we take a look at expat related news this week
Expats pushed to switch to cheaper contracts
“Multinational companies operating in the Asia-Pacific region are responding to the economic downturn by pushing foreign employees working in the region to switch to cheaper local work contracts more aggressively than in other parts of the world, according to Mercer, the consultancy. In a worldwide survey of 700 companies conducted in February, Mercer found 57 per cent of Asia-Pacific respondents were looking to switch expatriate employees to local contracts to cut costs and help counter the economic slowdown, compared with 36 per cent in Latin America, 32 per cent in Europe and 29 per cent in North America.” Read more from Financial Times
What’s the secret to an endless vacation?
”Nine tips for becoming a ‘new’ nomad in 2009. Gary Arndt didn’t want to wait until he was old to see the world. So two years ago, at the ripe age of age of 37, he sold his house, put everything he owned in storage, and hit the road. Arndt, a consultant-turned-photographer, never looked back. He’s visited some of the prettiest destinations on the planet since, including French Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands, Fiji and Samoa. (You can see photos on his blog) “I don’t regret it in the slightest,” he says.” Read more from MSNBC
Picture: Mariann Johansen Ellis
International schools
“A recent global survey by the Academy of International Schools Heads found that 42 percent of 120 schools expected enrolment in the next school year to remain the same, while only a fifth said enrolments, including schools in China, Thailand and Japan, would fall. The fairly robust findings are in accord with the experience of some new expats who’ve still struggled to find schools. “We inquired with four or five schools, and all of them had waiting lists,” said Lucy Wilkinson, who arrived in Hong Kong this year with her kids and husband Craig, a senior private equity banker. It took nearly half a year before a place was nailed down for her son, Archie.” Read more from The Standard
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[...] ExpatFinder Blog placed an interesting blog post on Expat Weekly Digest: Cheaper contracts, Travel, SchoolsHere’s a brief overviewwe take a look at expat related news this week Expats pushed to switch to cheaper contracts “Multinational companies operating in the Asia-Pacific region are responding to the economic downturn by pushing foreign employees working in the region to switch to cheaper local work contracts more aggressively than in other parts of the world, according to Mercer, the consultancy. In a worldwide survey of 700 companies conducted in February, Mercer found 57 per cent of Asia-Pacif [...]