better quality of life (35%). Other reasons were for a new experience/adventure (12%) and new job/relocation (9%). The unhappiest respondents live in France and the United States, with 18.6% and 13.8% respectively disappointed with new life.
Other findings from the survey are:
- 84.02% of people are happy with their new cost of living, 16% are unhappy.
- 80.63% of people are happy with the career opportunities in their new country, 19.38% are unhappy.
- 88.99% of people are happy with the food in their new country, 11.01% are unhappy
The Happiness Survey looked at the results of 1,122 people (40% male and 60% of female). 25% of people interviewed were under 35, 60% were between 35 and 50, and 15% were 50+.
UKForex, which launched in the UK 18 months ago, provides the first real-time 24-hour Forex service. As well as access to over 17 currencies, it is also one of the most competitive services in the market. There are no fees on exchanges of the value of £3,000 and above, and a standard transfer fee of just £7 on exchanges below this level. The average fee for money transfers of any volume and amount can range from £15 to £30 per payment.
* In countries where more than 20 people responded
About OzForex and UKForex
UKForex is the UK subsidiary of OzForex, one of the world's leading online foreign exchange providers. OzForex deals in electronic funds transfer for businesses and individuals who need to transfer funds from one country to another. The business has offices in Sydney, London and Toronto and services over 30,000 transacting customers in more than 40 countries around the world. Established in Sydney in 1998, OzForex is owned by joint managing directors, Matthew Gilmour and Gary Lord, and the Macquarie Financial Services Group as part of Macquarie Equities, which owns a 51% stake in the business. The Financial Services Group is the primary relationship manager for Macquarie Bank's retail client base. Services include the distribution of the Cash Management Trust, Wrap and superannuation administration platforms, relationship management for 15,000 independent financial advisers throughout Australia, as well as stockbroking, private banking and wealth management. It is part of the Macquarie Bank Group, a diversified international provider of investment banking and financial services.
For further information please go to www.ozforex.com.au or www.ukforex.co.uk.
About Britishexpats.com
Launched in 1999, BritishExpats.com has become the leading expatriate site on the internet. We are currently serving over 6 million pages to 300,000 unique visitors each month. For further information please go to www.britishexpats.com
For further information, please contact:
PENROSE FINANCIAL:
Leone Lewis / Sally Wright
Ph: +44 207 786 4885 / 4876