Is the expat life ethical? A quick glance at some of Facebook’s expat groups and you may get the impression that we are a gang of gentrifying, exploiting neo-colonists. At the other end of the spectrum are the foreigners living abroad who claim that they are the true victims – being overcharged, disrespected, and scammed at every turn.
Introduction
As retiring abroad becomes more mainstream, locals and expat communities alike are debating the ethics and impact of expat lifestyles. In Asia, the subject rarely comes up publicly – at least in English. In Mexico where revolutionaries are heroes and populism is, well, popular – expats, digital nomads, and even tourism are more controversial.
The Good Expats Can Do
We are ATMS to most locals and that is our value to local communities. Our perceived role is to dispense cash.
Yeah, I know that feels weird for a minute. But let’s face the hard facts. Locals barely understand you and don’t really see the point of you. You don’t work (legally), you don’t make things, you don’t contribute to society in any way. Your money, however, spends just fine. All you do is eat, drink, sleep, and buy. That’s your dream – and that’s your reality for locals.
We are TOURISTS. Tourism is the gateway business for entrepreneurial locals. In developing economies with limited opportunities for social mobility, cottage industries like restaurants, guesthouses, and vendors are often the only option for ambitious locals. When you patronize local (non-chain) hotels and restaurants, it is the most powerful and direct way to contribute to the local economy in a positive way. Pass on the famous chains, and favor family businesses. This is also the source of your best experiences and real relationships with locals. I’ve never met an expat with a cool story about a Holiday Inn receptionist or Dominoes driver becoming their life-long friend.
We know about business. If you have experience in sales, customer service, marketing or communications, you can share valuable expertise with members of your new community who need it most. Even the most basic business skills go a long way in developing markets. Locals often have no idea how to do business with foreigners, and it can be frustrating to watch. I’ve worked on basic sales and customer service training for local entrepreneurs, and they found it very valuable.
We can be part of the community. Expats can be valuable additions to the community. Nice people like other nice people. They generally don’t care that much where you are from. If you can add a little diversity and exotic flavor to their local neighborhood, you’ll be appreciated.
The Bad Effects of Expat Living
Gentrification.
In Mexico, it is becoming more common for expats to be labeled as gentrifiers, and it is NOT a compliment.
Are foreigners driving up rent and forcing out struggling locals? Yes and no.
Our spending power is greater, but we are also pickier and more limited in our choices. By the time we move into a neighborhood, it already has basic services and infrastructure.
Westerners are price-takers.
Some local owners know what expats want, and many are rehabilitating existing properties to meet their needs — and charge them premium prices.
I also find the phrase gentrification to be loaded – and a little condescending. Many well-meaning expats seem to want to live in a time capsule where charming, colorful locals happily toil away at menial jobs.
Gentrification is often a matter of “a rising tide lifts all boats”. But expats must be sensitive to the fact that the reason their apartment is available may be that the previous tenant can’t afford the new rent that they are paying.
The Ugly Side of Privilege
Most of us are where we are because the locals are significantly poorer than we are. Expat life requires courage and effort and planning – but it also depends on privilege. Most people in the world can’t do what you are doing. They don’t have the freedom, the resources, or the legal rights.
We can be aggressive, disruptive, demanding, and scary. If you are from the US or parts of Europe, there is a good chance that you ask direct questions, like to pay low prices, follow timetables, and are comfortable haggling for a better deal. You know what you want, and you ask for it. But what you consider normal business conversation often comes across as aggressive & high-pressure intimidating. People from the US and Northern Europe have a higher tolerance for conflict than, well, most everyone. Expats think it is fun and exciting to haggle in the marketplace. Locals who feel bullied into selling for almost no profit are less amused.
Government policy is often changed to attract foreign investment – and that can include expats. When the most vulnerable locals see foreigners receive special privileges – often involving the police or regulations – it makes expats seem corrupt, and in league with the worst elements of their own government.
5 Keys to Ethical Expat Living
1. Be a Good Guest
Learn the culture, the customs, the laws, and yes, the language. Do you have to master the local language? No. But you have to share the burden of cross-culture communication. In Vietnam or Thailand, you may not get much further than some polite greetings, useful phrases, and numbers. In Mexico, however, plenty of foreigners can learn to converse at some level. My Spanish is pretty rough, but that’s how I communicate. THERE IS A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN HOW HARD YOU TRY TO COMMUNICATE AND THE WAY YOU ARE TREATED (and the prices you are charged).
2. Accept Your Role as an ATM
You see yourself as Indiana Jones. They see you as Scrooge McDuck (or possibly Ebenezer Scrooge). You’re the rich person here – and even if you are not, that’s the common perception. You don’t have to throw around money like a drunken sailor, but you don’t have to be a jerk either.
• Don’t haggle with poor people. That $0.10 you beat him down is a way bigger deal to his family than to you.
• Tip. Find out what is typical and do a little better. It’s not just financial. It’s a sign of respect. (Just don’t overdo it and distort the local market).
• Donate. Locals aren’t great at giving handouts to the needy. You can spare a few pesos or baht. Better yet, donate your time and know-how through organizations and charities. The idea here is that your generosity goes far.
• There will be a foreigner price. Deal with it.
3. Support Local-Local Businesses
Local shops and restaurants that local people use.
Ok – I admit that I tend to favor locally-owned businesses that already know how to cater to more affluent locals and expats. In places like Chiang Mai, Oaxaca, and all the big cities, you will find plenty of
restaurants and shops run by ambitious, creative (often young & international) locals who push boundaries and do really creative work. It’s one of the best parts of expat life, actually. This is where authenticity meets innovation, where creativity challenges tradition. Your best expat finds will be in places like this.
But I also go out of my way to support local locals in their own neighborhoods. In Mexico I go to the mercados, and I shopped for fruits and vegetables at Asian wet markets (not so much the meat or fish – I don’t know enough to buy safely).
One of the most common businesses for cash-pressured locals is opening a restaurant. The paradox is that the people who need your business the most are the ones that make exactly the kind of high-quality authentic HOME-STYLE cooking that you are looking for — but they have the least ability to find and attract you. A lot of time these places don’t even have menus, and ordering can be a challenge.
The expensive tourist places in central may have great chefs and authentic-sounding menus, but years and years of tourists demanding Taco Bell-style food have ruined them. They turn out bland, overpriced tourist food.
4. Give Back – Appropriately
Locals often have their own organizations and instructions in place. It’s best to work with them instead of trying to compete. They definitely need your money but may not need your ideas or know-how. Or they may. Listen first. Then listen more. Then talk.
Proselytizers and missionaries don’t really fill a useful role in places like Mexico and Thailand — where religion, family, and community are seamlessly integrated. They walk the walk here. Your genuine messages of love and acceptance are needed elsewhere.
If you do want to share your know-how and experience, education is always a good call.
1. Volunteer to teach English to kids.
2. Teach business English & business communication.
3. In Mexico, there is a desperate need for basic marketing, sales, and customer service for small businesses & entrepreneurs. They don’t always know what they need, however, so getting them to accept help isn’t always easy.
4. Everyone always needs help with fundraising.
5. Lower Your Impact
1. Environmentally. Sustainability and ecologically oriented tourism are all the rage in Mexico. They are cool buzzwords, but it’s not all that revolutionary. I remember hearing the motto, “leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photos” when I was in the scouts – and that was a VERY long time ago.
Put another way — jet skis are for assholes.
2. Culturally. Learn the customs and follow them. Even if you aren’t a “language person”, just being able to say you are taking lessons makes a huge difference.
Locals will give you a lot of credit for minimal effort — but far too many tourists and travelers seem to go out of their way to “act ugly” in less developed countries. If you’re in Asia, take off your shoes before you enter a Wat, indoor public spaces, or someone’s home. Mexico is conservative and modest, and both men and women are expected to dress properly. In big cities men don’t wear shorts (sorry guys).
3. Socially. Americans are loud and impatient. I know – because this is me. Now here’s the funny part — in NYC I’m generally considered soft-spoken and easy-going (by NY standards, which, admittedly, is not saying much). But in Oaxaca or Chiang Mai, I run the risk of being that loud pushy guy. Years in Asia have sensitized me to the way I am perceived — but it is definitely something I had to learn the hard way.
4. Commercially. Every culture has its own rhythm and customs when it comes to cafes, shops, restaurants, and even walking on the street. Asia is very tolerant of digital nomads ordering the cheapest drink on the menu and then taking up an entire table for hours on end. In Mexico – where the cafes may have five or six tables, this is a bewildering act of rudeness that they simply don’t tolerate.
Conclusion
Most expats want to play a positive role in the community – the struggle is knowing how, and then pulling it off effectively. I try to be the good guy, but I’ve gotten into lots of trouble trying to do the right thing in the wrong way. Locals usually laugh off my mistakes, but at the end of the day, it is my responsibility to fit in with my new community. I’m also keenly aware that there may come a time and place when my innocent blunders won’t just be laughed off by the locals.