4. Cost of living. If you are being transferred, you’ll need a package that you and your organization deem to be fair. If moving on your own, you’ll need to be sure you can survive on local currency, though you should have some reserves for the unexpected. Also, be sure to anticipate a margin of error. If you feel too financially strapped, you probably will not be able to perform. Don’t underestimate the importance of feeling financially secure—with everything else you’ll be taking on, worrying about making the rent each month could put you over the edge.
5. Language skills. There is no real consensus over the importance of possessing language skills of the country to which you’re going. The key is this: what value do you bring? If you have excellent technical skills, management experience, or in-depth knowledge of your company, for example, your professional contributions may outweigh the need for local language skills. If not, then you need to learn quickly. If the market you are going to accommodates English speakers—like most of Europe and Asia—you should still learn to speak the local language (at a conversational level at least), as it will help you integrate faster.
Also, you are more likely to pick up subtle nuances or tidbits that you would otherwise miss. Making the effort to learn the language while you’re on the ground earns you “big points,” as it attests to your personal commitment to that culture. Finally, if you are based in a market that does not use your first language as its first language, chances are that most important transactions will be done through translators, so, at a minimum, you can get by.
Learn the language (even if you begin after you arrive). I didn’t speak any Russian when I landed, but five years later I was teaching international accounting standards at Moscow State University in Russian. Not only will learning the language help you to be more quickly accepted by the locals, it will also open up an entire world outside the expat-social group. —Pamela, The Teagarden Group