The big question for expats - will you retire in Britain? For many years, the truthful answer to that has been no, I don't. Well, not by the definition that I suspect they mean - that is, job, golf club, fish and chips on a Friday etc. But one advantage being an expat at a relatively early age has given me is that I have had the opportunity to observe many British retirees struggle with advancing years, illness and the loss of friends - all while being in a foreign country. These days, I do envisage returning to live in the UK in the twilight years, so as be closer to friends, family and familiarity. My wife and I have ensured that we have retained a base in the UK, so we have somewhere to go when the time comes, and indeed we have started spending more time back in the UK than either of us had envisaged, maintaining relationships, developing a future lifestyle. At the same time we have ensured that we have the fluidity and flexibility to move back only when the time is right for us. Perhaps the most salient lesson of this current financial crisis has been provided by the amount of expats that have become trapped in Spain, unable to move back home. Having sold up in the UK, they opted to invest in a Spanish property rather than rent, have moved all their capital over to take advantage of favourable exchange rates, and have severed (virtually) all ties with the UK. Of course in years gone by, these were admirable actions: a commitment to the future, throwing yourself whole-heartedly into your expat life. But the world changes and it is important that expats change with it. Long before the financial crisis ruined so many dreams, I was amazed at just how many expats had settled down only to return for what appeared to me to be remarkably predictable reasons: ill-health (own and family back home), birth of grandchildren, inability to adjust to a new culture. Now, with the financial situation in Europe so bad, it's even more important for wannabe expats to think carefully - to rent before they buy, for example, and see if they really can cope abroad. It's time, perhaps, that expats took the long view - to see their time abroad as a temporary period of their life, a twilight adventure, before heading back to the UK to see out their final years. This column is sponsored by: TorFX, a leading foreign exchange broker, offering excellent exchange rates for all your international money transfer requirements