Living abroad in a cheaper country can make moving home very difficult
If you’ve grown up in one of the world’s richer countries, like the US, Australia, or most of Europe, it can be very tempting to move abroad at some point to one of the many countries where most things are cheaper. We might not consider it at the time, but it turns out that moving back to your home country can be very challenging.
Some of the issues are very real, while others are just psychological tricks that can be overcome. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, as an American who has been living on the road for a few years now and considering the US again. I’m not alone, and after reading some of the stories in this article about being a stranger in a foreign land, we see come pretty obvious issues.
Saving money on a lower salary is difficult
One of the stories in that article is about a couple who sold their home in London to buy a much larger place in the south of France, and in the 10 years since, the value of the new place has dropped by half. This reminded me of similar situations where many English teachers live semi-luxurious lives in countries like Thailand or Indonesia, but their actual salary is so low that they end up in a bit of a trap.
As an example, let’s say you make US$1,000 per month as an English teacher in southeast Asia, and you can rent a nice apartment for US$400 per month. For that other $600 you can afford to eat out as often as you’d like and even take weekend trips within the region, which is better than many teachers in the US can do. The problem comes when you want to fly home for a visit and you need US$1,500 for airfare and expenses. If you scale back your lifestyle, it still might take 6 months to save up that much money, or at least 3 months if you stay home and only eat noodle soup.
The longer you live in a comfortable bubble where everything seems relatively cheap, the harder it can be to even visit an expensive country, much less live there again.
Getting used to low prices also has a downside
Economists point out that each of us tends to get used to prices for common things, and they call this an ‘anchor.’ When I lived in New York City, I paid US$1,200 a month for rent, $11 for a movie ticket, $6 for a deli sandwich, and so forth.
A few years later living in Bangkok, I was paying US$500 for rent (for a nicer place), $3 for a movie ticket, and $1 for a big bowl of chicken noodle soup. A couple years later I’ve lived in Turkey and Serbia, and I’m now used to things being this cheap. The problem comes with thinking about moving back to the US, or another expensive place like London. Regardless of how much I’m earning, I really struggle with the notion of paying $1,200 for rent again, especially when it’s for a smaller place in a more remote location.
Having these new anchor prices makes so many things back home seem like rip-offs. Like so many other expats, I went abroad partly because I could have a higher standard of living for a lower price. Unfortunately, a side effect of that is returning home sounds far less appealing because I’d have to take a step down in lifestyle to do so.
I wouldn’t say that this is a reason not to leave your home country, but it is something to think about, especially if you expect you’ll want to move back again one day.