Push and Pull - what we have to balance.

Note: This is a post I started writing some months ago. It's a little out of date now given that we have had to take the decision to cut short our tenure in Malaysia by a year (I'll go into that in another post), but I still think it is worth showing how we are weighing things up and what might affect our decision making in the immediate future.

Push and Pull

As we are weighing up the decision we need to take in the very near future we have been considering factors that are pushing and pulling into staying here or returning home.

I characterise them as push and pull as this seems to be a good way of framing the pressures to move or stay; to return or continue abroad.

The push factors are the negatives that make you want to leave a place and the pull are the positives. These are not necessarily diametrically opposed - a pull factor here in Malaysia may not necessarily be a push factor in the UK - both places could have powerful and equal pull or push factors.

An example of what I mean could be the food culture - I consider this to be a pull factor for both places and probably an equal one (I'll write about that in more detail later).

In this post I'm going to attempt to dissect the factors into a list of push and pull and give each one a score out of an arbitrarily selected 6! I know most people would go five, ten or even percentage, but I'm going 6. Partly just to be cross awkward, partly because at a six I can't pick that dreadful 'middle' number 5 gives you the option of (yeah, I know - ten would have worked like that too, but hey, I'm trying to be different!).

Malaysia:

Pull:

The Food = 4 

Okay I did say I would write about this and here I go. The food culture is a real draw. The availability of good, highly flavoured and interesting food is a real pull factor for visitors and immigrants alike (not going to use the weaselly term 'expat' here - I'm an immigrant worker and no amount of semantic gymnastics changes that). It is quite hard to find 'bad' food here - you may find food you don't like, but on the whole good food is cheaply and readily available. What is less available is very high end food. It is here, it's just more difficult to locate, but this may say more about my local knowledge than it does about the food culture. 

So all things considered I'd rate this at a 4 - yes that doesn't sound like a resounding endorsement, but frankly the quality of the food is more important as visitor than it is living here. The food culture is a plus factor, but not an overriding one.

Pull: 

The cost of living = 6

This is a strong pull factor. Malaysia is very affordable. I've written extensively about the cost of living vs income in a separate post, but objectively the cost of living here is low. It is never as simple as that subjectively, but from the raw cost perspective, especially given the relatively low levels of inflation, it is very affordable. 

Pull: 

The Weather = 2

See - little or no variation in temperature from month to month. Trust me - it's deeply weird...

I'm going to define weather and climate as distinct from one another - I mean they are. They mean objectively different things, but we do have a habit of conflating one with the other. In this instance I'm referring to the fact that the weather generally means that you can go and do climate appropriate activities year round with reasonable degree of certainty about what you will get. There will be some rain at some point, probably spectacular, but brief and other that that it will be hot and humid with some mix of sunshine and clouds. The temperature will always feel like it's 32 degrees or warmer. This means that you know what you will get from day to day and as someone who has grown up in the temperate zones of Northern Europe it is a change.

Pull:

Latitude = 2

There we are - just North of the equator. There is a 20 minute variation in the sunset and sunrise times over a year.

An odd one to include, but the constant and predictable nature of the sunrise/sunset cycle is quite useful. Combine this with the relative predictability of weather and seasons (there are none) then you know what to expect and when.

Pull:

Culture = 4

It's interesting here and the variety of cultures is extraordinary. Not as diverse perhaps as London, but still much more diverse than my native Northumbria. Temples, Mosques, churches, colonial forts, lots of celebrations from a range of cultures- it's fascinating.

Pull:

Lifestyle = 6

It is more relaxed here (apart from the roads - more on this later). There is no sense of threat on the streets, the country is number 18 on the world peace index (1 place below Norway and 16 places above the UK) and in general the lifestyle is much more laid back. It could well be the heat - it's very difficult to get too wound up when the entire country is like a sauna and you can't hurry or you'll dissolve in a pool of sweat. 

Our lifestyle is good. Pool, beach, gym, interesting meals out, new experiences etc - I know it's not typical of a 'local' lifestyle and the relative novelty is part of this, but still, we're enjoying it. If you look at the ratings for quality overall quality of life in Malaysia you'll see it falls far behind the UK (this takes into account pollution, crime, life expectancy etc as well as cost of living), but Penang specifically is very different in most of these regards. It's a very safe place in terms of crime and higher up the human development index than the majority of Malaysia. We are also living a very middle class lifestyle, so that also makes it quite bearable!

Pull:

The Job = 4

The teaching here is easy - yup, easy. My classes are half the size of the ones in the UK. The kids are calmer and more deferential, which makes classroom management a breeze and the overall teaching experience is therefore much more straightforward. I have a great department and the curriculum is flowing nicely. The wider life of the school is good - on the whole this is a great place to work. Long hours, yes, but teaching is teaching and you need to put the time in. 

Pull:

Travel = 6 

This is probably the strongest pull factor for us - the travel, both domestic and foreign. This is something which, for a variety of reasons, we will never do again and therefore are making the most of.

Pull Total = 34

Push:

The Job = 2

Okay - I know I put this in the pull factors, but it is also a push, although less than it is a pull. The job is complicated in ways that teaching the UK state sector is not. The demands of student numbers are more keen where there is no state backing and you have an executive board to answer to. This presents really big logistical issues and fundamentally alters the way you can organise your school and structure your curriculum. All of these are issues that are beyond my control and influence and this is a very disconcerting situation.

Push:

Environment = 5

This is very subjective, but I find the environment is less than conducive to my wanting to remain here. The constant trash, the humidity and the smells that the combination of the two produce mean that I don't find I can access relaxing and reinvigorating natural environments easily or comfortably. Where we do get into nature it's often spoiled by rubbish and it is always bloody hot!

Push:

Just a little example of what is deemed okay here in Malaysia...

Driving = 3

It's not great. It's not as bad as it could be, but it is not great. I don't enjoy the traffic (I can't imagine anyone would) and the highways are not much fun to drive on. The moped drivers are frankly psychotic and the car drivers lack skill, coordination, manners and are also sometimes psychotic. The roads are also relatively poor in quality and often not well maintained. When they are being maintained you frequently only find out about it when you nearly run down the people working there or nearly crash into a hastily erected and often not well constructed barrier

However, driving almost anywhere has its drawbacks and once you get used to the roads here it is navigable - I just don't like it.

Push:

Infrastructure and bureaucracy = 3

Again not a huge push factor, but nonetheless trying to navigate somewhat difficult systems in another language with cultural and linguistic barriers is a pain. Add to that an infrastructure that is in many ways more advanced than that of the UK, but in many other is far less developed and the whole thing is just another niggle that takes the shine of the day-to-day experience.

Push:

Entertainment/Leisure activities (lack of) = 4

This may be as much about me as it is about the place, but there just isn't as much to do - or at least I don't know where I can do what I want to do and don't feel able to access it even when I find something. The timings are all a bit weird - stuff here doesn't seem to start until quite late... or maybe it feels later for some reason, but Penangite tend to do thing later in the evening. These days I feel like anything after 7pm feels prohibitive.

At home we used to climb (indoor walls), practise martial arts (all three of us), run, trail run, hike, access the coast. Here I use the gym - that's it - okay I run, but due to the environment I don't enjoy it. There may be clubs and associations, but I don't access them and can't seem to find them. My social network was well developed at home and a lot of it was based around my hobbies. The clubs I was a member of gave shape and structure to my week and the regular connections things like my running/trail running with my friend on a Sunday gave me were the added extras that made life worth living. 

Push: 

The Commute = 4

Okay this is a very context specific one and I freely recognise that there are many people who regularly travel much further than I do. My commute is around 60 km per day in distance and between 40-60 minutes time depending on road conditions. That is about 10km further than I did in the UK and at least 30 minutes total journey time per day extra. This may not seem like a lot, but it adds up and the older I get the less time I'm willing to spend sitting in a car just to get to work. I have much better things to do with my time. Plus the road is frequently quite tricky indeed! It is a twisting mountain road where there are frequent tree falls, idiotic drivers, stray dogs and other hazards. Although I have seen a pair of pangolins on the way to work (I was on the way to work - I can't vouch for the pangolins).

Push:

Being an immigrant (albeit a very privileged one) = 3

Okay, again this is kind of obvious and not obvious at the same time. It was always going to be the case that we would be strangers in a strange land. Culture shock is inevitable and something that you need to be aware of, but the constant knowledge that you 'don't belong' is wearing. Malaysia is more welcoming than most places and we've never been told to go home - just the opposite, people are genuinely warm and friendly, but you still feel out of place when everything is just so different. The advice to get involved and experience the local culture is all very well, but you really just can't penetrate the depth of a cultural experience that easily and also to suggest that just hanging out and observing, chatting to locals etc will remove that feeling of being distinctly 'other' is simply not the case. I know this may be more about the way I see myself than any extrinsic factor, but that doesn't make it not a factor. 

Malaysia just isn't home and I don't feel at home here - I'm used to Penang and enjoy the novelty of travel, but that's all it is. 

 

Push: 24

So overall there appears to be a +10 pull factor for living in Malaysia - which tracks (I should point out I'm doing this push/pull analysis live so I'm as surprised by the results as anyone!). We like it here - kind of, mostly and it's fine for now.

The UK

Pull:

Here is a generic graphic representation of friends and family sourced from the internet - apparently you have to have images to make a blog...

Friends and Family: 6

Well it's obvious, this is the main thing we miss. I know we didn't spend as much time with other people as we could or should have done and when we come home I really intend to make an effort to resolve that problem. We were so busy in the UK being busy, that we really didn't spend anywhere near enough time together as a family or with our wider family and friendship group. Hopefully when we return we should be in the position to re-evaluate our entire way of life.

Pull:

Gratuitous shots of Northumberland - these last two are within a five minute walk of my house! Does make you wonder why you would ever leave... 

The Environment: 6

For me the UK and specifically the North East is the perfect environment. It is generally clean (still some issues with litter and pollution, but nothing like South East Asia) and the mix of forest, hills, coasts, upland and lowland terrain is perfect. I am definitely a temperate zone kind of guy and the UK has some of the best temperate zone environments to enjoy. Even the urban areas have a lot of green space and interesting architecture to explore. There are some down sides - a lot of the open spaces that exist in the UK are currently in private hands and access can be an issue, but generally speaking the environment is a huge plus point.

Pull:

The food = 4

Yes, I know that this was included in the Malaysia section, but it is a really big pull factor for the UK. The range of fresh dairy and vegetable produce accessible in the UK is excellent and whilst the price is generally higher for some things, bread, cheese, milk etc are actually cheaper. Contrary to popular opinion the UK food culture is excellent and anyone who says different simply hasn't looked hard enough.

Pull:

Okay I know I will come off as very middle aged and middle class talking about the National Trust and English Heritage, but hey, I kind of am! 

Activities and Culture: 4

There is so much to do and so many places to visit in the UK. There are sports clubs, museums, galleries, national parks. There are so many things that are state funded and free at the point of use and so many low cost sporting clubs too. Yes some things have a price premium, but in general you can do a lot for a fairly low cost in the UK if you know where to look! 

Pull: 

And here is an accompanying picture of roads and a train in case an illustration of infrastructure was needed.

Infrastructure: 4

This UK is a well developed first world country where stuff just works. Building standards are high, local authorities take care of roads and rubbish, there is a healthcare system. I know it is under pressure, but public services in the UK are still some of the best in the developed world.

(Please note - at the time of first writing this blog post we weren't in a meltdown of public sector strikes and there wasn't a panic over projects like HS2... oops!)

Pull: 

The climate: 4

I prefer temperate zone climates. I find the temperature range in the UK suits me better and I don't really mind the cold too much. Yup, climate is a big plus point.

Pull:

Another shot of the spectacular coastline that is literally a five minute walk from my front door - okay, not this exact spot, that's probably more like ten to fifteen, but I feel the point is well made.

Hang on - this next one is five minutes from the door...

The home factor: 6

We are comfortable in the UK - we know how it works. Specifically we are comfortable in the North East and we know it well enough to navigate easily, but there is still enough to keep us interested. It's a pretty potent mix.

Pull:

Housing: 4

We have a house - it will need work as it is currently rented out and will need spending to bring it back up to the level we'd want it to be at, but we have one. It's also very nice. We like it. The style of housing in the UK is generally good and the build quality is also generally good too - this is not the case here in Malaysia. Building standards are... well, variable at best.

Total Pull factors = 36

Push:

This makes for rather worrying reading!

Cost of living: 5

This is a really big concern and getting bigger. Even mortgage free I'm worried about how much living costs would be back home. We certainly couldn't afford a lifestyle like the one we have here.

Push:

Travel: 5

You can't travel from the UK easily any more - we discovered that this summer. The airports are screwed, the airlines are screwed, the passport control is screwed. The entire system seems to have buckled. You either have to travel light and travel long or stay at home.

Push:

Work: 4

Teaching is teaching, but it is harder even in good schools in the UK. There are more demands and the student are just more challenging. They are angrier and less deferential (not necessarily a bad thing - the deferential bit that is), they are more likely to be directly defiant and challenging. The school system can be brutally performance driven and unhelpfully focused on KPIs that don't make for productive teaching and learning environments. My current school has an incredibly healthy attitude towards education and this is something that should be cherished. I was also lucky enough to work for a long time with a head teacher who never used statistics as his driving aim or a stick with which to beat teachers - this is not necessarily the situation for every school though.

The more general work culture in the UK seems unhealthy and driven by narrow concepts of success -we are unproductive compared to our nearest neighbours and appear to want to get round this by making work even less attractive and rewarding. We aren't as bad as the US, but we seem to view them as role models - not healthy. 

Push:

'Nuff said!

Political Situation: 6

OMG! What the hell! There's not much more I can say about this - just no, no thank you!

Push: 

Cultural attitudes: 3

The UK has a small island mentality in large parts. It is insular and despite the veneer of tolerance that we put on, we are not (as a whole) particularly open minded or welcoming - sorry we aren't. Individuals are, but as a country we voted for Brexit on the basis of 'we're full' and 'we don't want Jonny Foreigner telling us what to do' - that is not a good look people and trust me on this, the rest of the world does not look favourably on us as a result! And the worst part? We don't even see it!

Yes there are large parts of the UK that are diverse and many individuals who are open, worldly and tolerant, but the prevailing image is of a parochial and inward looking country that is living on some post-imperial vision of itself that doesn't seem relevant any more.

I love my home - it is the best place on earth, but that's my opinion based on the fact that it is my home! My emotional attachment to the UK does not excuse its problems or hide its deficiencies. Collective jingoism is deeply unhelpful!

Push: 

Not exactly the most prepossessing image of a country is it? And this one was in a news report! (source: https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/watch-horrific-footage-mass-brawl-16931799)

Anger: 3

There is a seething resentment and feeling of dissatisfaction that bubbles over into violent conflict, either verbal or physical. This is not something that I've experienced here - there have been no 'what are ye lookin' at?' moments here or groups of very rowdy revellers looking like drunken fights were part of a pre-planned itinerary. The UK just has more edge - there is definitely more street violence than there is here in Penang and that's a real push factor.

Push:

This is the wintery counterpoint to the other shots of the coast near my home...

Weather: 4

Yes I know I've said climate is a pull, but the weather is frequently miserable. I think it is mostly the combination of wind, cold and rain that I find least attractive and sadly the UK has more of these than Malaysia (the cold goes without saying, but the wind here is on the whole much more gentle). The weather can make certain of my pastimes much less pleasant. I can run or hike in wind and rain, but it is not enjoyable.

Push:

The Dark: 2

Its a small thing, but there are months on end in the UK when I wouldn't see daylight during the week. I'd leave for work in the dark and come home in the dark. The lack of vitamin D led to tiredness and low mood. Also, again, running and hiking become limited to the weekends or school holidays. Combine the dark with the cold and the rain and the wind and ta dah!

Push Total: 32

That's a positive total of plus 4 for the UK.

What is interesting is that the pull of the UK is slightly stronger than the pull of Malaysia - I'm not surprised by this at all. I broadly prefer some aspects of the UK, some aspects of Malaysian life win hands down (this place is chilled, varied and frankly easy to live in). However the push factors are also stronger - which is a surprise. Or maybe it isn't... I'm saddened by the things that I find distasteful or worrying in the UK because it is my home and I don't want it to be bad. It upsets me that life is getting harder on the whole, when for so many people it was already very hard indeed. I think that my strength of feeling for the UK is the sources of this and maybe that is the most telling part.