Archives for Relocations

We think about the jobs. We think about the weather, possibly the schools, and the culture. But how many of us stop to consider infrastructure in choosing where to work?

In the current BusinessWeek, my former colleague Steve Hamm reports on how India’s decaying infrastructure undermines the country’s otherwise stellar economic growth. Hamm says India’s “economic boom is being built on the shakiest of foundations. Highways, modern bridges, world-class airports, reliable power, and clean water are in desperately short supply.”

Infrastructure is a classic business continuity issue. If you can’t keep the water flowing or fuel the power grid, then business-as-usual is next-to-impossible, right? Unquestionably, it’s a bigger headache for employers, rather than for workers. But would you rule out working in India or other locations because of poor infrastructure? Would you choose to live or work in Europe, Latin America or the Philippines instead?

Assuming the job opportunity is right, here are some of the primary filters I would apply to evaluating a country:

• Physical security & privacy (Is it safe?)
• Culture (What do I do on my time off? Can I communicate easily with others?)
• Weather (Comfort, time-off)
• Infrastructure (Public transportation, Internet access, housing, schools, etc.)
• Quality of food and restaurants (Okay, it’s my list, yours will vary)

Hamm’s article offers a cool bit of research in a chart comparing infrastructure in the U.S., China and India. It’s pretty clear that infrastructure helps drive macro-economic success, but will it impact your career path?