How COVID-19 Has Transformed the Expat’s Sense of Home
For expats, the definition of home is as fluid as the oceans we often cross to move from one residence to the next. Home may be where your house and belongings are, where your family and friends live, or both. It may be where you were born or where you have resided for years. The beauty of being an expat is that home is nearly anywhere (or anything) that you want.
COVID-19 has changed nearly everything about the way the world works, including the expat’s sense of home. Borders are opening, closing, and enforcing restrictions. Flights no longer feel guaranteed, leaving expats to worry about being stranded or conflicted about where to go: stay in your new home or return to your old one? With a second wave looking more and more likely, and no guarantee of a vaccine, those living away from their home countries are finding themselves questioning their international lifestyle.
When asked how COVID has reshaped her sense of home, Jocelyn, an American expat living in Thailand, said that COVID-19 has altered her long-held plans of returning home. “I have been living in Thailand for 5 years, but I always planned to return to the US,” she says. “I have a Thai partner and an established business here, but I want to raise my children closer to my family. My partner and I had planned to move to the US this winter, but now I don’t think that’s possible. My quality of life is much more stable in Thailand, and domestic [COVID-19] transmission cases are zero.” In light of the pandemic, Jocelyn says she and her partner now plan to remain in Thailand indefinitely.
Megom, a serial expat living in Singapore, planned on relocating to London one day, but the UK’s response to the pandemic has shifted her opinion. “COVID has made me appreciate Singapore as a home,” she says. “I’ve always been impressed with the government here and how efficient they are, but their handling of [the COVID] situation was above and beyond what I thought it would be. It’s made me appreciate having a good home with good leaders. It’s making me rethink what I should look for when moving abroad.”
Pre-COVID, the desires and criteria for the countries where expats wanted to move were largely based on job opportunity, finances, and safety. Studies by InterNations, the largest expat social network, found that the two biggest reasons people move abroad is either for a career opportunity or to follow a romantic partner. The most popular expat destinations are those where foreigners earn a high wage and have a decent quality of life.
As an expat myself, I moved to Portugal in early 2019 and planned to move somewhere else by the end of 2020. During my first year in Portugal, I spoke only of returning to Asia, either back to Thailand or maybe to Japan or Singapore. Now, with an uncertain job and travel market, I plan on staying put in the Iberian Peninsula. If I move, it’ll be at the end of 2021 and I am now more hesitant than before to leave Europe because of the comforts, healthcare, and social assistance during the mandatory lockdown. As stated before, Thailand has had tremendous success during the pandemic, but my friends there can’t leave the country and travelers have to pay steep fees to enter. Being in the EU means I still have some freedom to travel to different countries, and I am closer to my family in the US should anyone get sick.
When COVID-19 first started sweeping over the globe, many expats made the decision to return home. Some even did it in less than 48 hours. Typically one of the top expat relocation destination, Hong Kong has seen a particular increase in the number of expats in the banking sector repatriating back to their home countries.
But which is the best decision? Stay abroad and wait out the pandemic or return home? What will now be the new relocation priorities of expats? With the swift rise of remote work, how will that effect visa restrictions on digital nomads and freelancers? Although it’s too soon to make any serious predictions, expats now may be looking more closely at the government policies and healthcare systems of the countries where they’d like to move. Gone may be the days of simply landing somewhere and “figuring it out.” Temporarily, at least.
If you are a current or aspiring expat and this makes you sad, don’t be. Although COVID-19 has changed much about the world, but what it hasn’t changed is the expat’s desire to see every corner of it. I personally know a few expats who are still applying to jobs in far off places, or they’re planning international travel ventures with a stack of masks in hand. While travel and relocation may be slower and filled with more hassles than before, the one thing this pandemic can never change is the adaptable expat’s will to thrive.
