The changing profile of the expat community post-pandemic

Estate agent Knight Frank recently completed a survey of its global base of customers with results revealing that 64% decided to buy a property in their home country after experiencing lockdown. Of that 64%, a total of 29% admitted that they were moving home permanently and 57% planned to use the property as a second home in the event of future lockdowns.

The survey also found that the number one reason for moving home was to be close to family members followed by a new job offer in second place. The third most popular reason for expat repatriation was to avail of a better healthcare system at home. Concerns around future air travel was ranked in sixth place. 

Many aspects of expat life changed because of COVID-19. Travelling, socialising, exploring, working in an office with your team, networking and even exercising all took a hit when the pandemic started, while feelings of stress, worry, loneliness and homesickness initially increased.

Plans were put on hold for many expats planning assignments in 2020 because of travel restrictions and the lifestyle they were expecting as part of expat life was no longer on offer. With most of the world adapting to remote working in 2020 and 2021, many companies realised that business could be conducted online, and this still stands today, several years on.

Despite the initial negative feelings around working from home in 2020, over the years that followed, many benefits of this change were also seen. MBO Partners reported a 49% increase in American digital nomads compared with the same period in 2019. 

Many employees learned that they could work competently online with no need to visit the office. This, quite literally, opened a world of possibilities encouraging more people to apply for digital nomad visas and become location independent. Traditionally, digital nomad life was more suited to free-lance workers with no fixed base but now that many companies have adapted to working online digital nomad life is an option within other industries. 

With the speedy roll out of the COVID 19 vaccine in 2021 and 2022, life began to return to ‘normality’, however we are now living in the ‘new normal’. Expat foreign assignments did return and in October 2021 Madrid was announced as the number one expat destination in a piece of research completed by MoverDB. Though Madrid has a considerably lower salary level than other cities among the top 25 including Luxemburg and Geneva, Madrid’s cost of living and rent expenses are also considerably lower which was appealing after the pandemic when people wanted a change, and to escape the place they had been in lockdown.

Reykjavik in Iceland took second place followed by Luxembourg, Helsinki and Geneva in third, fourth and fifth place.

Several years on from the COVID 19 pandemic, travel and working overseas has fully resumed with more and more people taking the risk to live or work abroad. Working from home has become the norm with a hybrid approach being taken on by a lot of companies – providing employees with the best of both, allowing for a better work-life balance. The expat community will experience this wherever they are also. It’s important to take the opportunity to go into the office whenever you can as it will help you settle into your new role and get to know your colleagues better.

Since we were in lockdown for so long it’s important that we get out and socialise again, while still taking care of our health and looking out for the vulnerable people. One thing we know is that looking after our health and wellbeing is of utmost importance. If you are traveling ensure that you are protected with access to quality healthcare with international health insurance from Allianz.