Interview with InterNations’ German Founder & Co-CEO Malte Zeeck.
With over 2.2 million members in 390 cities around the world, InterNations (www.internations.org) is the largest global network and information site for people who live and work abroad. The first international community for expatriates was founded in Munich (Germany) in 2007 by Malte Zeeck, Philipp von Plato and Christian Leifeld. Malte Zeeck and Philipp von Plato remain as the Co-CEOs of InterNations.
InterNations offers global and local networking both online and face-to-face: At around 4,000 monthly events and activities, expatriates have the opportunity to meet with other global minds.
Our Bucharest Community has been an integral part of InterNations from the very beginning. InterNations was founded in September 2007, with only 235 communities back then, instead of the 390 we have now, but Bucharest was already among them.
With over 10,000 members, the Bucharest Community is a lively mix of both expats and globally-minded locals. With two InterNations Official Events per month, our members have the opportunity to meet in business networking environments as well as more relaxed, social settings. Our events are held in prominent hotels, roof-top bars, international pubs and well-known restaurants, all centrally located. InterNations Events in Bucharest started in October 2008, and all of the current Ambassadors are long-term members who embody the InterNations spirit.
How large is the expat community in Romania and which are the favorite cities to settle in? I know there are a lot of expats settling in the Romanian countryside, Transylvania, for instance…
I’m afraid that I can only talk about the expats living in Romania who joined InterNations. So far, our Bucharest Community has over 10,000 members, but it’s still the only one in the country. But I’m sure that some of its members actually live outside the capital. It is more difficult to reach all the expats in the beautiful Romanian countryside — it’s a lot harder to organize events for people living in a geographically very dispersed region rather than one location..
I noticed in the info you sent for the InterNations event in Bucharest that Romania has clinched the 12th spot out of 64 countries when it comes to the ease of settling in. In your opinion, is it a good ranking or is it room for more? What would be Romania’s pros and cons for a foreigner to establish here, apart from job relocation?
In the Ease of Settling In Index in the Expat Insider 2015 Survey, this is definitely a good ranking! Romania even makes it to the top 10 out of 67 destinations in this category. Expats seem to feel at home there: Romania ranks even among the global top 5 for finding friends abroad, as 78 percent of respondents find it easy to make new friends. Another eight out of ten (85 percent) agreed that there was a friendly attitude towards residents.
The obvious con would be Job Security, though. In this sub-category of the Working Abroad Index, Romania just makes it to 51st place out of 67. Furthermore, Romania ranks below average at 38th position for Quality of Life, this is due, amongst other factors, to the low ranking for travel and transport.
What makes a country a friendly living & working destination for expats?
Our Ease of Settling In Index evaluates if a country is a friendly destination for expatriates. The survey participants were asked to rate how welcome they feel abroad, how friendly the local population is, how easy it is to make new friends, and how difficult and important it is to learn the local language.
However, this doesn’t mean that the same country will have a good quality of life or that it will offer suitable job opportunities, or vice versa. As I’ve said above, Romania, for example, is indeed a friendly destination, but it doesn’t do well for quality of living. Germany, to pick another example, has received very good ratings for working abroad for the last three years, but it has been rated consistently low with regard to friendliness, and so on.
What is harder to get when you are an expat? A suitable housing, food, learning the local tips or personal networking, making new friends, etc?
That depends a lot on your personal situation and specific location. Of course, expats sent to London or Hong Kong, for example, report huge trouble with the local housing market. Others — especially foreign assignees — are lucky enough to have an employer to support them with the housing search.
Generally speaking, however, the loss of their personal support network (e.g. family and friends back home) is one of the most difficult issues that expats face. This specific concern lands at the very top of our list of expat problems — 52 percent struggle with it. Another three out of ten worry about the lack of a business network abroad, but it’s definitely the personal connections that matter to them most. Fortunately, 60 percent also state that making new friends abroad is generally easy for them.
Is the expat-foster country relation strictly a business one? Or is more like a continuously developing personal relationship, depending much more on feelings, moods, insights than on some contractual terms? Do you think being an expat is more a state of mind or a temporary condition?
I don’t think there is such a thing as the expat experience. We all have a completely difference experience as expats. There are differences in how you approach living abroad between those who have been sent abroad by their company for one or two years, ‘habitual’ expats who move every few years with no permanent base, or even those expats who have lived abroad for 20 or 30 years and would no longer consider themselves expats at all.
For someone on a short-term assignment, it might well be a temporary condition seen in very practical terms, as they simply don’t have the time to get familiar with their host country, but for those whose motivation is more or less “wanderlust” or curiosity about a particular country, it’s absolutely a state of mind.
You’ve been an expat, as well. When relocating, did you usually try to bring your native home in the foster country or just tried to fit in the local setting, enjoying the local flavors, accepting the local cons?
In my opinion, an important aspect of being an expat is ensuring that you are respectful of and open to new cultures. Of course, you can’t shed your own culture at the drop of a hat. I was probably very German in some regards, but I was also curious to learn more about the countries where I was posted, such as Brazil or India.
What is the next level for InterNations generally speaking? What are the short-term targets? What are the next steps for InterNations Romania?
We are looking forward to rolling out our iOS App very soon. As InterNations members are globally mobile, our website should also become “mobile first”, and an app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is an essential step in that direction.
Unfortunately, there are currently no plans to open new InterNations communities anywhere in the world, such as in more Romanian cities. Opening a new community is a long process, which involves first running a series of test events. In addition, we only consider opening new communities once we have a certain number of members in a particular city.
However, we are also expanding our Volunteer Program to reach more InterNations Communities all over the world. Right now, our Volunteer Program is supporting local non-profits in 36 cities from Amsterdam to Zurich, although Bucharest is not currently included in our plans, perhaps there is a possibility for it to be in the future.
We would like to find more about the InterNations event in Bucharest on August 19 if you could expand the topic for us…
The event in Bucharest on 19 August takes place at Barrio, a wonderful old villa with a lovely garden near Amzei Square. At the event our guests had exclusive access to the inside of the villa and the bar, where we played music and dance, and as well as the terrace close to the entrance. Everyone in attendance received a free welcome drink as well.
Over 150 guests from more than 30 countries have signed up for the event and I was glad to meet the InterNations Bucharest Community.