Expats living in the United Arab Emirates missed the British countryside the most, as well as UK arts and culture. Those in Spain miss sarcasm and orderly queuing, both receiving 20 per cent of votes each, as well as having a nice cup of tea, which scored 16 per cent.

British pubs came third on the list with a vote of 41 per cent, after the Lloyds TSB International survey looked at 1,034 British expats living abroad. Unsurprisingly, politics and weather are the least missed aspects of British life. That said, those now living in South Africa have said they miss the political system in the UK.

Nicholas Boys Smith from Lloyds TSB International said: “Often you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone so it speaks glowingly of our countryside that expats around the world miss it so much… Many expats have an element of the adventurer about them, but they still long for certain aspects of British life that some people here might take for granted.”

For details of property for sale abroad, visit the overseas listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying or moving abroad is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into a foreign currency. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

Despite the French rugby team, or Les Blues, being one of the best in the world, the country’s rugby clubs are concentrated in the south of the country – the notable exceptions being the two Parisian teams.

In the south-west, rugby fans won’t be disappointed by a home near Bayonne, Biarritz or Bayonne, each with a team in the country’s top club division. One agent with a large selection of homes in this area of France is Beaux Villages [www.beauxvillages.co.uk].

Heading east, the residents of Toulouse love a good scrum down too while further east, Narbonne, Perpignan and Montpellier are also home to some of France’s leading teams. One agent with a good range of properties in this area is French Property Experts by Anthinea [www.frenchproperty-experts.com].

For details of properties for sale in the south of France, and all over the country, visit the French listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in France is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into euros to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in France, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘France Property Buying Guide’

The agency that processes migrant applications, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), granted residency to around 47,000 skilled workers in 2011 but said it is committed to increasing this figure to 55,000-57,000 this year.

To qualify for one of these places the future permanent residents are accessed by CIC on a number of factors including their education, past work experience, knowledge of the English (or French) language and any other criteria that they feel can demonstrate a person’s ability to establish themselves financially in Canada. The government as a whole is also committed to supporting the immigration process as it understands the need for a quick response to the labour market’s needs, some of which just cannot be fulfilled by the limited number of skilled Canadian workers.

As well as processing the applications the CIC also evaluate the success of past skilled workers that have gone through the program. After a recent evaluation the CIC found that 89 per cent of skilled worker immigrants were employed or self-employed three years after arriving in Canada. Furthermore, the employers that were surveyed overwhelmingly (95 per cent) agreed that the skilled workers were meeting or exceeding their expectations. All of which is a good indication of the success skilled workers can look forward to in Canada.

For details of properties for sale in Canada, visit the Canada listings on Rightmove Overseas. Preparation for anyone considering a move to Canada should include planning for the transfer of your pounds into Canadian dollars. For information on how to do this safely and save money when doing so – giving you more to spend on shopping – speak to currency exchange specialist Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Canada, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Canada Property Buying Guide’

The report contains the findings from a survey of 600 of Europe’s biggest property investment players, on the prospects for property investment across Europe’s greatest cities in three categories: the performance of existing investments (properties), prospects for acquisitions, and development opportunities.

Last year, Istanbul was ranked the number one tip for development opportunities and acquisitions, but lost out to Munich on the performance of existing investments. This year though Istanbul property won the gong on all three counts, making it firmly the number one tip for commercial property investment this year.

Within that the investors tipped retail as the one to go for, although only slightly less respondents tipped apartments and hotels as the best sectors for investment.

Pricewaterhousecoopers is focussed only on commercial property investment, but their report is still a good guideline as to where is hot for residential property investment as well. Istanbul is being tipped for commercial investment because of growth in the economy, growing consumer confidence, growing consumer spending and growing employment. For the same reasons more and more people from across Turkey are moving into the city to find work.

This combination of rising population numbers and the rising affluence of the population is causing unprecedented demand for apartments and townhouses in the city. In fact, according to developers they just can’t build fast enough to meet demand. So, with Istanbul and Turkey property still among the cheapest in Europe, it presents a ground level opportunity that investors are keen to pounce on — especially with the continued difficulties facing the Eurozone.

Source: Spot Blue Overseas Property

The most popular areas visited were Antalya (10 million), Istanbul (8 million), Mugla (3 million) and Edirne (2.7 million), with figures expected to rise further during 2012.

These surges in popularity are not just down to the tourism industry as the country also offers great investment opportunities and hosts many international events which bring in spectators from all over the globe.

For details of property for sale in Turkey, visit the Turkey listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in Turkey is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into lira to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Turkey, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Turkey Property Buying Guide’

This growth in tourism is expected to continue throughout 2012 as there has already been a 10 per cent increase in bookings for next winter as people plan to get away from the cold before Christmas. The appeal of the island has been credited to much more than the weather: on September 27th 2012, the Maspalomas beach on Gran Canaria will host World Tourism Day, as selected by the World Tourism Organisation.

This is the first time that Spain has hosted the event, making it an honour not only for Gran Canaria but also for the rest of Spain. President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Bravo de Laguna, said that the celebration will “enable Maspalomas to be known in all corners of the planet”.

The Canary Islands are blessed with hot temperatures throughout the year and prices are always affordable, making it a great place to visit, or live.

For details of property in Spain, visit the Spanish listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in Spain is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into euros to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Spain, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Spain Property Buying Guide’

The Meteorological Office says that January was the wettest in the last 30 years with most of the rainfall in Paphos District. Arminou, Xyliatou, Tamassos and Klirou dams in other parts of Cyprus also reached capacity. Most significantly, last week Asprokremnos dam in Paphos District, the second largest dam on the island, overflowed after more than a week of speculation. With a capacity of 52.4 million cubic metres, Asprokremnos last filled in 2004.

The biggest dam, Kouris, could be next to overflow the Water Development Department (WDD) said. As of the last week of January, the WDD said that Cyprus’s dams were at an average of 65 per cent of capacity. A combination of rainfall and water inflow, and shorter days meaning less evaporation has caused the filling of the dams. The situation has been met with relief and jubilation, with snack vans selling their wares at the filled dams and punters placing bets on the precise time of overflow.

A serious drought in 2008 which saw the island forking out huge sums to import water from Greece is fresh in the memories of Cyprus residents. A water shortage means erratic or rationed supply in the hot summer months and the prospect of price hikes in the commodity. There are 108 dams in Cyprus, the oldest being built in 1900 near Kouklia. The newest is near Solea and has been under construction since 2010.

If you’re planning to buy property in Cyprus and need to transfer a large sum of money, remember to use a currency specialist to exchange your pounds into euros. For more information, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property Cyprus, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Cyprus Property Buying Guide’

Year-on-year, the average price of an apartment has decreased by a mere 1.5 per cent and encouragingly the second half of 2011 saw a slowdown in the rate of the decrease.

Sofia saw a nominal decrease in prices in the fourth quarter of 2011, by -0.22 per cent when compared to the third quarter and -7.2 per cent year-on-year. After inflation, the prices of apartments in Sofia started to decrease, by 0.65 per cent in total when compared to the previous quarter and by just under 10 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

For details of property for sale in Bulgaria, visit the Bulgarian listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in Bulgaria is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into Euros to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Bulgaria, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Bulgaria Property Buying Guide’

There have been reports of agencies making false promises to British job-hunters looking to get employment in Australia, especially in Queensland and Western Australia where there is a skills shortage in the booming mining industry. Victims have paid fees to “recruiters” who claim they can help the applicant gain employment sponsorship or a visa but after taking their money are never to be heard of again.

“We’re hearing about a number of businesses who are overstating the level of assistance they are able to offer jobseekers,” Queensland’s minister for employment, skills and mining, Stirling Hinchliffe, said in a statement in January.

“These operations – usually set up on-line or at suburban shopping centres – offer, for a considerable fee, to include the jobseeker’s resume on an exclusive recruitment database that they claim is used by resources companies. As far as we can tell, the database is fictitious and we have no evidence to suggest that these companies have links to resources companies or their recruiters.”

Brits planning to emigrate to Australia, most probably on a General Skilled Migration Visa, should seek advice from a certified migration agent, such as Taylor Hampton Solicitors [www.emigrate-to-australia.co.uk]. This means the agent should be registered with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) and a Member of the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA).

For details of property for sale in Australia, visit the Australia listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying down under is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into dollars to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Australia, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Australia Property Buying Guide’

Back in the 1950s, the average home size in the US was 983 square feet. At the peak of the building boom in 2004, the average home size was 2,340 square feet. The harsh reality of owning a larger home has become apparent in recent years because of the time and cost involved in the upkeep. It takes time to keep a large home clean and tidy and the cost of heating and cooling a large home can considerably increase your cost of living. Property taxes are higher for a large home because they are based on square footage and insurance is higher because of increased re-build costs.

Smaller homes are more ecologically sound and equate to a simpler, cheaper life. Utility bills and upkeep costs are considerably lower which means more money to spend on more luxurious fixtures and fittings within the property – or on you and your more liberated lifestyle! Also, many new smaller homes are built with ingenious storage ideas to keep clutter at bay.

As energy costs rise, there is a greater demand for more energy-efficient homes and smaller homes fit this market perfectly. Land is still an affordable commodity in the US so a smaller home doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the size of your plot. Properties on large plots can be found in abundance in suburban neighbourhoods. If gardening isn’t your thing, an apartment with on-site maintenance and community facilities may be the perfect choice for you.

For details of property for sale in America, visit the USA listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in the USA is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into dollars to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in America, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘USA Property Buying Guide’