How long is it?
How hot is it?
How much do you weigh?

Those 3 questions can trip up a new American expat faster than asking for directions to the nearest metro stop. Why? Because we’re American, that’s why.

The United States of America is one of only 3 countries in the world (out of ~200) that still use feet, ounces and Fahrenheit. Everyone else? – they use metric system.

Check out the map below.

It's Just US, Burma and Liberia Against the World

Yeah, amazing, huh? America, Liberia and Burma. That’s it – that’s all who are still stuck in the 19th century with the old British system.

When did the meter catch on? Well, take France for example. France finally adopted the meter officially right after Napoleon overthrew the ruling French Directory. And that was 1799.

Yeah, the meter is that old.

Do all other countries really use only the metric system?
No. There are some exceptions. In England, some people know their weight in stone. In Canada, they buy carpet by the square foot.
Well, I didn’t say there were many cases. (Why they’re called exceptions.)

Some Arguments You May Hear Against the Metric System

“Oh, but metric is so un-American!”
Actually, Thomas Jefferson proposed a base-10 (decimal) system for measurement. His proposal in Congress lost by one vote. That was 120 years ago. Imagine how different America would be if it weren’t for that one vote?

“Oh, but metric is so hard!”
Actually, it’s not, period. It by 10s. Not 3s, 12s, 16s, or even 5280s.
It’s 10. Then 100. Then 1000. And so on. There you have it.

“Oh, but moving to metric would cost too much!”
NASA would disagree. Remember the case of the Mars Orbitter?

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“I want to be an expat” – a dream of over 700 million people.

A survey, which took 3 years to complete, was finally released. The survey asked “Would you like to start a new life abroad?”.
Across 130 countries, 16% of the people answered “Yes.”

What countries were most popular?
Mostly developed western countries, plus Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Where does everyone want to go?
If everyone had their wish, the United States would swell by 165 million people (growing it by 50%)
Canada would bring in 45 million people (a whopping 150% boost!)
France, Thailand and Britain each would grow also by another 40+ million people.

What’s the biggest motivator for all these people?
Jobs. For many folks, the big deciding factor whether to stay or go was employment. Do you want to work abroad?
Last year, HSBC released a report about expats which reported that half of surveyed expats are in their residence country and plan to stay because of a better contract than they could get back home. Another tidbit: more than half had lived outside their home country for longer than 5 years.

Both the HSBC report and the very recent Gallup survey show a growing trend: people are seeking to become expats.

credit: Source article

“I want to be an expat” said by 700 million people. That’s a lot of people. It’s a big dream. Start now, while you’re ahead of the pack.

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