Retired expats settle into life abroad more quickly than the young, poll finds

The expat tide may have turned – with a growing number of Brits heading for a new life overseas increasingly likely to be aged 25-35 – but when it comes to embracing a new country and culture, nobody quite does it like the pensioners do…

According to the recent HSBC Expat Explorer survey, 49% of people who retired abroad said that it took them less than six months to feel at home, with 52% stating that they had their feet firmly under the table of the new culture within a year.

By way of comparison, just one-third of the younger age group, 18 to 34, said that they felt at home quite so soon, with pension age expats around the world revealing their one and true secret to making a new life work – going out and finding local friends.

It seems so simple, but many expats often fall at this first hurdle. Life overseas is going to be new and exciting, but it is also going to be different. Expats can either seek to shelter from this change, or embrace it – and there is no better way to embrace a new life abroad than by hanging out with people from that culture.

“Retired expats immerse themselves in life abroad and rather than opting for a quiet or expat-focused lifestyle, have become true members of the local communities they live in,” the report said, stripping away in a sentence decades of stereotypes about Brits abroad who never integrate with the locals.

The survey found that less than one-third of retired expats regularly socialise more with fellow expats than locals. The global average was 42%, indicating that the older you are, the more open you are to connecting with your adopted culture.

One in three retirees said they felt at home as soon as they had joined a local community group or regularly partook in organised activities with locals, compared to just 23% of the average expat community, the poll also found.

Some of the triggers that compel retired expats to see their adopted country as ‘home’ include discovering new cuisines, tackling the new language, making new friends and leading a more active social life. Indeed, one in seven retired expats said that enjoying the local food – whether in a restaurant or at home – was a key ingredient in leading a fulfilling life overseas.

And the poll suggests that this approach appears to work, too: some 67% of people who have retired abroad reported that they now enjoy a superior quality of life to back home.

“The key thing we’re seeing is a departure from the stereotype – retired expats are looking for more than a quiet life inside the expat bubble,” said Dean Blackburn, head of HSBC Expat. “Instead, they’re thriving on the experience to discover new things: jumping head first into different cultures, building circles of friends with expats and locals alike and relishing the cuisine.

“Whatever our age and wherever we are in the world, there’s no question that we can all take inspiration from this group of expats when it comes to making the most of life abroad.”