RESULTS SURVEY N°6 : EXPATRIATES, WHERE IS “HOME”?

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Integrating and remaining oneself in expatriation

Expatriates, where is your "home"?

Expatriates, where is your “home”? It’s a simple question asked when comes the time of departure for vacations, or new horizons, it has been inspiring for many expatriates and you have widely commented on it.

This 6th survey conducted by Expat Communication and its partners in July 2021 gathered 1089 responses. Participants are from 96 countries representing 51 nationalities and 16% of them are bi-nationals.

What integration in the host country?

The feeling of being a part of one’s host country, the ability to integrate into local customs, as well as the enrichment provided by the discovery of new cultures are at the heart of the expatriation experience. Whether one is on an expatriate contract, a local contract or has been living in a country for many years, the need to integrate and the need to stay in touch with one’s roots create a tug-of-war felt by a large majority of expatriates.

Signs that allow one to feel integrated and at home:

First and foremost, mastery of the host country’s language . 79% of expatriates master the language, a major tool for integrating, meeting locals and getting to know the culture. The more years they have been in the country, the more they are able to speak the language. For expatriates who have been in the country for more than 10 years, 53% of them speak the language like native speakers. This integration also requires knowledge of the cultural codes of the expatriation country. While 98% are familiar with the culture of their host country, 65% integrate certain local traditions into their lifestyle.

« A hint of some of the festive and culinary customs of our host countries enriches our family rituals » , « Over the course of our expatriations, we keep a bit of each country, customs and cuisine, which enriches us without giving up our own customs »

Without giving up our own customs… It is indeed this feeling of need for anchorage that this survey brings to light. Children seem to be better able to handle different cultures, even if this creates difficulties for 25% of them. Between being born and living for many years in the same country and moving every 3 years on average, the feeling of belonging to a culture is not the same. “I feel French, and my children feel American” said a parent whose children have always lived in the US.

Where do expatriates feel at home?

A question that comes back to me every summer, when comes the holiday season: Where is home? “An almost philosophical question”, “I still can’t find the answer” … So many comments that express the difficulty and the wealth of being among several cultures.

Living in a country and getting used to it does not make expatriates locals. “Our French roots predominate because they are still the basis of our identity.” Having several “homes” is what 47% of respondents answered to the question “where is home?”. “I live here physically but home is where the heart is, i.e., where I’m from.”Expatriates are split between their home, which they occupy daily, and their home country, which they regularly return to. They oscillate between two places. Even after 10 years of expatriation, 48% of them answer that they have several “homes”. 22% feel they are just passing through on expatriation, compared to 13% who do not really feel at home anywhere. The latter no longer recognize themselves in their country of origin and not completely in their host country. “I have several homes but none of them is 100% home.”

What if expatriation offered several homes?

When asked how they feel about their integration in their host country, only 12% feel like locals. The vast majority, 67% of expatriates, feel at home even if they remain different from the locals. If 19% feel like they are just passing through, this proportion decreases very slightly with the number of years of expatriation.

So much so that even after 10 years, 16% of expatriates still feel that they are just on a temporal experience. This in-between feeling seems to be the essence of expatriation: a perpetual tug-of-war between here and there.. The pandemic and travel restrictions, and the more or less strong measures still in place in many countries, accentuate this need to anchor oneself, as highlighted in this survey. The family is the most important link between expatriates and their home country. The impossibility of traveling freely has made some of them realize that their country of birth remains their country. They feel good where they are, provided they can always leave (again) whenever they want.

As for putting down their suitcases for good…

A vast question, for which many are still looking for the answer. What if there was not one but several answers? The trend that emerges is a strong attachment to family and to being close to it. Between the travelers who don’t want to ask themselves for the moment, those who haven’t asked themselves the question yet and those who are still looking for the answer, the mosaic of possibilities is full of possibilities.

The balance of each person also depends on their situation and where they are in their own expatriate journey. Being an expatriate means knowing how to adapt, integrate and discover other cultures without giving up your own. Like migratory birds, some return to their origins while others do not make the return trip as long as they are well where they are.

Each month, find the results of our expatriate surveys. Details of the surveys are reserved for the members of the Expatriation Barometer Board.

If you’d like to participate in our surveys, have access to the infographics and results, or join the barometer board, contact us or click on this link.

Take the current survey

The questionnaires are available in French or English. This link is accessible from your computer, tablet or phone.

Duration of the questionnaire: about 5 min

Your answers are treated confidentially, and if you wish to receive the results directly and answer our future surveys, you will be redirected at the end of the questionnaire to a second link to guarantee the anonymity of your answers to our survey.

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