Category Archives: Uncategorized

International Cost Of Living Index Calculation

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Xpatulator

Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a specified standard of living, similar to a typical household budget. A Cost of living index is a numerical way of comparing cost of living, either over time, or by comparing different … Continue reading →

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Salary Purchasing Power Parity

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Xpatulator

Internationally comparable cost of living data is crucial to forming sustainable expatriate pay policies and monitoring progress.  Market exchange rates give misleading comparisons because they do not reflect salary purchasing power differences. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) accounts for price differences … Continue reading →

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Expatriate Engagement

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Xpatulator

Engagement is a fairly recent term in business. In the past the talk was about “attracting, motivating and retaining” expatriate employees. All three strategies focused primarily on money. A competitive salary that takes into account the relative cost of living, … Continue reading →

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Why are Expatriates paid differently to local people?

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Xpatulator

Most countries have a two tier Pay Market. The two distinct pay markets are typically an Expatriate Market and a Local Market.   The Expatriate Market is largely determined by the origin of each Expatriate. It is quite normal to … Continue reading →

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Do Expatriates experience hardship?

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Xpatulator

Does an Expatriate and their family experience any hardship? First impressions can be misleading. Many Expatriates accept an overseas position with high expectations of a better quality life, luxury accommodation, and the excitement of new experiences.   The reality is … Continue reading →

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Americas Cost of Living – 2010

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Xpatulator

The Americas most expensive city, as at 1 July 2010, is Brasilia which is the world’s fourth most expensive city to live in. Caracas (ranked 11 in the world) is the second most expensive city in the Americas; however this … Continue reading →

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The Secret to Moving

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Xpatulator

The biggest secret I have found to moving is to stay calm, my stomach always used to churn every time my husband would say: “Let’s look at moving to London, Perth, Colorado….” I would have this rush in the pit … Continue reading →

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Middle East Cost of Living – 2010

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Xpatulator

The Middle East has experienced a drop in inflation in most cities over the past two years following a few years of relatively high inflation. The strong link of most regional currencies to the United States Dollar has resulted in … Continue reading →

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Expatriate Pay Philosophy

Posted on September 5, 2010 by Xpatulator

Organisations spend insufficient time creating a well designed expatriate remuneration strategy and policy. This is dangerous given that the highest employee turnover is at the beginning and end of international assignments, indicating a lack of integration of expatriate pay philosophy … Continue reading →

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Africa Cost of Living – 2010

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Xpatulator

Africa’s most expensive city for expatriates, as at 1 July 2010, is Luanda in Angola (ranked 15 in the world) with a cost of living index of 106.17 (New York = 100). Luanda is particularly expensive for education, (ranked 3 … Continue reading →

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