Foreign assignments can be hazardous to your financial health. This is especially true if your employer is new to, apathetic about, or ill-informed of the ins and outs of sending employees overseas. Some companies say that getting ahead requires at least one significant foreign assignment. Most expats know that international moves are important to their career, and that they can earn business skills that are increasingly in demand.
People work overseas for many reasons.
Whatever your motivation, the quality of your next assignment is influenced by the quality of the work contract. I made the wrong choice because I didn't know how expensive rent was going to be. The Indexes of Living Costs Abroad table compares the cost in dollars of goods and services purchased at the foreign location to similar goods and services purchased in the Washington, D.C. area. With D.C as the benchmark at 100, the cost index for Taipei as of January 2000 was 134 whereas it was 94 for Manila, Philippines. A separate Quarters Allowances table shows the maximum allowances payable to U.S. government employees for foreign housing costs.