The Australians are coming to Hong Kong!

As an Aussie based out of Australia, I enjoyed the welcome sights and sounds of my fellow countrymen and women cheering on the Australian cricket team in its quest to retain the Ashes last August, even though the end result wasn't what we were hoping for.

After years spent living overseas, the sight of these Baggy Green supporters was a welcome reminder of life back home.

The wave of itinerant supporters at the Ashes was perhaps just a microcosm of the wider migration of Aussies going on worldwide today.

Due to the economic climate in Australia, I am hearing from friends and acquaintances that there is a growing pool of Australian talent seeking new opportunities abroad. Some will have chosen to set up home in Hong Kong, where the economic atmosphere is relatively optimistic as it is influenced by mainland China.

Others will have migrated to the Middle East and Asia, lured by better employment prospects and a better standard of living, compared to home, where rates of joblessness have been steadily rising and growth concerns prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates to a record low of 2% in May.

There has been a decline from 8.138¹ Hong Kong dollars to one Australian dollar in March 2013, to 5.562² Hong Kong dollars to one Australian dollar today, which highlights the present difficult economic climate in Australia.

The fact is that the prosperity we Australians enjoyed on the back of the more than decade-long resources boom has given way to far less spectacular economic growth. For many, the situation at home feels more like a recession and this is leading us Aussies to pack our bags and look for opportunities abroad.

According to data from the New Zealand government, more of us are crossing the Tasman Sea to migrate to New Zealand than Kiwis are coming back the other way. This is despite Australia having a bigger economy, which usually gives way to more job opportunities.

After years in which the strong domestic economy meant Aussies stayed put or perhaps even returned home from overseas (because during the financial crisis Australia's was one of the best-performing economies in the world), we are on the move again.

Expat hubs, global cities, and financial centres around the world, places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, UK, now seem to offer better prospects, while Australia struggles to transition from a commodities-focussed economy to one with a more diversified growth engine.

Hong Kong, for example, is an ideal platform for Australian companies aiming to extend their reach across Asia Pacific. It is home to around 80,000 Australians³ and over 600 Australian companies, given its simple and low tax regime, strategic location in Asia, strong rule of law, and government support.

While rising costs of living and stagnant wage growth are problems at home and among the reasons why Australians are leaving, they also pose a dilemma to Aussies living overseas.

I know people who have moved overseas who say they would struggle to afford to return. They enjoy comparatively higher incomes overseas, plus there are fewer employment opportunities in Australia.

In Hong Kong, Australians make on average USD150,000 per annum, 3.9 times the Australian average income (USD38,750)⁴. So to return home is a big financial risk and as a consequence they are staying overseas for longer than originally planned.

Research on expat investment patterns and needs has found that overall around a third of Australian expats were planning to stay overseas for two to five years, while only 10% thought they would stay for between five and 15 years.

While the findings suggest many Aussie expats expect to stay overseas for a relatively short time, anecdotally at least, it seems there may be a growing gap between expectations and how long some of us actually end up staying.

So what does this mean for those who have already left and perhaps find themselves staying away longer than originally planned, and for those leaving Australia now?

The longer we stay abroad, the deeper the roots some of us put down – forming relationships, building careers, having children, buying property, perhaps thinking about saving and investing more with an eye to other long-term financial goals.

As the years go by in an adopted country, the greater the need for long-term financial planning is likely to be.

When it comes to personal finances and financial planning, many people's overarching needs are similar. The universality of this need is emphasised by research results.

Asked about financial goals, planning for retirement was most important to Aussie expats, followed by children's education, passing on wealth to children, and planning for a property purchase. Ask any Brit, American, or Indian the same questions and they would outline similar priorities.

What may differ for expats is the best way to go about meeting these goals, owing to the unique challenges that living and working away from home for relatively long periods can bring, such as changes in taxation when returning home.

The Baggy Greens, at least, have gone home now: other migrant workers may be staying much longer to make the most of the relative financial benefits enjoyed from working as an expat. To ensure you can return home when you want to, rather than when economics allow it, it may be wise to start thinking about long-term financial goals and planning immediately.

¹ X-RATES: https://www.x-rates.com/historical/?from=AUD&amount=1&date=2013-03-26
² X-RATES: https://www.x-rates.com/historical/?from=AUD&amount=1&date=2015-08-27
³ Austcham news: https://www.austcham.com.hk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/austcham-news_173_Email.pdf
⁴ 'Understanding the investment patterns and needs of Expats in Hong Kong, Singapore and UAE.' Research report commissioned by Friends Provident International. February 2014.