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Australia still top destination for UK expats, but Spain offers 'la mejor vida', says new "Happiness Index"
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Launch of new "Happiness Index" highlights British expats' favourite destinations and what they like about Australia
SYDNEY, LONDON, TORONTO - 10 November, 2007 - Spain has beaten out Australia as the 'Happiest' destination for British expats, despite almost 40% of British expatriates (expats) selecting Australia as their top destination country, according to a new survey by global foreign exchange provider OzForex and leading expat website BritishExpats.com
According to the survey, Australia still rules as the Brits' top destination, with the second most popular country to move to being the US at 17.6%. However, according to a new "Happiness Index" devised by the survey, Australia lags in 4th place in terms of how happy expats are in their new country - behind Spain (where 91.3% of respondents say they are happy).* The complete list of the top five countries where UK expats are happiest include:
- Spain (91.3%)*
- New Zealand (88.8%)*
- Canada (86.4%)*
- Australia (84.2%)*
- United States (76.6%)*
The survey for the OzForex Happiness Index (Index) was carried out in September 2007 and had over 1,000 respondents. Other independent, third-party studies indicate that approximately 1.3 million UK expats currently live in Australia - making it the largest expat community in the country.
Sydney-based global foreign exchange specialist OzForex, and BritishExpats.com, a leading expatriate internet portal, jointly compiled the Index to obtain valuable insights into the habits and lifestyles of UK expats. The Index shows that the top five destinations for UK expats are:
- Australia (39.2%)
- USA (17.6%)
- Canada (13.4%)
- Spain (7.6%)
- New Zealand (7.5%)
The Index also found that 35.3% of surveyed UK expats cite 'better quality of life' as the main reason for moving to other countries. The other top five reasons given for moving to particular destinations are:
- 12.3% for new experience/adventure
- 9.3% for new job/job relocation
- 6.3% to start a new life
- 2.4% because cost of living in Britain too high
- 2.2% for family/friends in Australia
OzForex Founder and Joint Managing Director, Matthew Gilmour, commented that OzForex is not surprised that UK expats find Australia such a popular destination. "Given most of our senior management are Australian, we know that Australia offers expats a high standard of living and an amazing life style with the strong economy, favourable weather, clean beaches, world-class cuisine and vibrant night life. Overall, we believe that these robust migration inflows to Australia from the UK will better support the economy as these motivated individuals contribute their financial resources, experience, and skills for the benefit of the whole society. However, given UK expats expressed being happiest in Spain, Australia should also not rest on its laurels," Mr Gilmour said.
"The OzForex Happiness Index will give key insights into the sociological and psychological factors and trends involved in peoples' emigration from the UK to Australia, which could also potentially affect foreign exchange (FX) patterns and movements. There currently exists ways to measure the numbers of people migrating from the UK to Australia, but this is the first indexation of the actual happiness of these migrants - what they are satisfied with about Australia and where they would like to see improvements," Mr Gilmour said.
Other key findings of the Index include:
- 38.7% of UK expats used high street banks to transfer their funds when they moved overseas; 32.5% used online foreign exchange providers; and 75.2% were satisfied with the process of transferring funds
- 43.4% of UK expats shopped around a broad range of providers both bank and online before transferring funds, but 45.5% did not
- 48.6% of UK expats obtained information on how best to transfer funds from the Internet; and 25.9% received this information from friends and family/world of mouth
Mr Gilmour further commented, "We know from our own research the profile of most Australian expats who live overseas - young, professional, highly skilled and educated, who prefer the UK, but, an overwhelming majority of whom also intend to return to Australia at some point. The Happiness Index now gives us insights into the UK side of the migration flow 'equation' between the UK and Australia, as well as the important sociological and psychological influencers. We also believe that the Index further validates our view that advances in FX technology will play a significant role in making expatriates' movements to and from countries (such as the UK and Australia) less expensive, easier and a more pleasurable experience overall," Mr Gilmour concluded.
To view the full results of the OzForex Happiness Index, please visit http://britishexpats.com/forum/survey.php?&do=results&sid=29
*In countries where more than 20 people responded
About OzForex
Established in Sydney in 1998 and operating out of offices in Sydney, London and Toronto, OzForex is one of the world's leading foreign exchange providers. OzForex deals in more than 17 currencies and serves around 30,000 transacting customers in more than 40 countries around the world. OzForex deals in electronic funds transfer for businesses and individuals who need to transfer funds from one country to another. OzForex is owned by joint managing directors, Matthew Gilmour and Gary Lord, and 51per cent by the Macquarie Group, a diversified international provider of specialist financial and investment banking services around the world.
For further information please go to www.ozforex.com.au or www.ukforex.co.uk
OR contact:
Matthew Gilmour
Joint Managing Director
OzForex Pty Ltd - Sydney
Ph: +61 2 8667 8000
Philippa Honner
Honner Media
Ph: +61 2 9231 0111
Ph: +61 (0) 407 939 543
Neil Helm
Chief Executive Officer
OzForex Pty Ltd - Sydney
Ph: +61 2 8667 8000
"OzForex, UKForex, NZ Forex and Canadian Forex each is not an authorised deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act (Cth) 1959, and its obligations do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542. Macquarie Bank Limited does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of each of its obligations."