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Cheapest places for expats to tempt overseas property buyers - 5 March 2009

Emigration away from the UK is set to be one of the most popular parts of the overseas property industry this year. In times of economic turmoil, people choose or are forced into a change of lifestyle, which often leads to them reassessing what they want from their life, and how they want to lead it. With redundancies and early retirements on the rise more and more people are finding themselves with the best opportunity they have ever had to move away from the UK permanently.

Of course, when considering moving to another country, it is essential to consider the cost of living to make sure you can survive comfortably. To this end, currency exchange specialists Foreign Currency Direct have published research to see which of the most popular expat destinations offer the cheapest cost of living for UK residents.

The results indicate that anyone heading Down under is likely to get the best deal, with Australia and New Zealand coming top of the lists. New Zealand was in fact the cheapest, with costs some 33 per cent lower than in the UK. Australia was next, proving to be 22 per cent cheaper to live than staying put in the British Isles.

At the other end of the scale, as currency exchange rate movements have made the Euro stronger against Sterling, expat destinations in Europe have become much more expensive for British residents to live in. France is seen as the most expensive, with the cost of living 34 per cent more expensive than the UK.

Although the have become more expensive for British expats as they are in the Eurozone, Italy and Cyprus remain cheaper to live in than the UK. Peter Ellis, chief executive of Foreign Currency Direct says, “When considering a move abroad, Britons should not only consider the quality of life and cost of property overseas, they should also be aware of significant variations in the cost of living. If your main source of income is in Sterling, the cost of items overseas can vary significantly with exchange rates.”

The survey follows stories of British expats in Europe being forced to return to the UK as they are no longer able to afford to live. As many expats depend on income from the UK in the form of investments or pensions, it has become much more expensive to live – so much so that some are unable to keep up their payments and have to return to the UK.

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