Does living abroad make you wealthy, healthy and happy?

Living abroad has the capacity to improve your life, but you have to help make the change happen

It’s always the go-to reason cited when people convince themselves that they want to move abroad: to improve their standard of living, which means more free time, more money, more smiles, more fun.

But is it true? Does it really happen just like that? Of course, a change of scene and scenery can do wonders for the mood, but improvements don’t just happen without some serious concerted effort by the individual to make it so. Or do they…?

The answer is… sort of. A recent survey by Lloyds TSB International has discovered that of the 1,089 British expats it polled in the 13 most popular destinations, more than half (52 per cent) said they were earning more than they did back in Britain, with exactly half enjoying lower living costs.

So there’s a simple equation here: more money + lower living costs = more disposable income. But did that make them happier? Well, three in five said they were happier than they were in Britain. Generally, the majority of those polled were happier and wealthier than before, with the major grievances about life abroad tending to revolve around education and healthcare, especially for those living in the UAE, where standards were considered either too low or costs too high.

The findings would suggest that making the move overseas is all it takes to transform a life of struggle to a life of riley. But it isn’t as simple as that, of course. It requires careful planning, lots of positive effort, and plenty of hard work to make life in a new country work for you.

Living in Spain, for example, is immeasurably more fulfilling if, as a British expat, you can master the language.

Speaking Spanish opens so many social and professional doors, and will make you feel right at home much sooner. Many of the expats who stay in Spain for good – or at least for longer than average – do so because they mastered the language early on. This doesn’t happen by osmosis, and it doesn’t happen by reading a dictionary for one hour a week. It happens by getting out there, making mistakes, stumbling through and sometimes feeling embarrassed, out of place and a little silly. But it’s worth it.

The Costa del Sol is perfect for expats, though, precisely because learning the language isn’t imperative. Not at first, at least. You can get by without Spanish in most places. The weather will lift your spirits, healthcare is excellent, as is education, and living costs are lower than in the UK. In recent years wages have stagnated, but on the whole, if you move to Spain for work and find employment in a similar field to what you are used to, you are likely to have more disposable income to play with, and most certainly more free time – although the image of the lazy Spaniard is a myth, Spain does enjoy an average of four more bank holidays a year than the UK.

The Costa del Sol provides you with the opportunities to make life better for you and your family. It offers a helping hand, but it won’t and can’t do it for you. However, if you are prepared to widen your social and cultural comfort zone, maintain and nurture a sense of hard work, and learn to enjoy the simple pleasures of long lunches in the sunshine, the smell of the Mediterranean air in the morning, and the gentle sounds of the surf lapping at the beach, then you’ll very quickly feel right at home in your happier, healthier – and hopefully wealthier – new country.