The World’s Best Places to Live, Again, According to Real Estate Professionals

By Jamie DouglasOn the same day, January 6, 2012 there appeared in the Telegraph from London two articles, one touting the great life in Hong Kong, while the other bemoans the fact that so many expats are leaving the big former British enclave in China because of a lack of schools. The number of British expatriates arriving in the former crown colony has more than doubled in the last two years, leading to shortages from housing, to schooling, to parking, and a general reduction in the quality of life. The number of U.S. citizens arriving there is only about half of the number of British expats, but combine all the anglophiles and other European immigrants arriving in this crowded space, many of them bringing with them families, and you can certainly see where there is a crunch in the spaces available in the preferred schools to prospective pupils. While the availability of spaces in higher quality schools has remained relatively stable at in the mid 30,000 pupil range, many highly rated schools have seen a large increase in applications from all the newcomers by up to 50%, a situation which, in spite of the high salaries and benefits earned by expats, has created family situations where either the mother and children remove themselves back to their native lands, effectively splitting the family unit, or the entire family unit repatriates back to a withering economy, in other words, not just back to square one, but to a place they abandoned with glee, selling all their belongings, but now having to start all over again like newlyweds, minus all the presents, and with one or more kids.There is of course another solution. Since you obviously will not be the only ones in that situation, pooled homeschooling is a very viable, attractive, and affordable option. My own daughter in the 1970’s suffered from nomadic parentage, but we realized early on that she needed to be taught a good curriculum in the very necessary essentials of education that she could not get in the little one-room country schools in the backwaters of the world. After searching out several home schooling programs that were advertising themselves in the back of National Geographic Magazine, there was only one logical choice left. The Calvert School is a comprehensive, accredited, non-denominational correspondence school that is now well over one hundred years old.After recently recommending this venerated institution to a friend, she opted to enroll her child in it, and I must say, we are all amazed at the depth of instruction provided. Neither Expat Daily News nor I receive any compensation from this endorsement, but if you find yourself in Hong-Kong or Timbuktu, you will be glad to know that they exist.Now about once a month or so, I find these purpose driven lists of “the best places in the universe to live!” And usually they are created by multinational real estate or relocation services trying to make the places they are invested in look like a Shangri-la. Take the current list in the Telegraph produced by Sotheby’s International Realty, where they are suggesting that a reasonable unit to rent in their number one rated city, Hong Kong, will cost you £5000-6000 to rent for a month, and that is for an apartment on a lower floor (not desirable, not enough prestige but good views into thine neighbors’ private lives) will start out at £800,000 and go up to £1.25 million for a more desirable floor level.            #3 is the area around Auckland New Zealand            #6 Maui, Hawaii, (But they feature a picture of Waikiki)And rounding it out at # 10 is Cape Town. Needless to say, your friendly real estate professionals in all these locations will try to sell you your dream home. Better yet, stay home and send me the money, and I will go there and send you frequent updates on all the problems to be confronted, from hurricanes to crime to the real cost of living to lack of schools. Just please press the PayPal donate button conveniently located on this site, and I will make sure to keep you updated.Where I will make a deal with the devil to keep from going to Buenos Aires

[image: Tram Jam in Hong Kong, via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write to me, jamie@expatdailynews.com with any questions or suggestions you may have, and if necessary, we can establish a voice communication via Skype. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel related business. My advice is based on my own experiences, and is free of charge. (Donations accepted). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting. To contact him for assignments, email: jamie.douglas [at] yahoo.comSee more expat articles by Jamie at

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