Future Expats Forum » What Kind of Expat Are You?

Do I Regret Moving Overseas?

FutureExpat — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:30:44 +0000

Guest Post by Michelle Garrett

Moving overseas was one of the best things I could have done.

The Author in Paris

I am frequently asked by the British ‘why do you stay in Britain?’ as if I’m half crazy. They say it like that because of the weather.

My short answer is that I live in Britain for love: my husband is British. They always reply ‘awwww,’ because it sounds so romantic.

But the full answer is of course much longer than that, and predates my husband’s entry into my life.

I grew up in a small university town in Northern Minnesota. By the time I was 18 I was fed up with the small town. When my drama club decided to take a trip to England I signed up immediately. England!

Many car washes and garage sales later, our small group were boarding a 747 in July 1988, on our way to London. When we began our descent to Heathrow and the clouds gradually parted, I saw the little squiggly, crazy quilt pattern of fields below—so unlike the giant grids of Mid-West America. This was my first real view of the world outside the States. At 18 I was hungry for all new experiences and I was thrilled (almost overwhelmed with excitement) to see this green and pleasant land waiting for me to explore.

We did a whirlwind tour of sites in and around London. I was agitated because I was the oldest in the group. I had graduated a month previous and I wanted to be independent, free to explore the world. I was standing by myself at Windsor Castle (possibly in a sulk), near a wall overlooking the valley across to Eton School. The wind gusted and I could smell things that I had never smelled in Minnesota—a combination of the fresh, woody willows along the river, the old lichen covered stone of the castle walls, even the short cut green grass held a different scent in the misty air.

My drama teacher walked up beside me and looked at the view. She could sense my restlessness. ‘You’ll be back,’ she said, as if reassuring me. ‘You’ll come back one day.’ She was certain.

When I went to university that autumn, I learned that the university had a Study Abroad programme in England. I signed up. I spent seven months of my junior year in a castle owned by the Duke of Northumberland. He rents out the servants quarters to the students of my university. It was an amazing experience, cold, but amazing.

While there I fell in love with a local who was about to go to medical school. I went home to finish my degree, he moved to London to start his training and when I finished university I moved to London to be with him. We got married perhaps a bit too early, but my work permit ran out and I assumed I would be with him forever.

I’m no longer with him, but I am still in England. When my marriage was breaking down my dad expected me to move home. I didn’t. How could I? I didn’t even know how to pay a bill in the States. The culture shock of repatriation on top of a divorce would have been more than I could have coped with at that time.

I had been in England for 10 years, I had a circle of friends and good support. I still had friends in Minnesota but they had got on with their lives—it would be a lot to expect them to suddenly fit me and my emotional baggage in again. So I stayed in England.

Eventually I remarried—another Englishman. And I’m still here.

Do I miss the States? Of course. Would I move back? Well… We talk about a retirement home in the States one day, but I don’t see a move back to the States before then. If I had known back in ’88 on the walls of Windsor Castle that not only would I return, as my teacher said, but that my future would be dominated by a life in England, would I have done anything differently?

The answer is yes, probably…possibly. I never planned on making a life here. It has been full of emotional hardship and heartache. And yet, I don’t regret moving overseas. Of course I could have made a life anywhere, but moving overseas helped me grow into the person I was meant to be by pushing my boundaries, testing me and helping me develop in ways that I would not have been able to while surrounded by people and influences back home.

That growth and development are the reasons why a move overseas was the best thing for me.

The author is an American freelance writer who has lived in the UK for 20 years. She blogs about life as an expat at Mid-Atlantic English.

9 Expat Blogs to Follow

FutureExpat — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:00:44 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve done any kind of list, so I thought I’d give you a look today at some of the expat blogs I follow, and that you might find helpful, too.

Empty Nest Expat. Currently living in Prague, the blogger describes herself as “an American expatriate bursting with enthusiasm to GET OUT AND EXPERIENCE OUR GLOBE! ”
Living In the Sun. This is a website with four offshoot blogs, each dealing with a European/Mediterranean country. There’s one for France, Portugal, Spain and Greece.
Soul Travelers 3. Two fifty-something parents and a nine-year old travel the world in “an epic odyssey: open-ended, years long slow trip around the world as a family adventure, unschool, spiritual journey and lifestyle.”
Expat+Harem. A Berkely, CA native living in Istanbul with her Turkish husband.
My Several Worlds. The author is a traveler and photographer. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, she currently lives and works in Taipei. Her site features gorgeous photos, as well as information about teaching English abroad.
Career by Choice. Megan Fitzgerald helps expats develop their careers abroad.
Traveling4Health. While not specifically an expat blog, this is a terrific resource for anyone interested in health care abroad.
Mid-Atlantic English, the blog of an American who’s lived for an extended time in the UK.
The Cranky Yank. This is the personal blog of Dan Prescher from International Living, and he always has a unique perspective.
Do you have a favorite expat blog? Share it by clicking on the Comment link below.

Expat, Missionary, Saint

FutureExpat — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:00:39 +0000

March 17 is celebrated throughout the United States and Ireland as St. Patrick’s Day. On St. Paddy’s Day, as it is familiarly known, we wear green, eschew orange and drink gallons of green beer. (Yuck!) We hold parades, dye entire rivers green, and generally behave in a very un-saintly fashion.

St. Patrick: A Brief History (with a little guesswork thrown in)

St. Patrick himself is a figure shrouded in some mystery. He probably lived during the 5th century, and was a Roman Briton from a well-to-do family. When he was about 16 years old he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland where he was a shepherd for about 6 years. At the end of that time, ostensibly after having a God-inspired vision, he escaped and made his way to the coast where he was able to catch a boat for home.

After his arrival home, his Christian faith strengthened by his experience, he undertook religious training which continued over the next 15 years. He returned to Ireland after his ordination as a priest, with the mission of converting the heathen Irish and ministering to the Christians already there. Patrick served the Irish Christian community until his death and is considered to be the patron saint of Ireland. Definitely a missionary expat, then!

St. Patrick is credited with driving all the snakes out of Ireland, although there is no evidence there ever were snakes there. The snakes could be a metaphor for the druidic religion which he undermined. Ireland was completely Christianized by about 200 years after Patrick’s death.

After living among the Irish during the six years of his captivity, Patrick understood the language and the culture. Ever the canny missionary, Patrick craftily superimposed Christian symbols and rituals onto the existing pagan symbology instead of trying to eliminate the pagan Irish symbols and practices. For example, he took the sun, a powerful symbol of Irish pagan belief, and added it to the Christian cross, creating the Celtic Cross we still see today.

St. Patrick’s death is popularly believed to have been on March 17. After his canonization, Irish Catholics celebrated the anniversary of his death as a saint’s day with feasting (and drinking!) despite it’s occurrence during Lent.

St. Patrick’s Day Today

Today we associate St. Patrick’s Day with shamrocks, leprechauns and Irish nationalism.

The shamrock was an important pagan symbol of spring. Patrick supposedly used it to teach lessons about the three-in-one nature of his Christian God. During the 17th century, the Irish started to use the shamrock as a symbol of their heritage and history and their dislike of English rule. Today it’s considered good luck, and a symbol of Irish nationalism.
The leprechaun we know today is really an American invention, loosely based on Irish tales of the fairies or the “little people.” The original of the Irish fairy tale was a crafty, tricky, not very pleasant looking character who could (and often did) cause humans a lot of misery and confusion and was obsessed with gold and wealth. According to history.com, they were not associated with St. Patrick or his day until after Walt Disney released a film called Darby O’Gill & The Little People, which featured the cute, harmless little leprechauns we recognize today.
Irish nationalism is symbolised by the shamrock and the color green. In the Irish flag, the green stripe represents the Irish Catholics while the Orange stripe represents the English Protestants. Wearing orange on St. Patrick’s Day is an insult to any true Irishman. We even make sure our canine companions comply.

Saint Patrick’s Day Parades

The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade took place, not in Ireland, but in New York City in 1762 when a group of Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched on March 17. By 1848, several Irish societies combined to form the official New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The New York City parade is the oldest civilian parade in the world, and the largest US parade with about 150,000 participants lasting 5 hours.

And while Americans were lifting a glass to St. Paddy, over in Ireland the pubs were closed on his day until the 1970s.

The website st-patricks-day.com lists parades in 45 US states and the District of Columbia (Alaska, Idaho, Hawaii, New Mexico and West Virginia don’t participate), as well as Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, most of the European countries (France is the notable exception), as well as China, Japan, Singapore, Tainwan, Korea and Dubai.

Take It All In Stride

FutureExpat — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:00:40 +0000

Guest Post by Brandi N. Grays

I never really decided to live overseas. There was no well-laid plan, no dream destination. I didn’t do any research. When I first got off the airplane in Ankara, Turkey I had no idea what life had in store for me. My boyfriend had been working in Turkey for a little over a year and he asked me to marry him. He was already in Turkey (and it seemed that I had been awaiting this proposal forever), so we decided that I would go there and we would get married right away. I found a tenant for my apartment, packed my bags, and hopped on a plane to Ankara.

Because I hadn’t done any research, I arrived a few days before the start of Ramadan. We had to wait through closed offices and holiday observances; but, we were finally able to get married about three weeks later. So many people ask me, “How did you manage to get married in another country?” It was a challenge, but this experience is what helped shape my perspective about life overseas; take it all in stride.

I have lived all over the world; Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia, Israel, and now Mexico. I am thoroughly enjoying myself. However, I believe that in order to take full advantage of your expat life you have to relax a bit and understand that you don’t have the same amount of control as you do in your home country. I have had many opportunities to work myself into fits of frenzy; however, my outlook on this uncommon life has saved me.

What Do You Mean, I Can’t Buy Groceries Here?

I can remember standing in the checkout line at a grocery store in Belgium. I had a basket full of groceries and was at least 7 months pregnant. I handed the cashier my credit card and my passport and began bagging my groceries. However, I was alerted to the fact that there was some sort of problem with my identification. The cashier explained that my middle name was not on my credit card as it appeared on my passport and therefore, I couldn’t pay for my basket full of groceries. I tried to explain to her that it was just my middle name and didn’t have to be on my credit card, but my explanation was not sufficient. I speak enough French to get through my daily life; but, I can’t go head to head in a verbal battle with a native French speaker.

So, here I was holding up the check-out line in Carrefour and getting angrier by the minute. Had I been in the states, I would have demanded to speak to the manager, asked for the number to corporate headquarters and called them while I sat in the car. In this case, however, I pushed my basket to the front of the store, bought a hot waffle on my way out, and went back later with my husband and his credit card.

These sorts of experiences will happen, especially when you first arrive in a new country. If you don’t fluently speak the language, you will encounter them much more often. But they will give you opportunities to laugh later on. They are simply part of the adventure. There is no sense in getting upset and angry. Take it all in stride.

I could tell you stories about rogue taxi drivers, hostile sports fans, ridiculous apartment deficiencies, and the worst McDonald’s on Earth. Of course, when you are standing face to face with a cashier and can’t buy your groceries, it can be disheartening. If you have to demand that a taxi driver take you back home because he doesn’t know where he is going (and you don’t really either), it can be a bit overwhelming. But when you stick it out and get past these little bumps in the road, the journey is a blast.

Brandi N. Grays is the owner of Eleven Twenty-Three Creative Group, a small business marketing firm. She blogs about starting and growing your small business. She will be launching her own blog dedicated to expat moms in the spring of 2010. You can reach Brandi at brandingrays@1123creativegroup.com.

Are You A Boomer or A Hammock Swinging Adventurer?

FutureExpat — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:21:31 +0000

Kathleen Peddicord of Live and Invest Overseas revisited Nicaragua recently, and had some interesting comparisons between Nicaragua and Panama.

I can’t help but draw comparisons between this place and the place I left early yesterday morning, Panama City.

Granada, Nicaragua, from where I write, and Panama City, Panama, couldn’t be more different, and I’ve been trying to put my finger on, exactly, why that is. Finally, the gentleman who was kind enough to collect me in Managua last night and deliver me to my host here in Granada for these two nights articulated the difference for me.

“Panama City is booming,” I was explaining after he’d asked how I was enjoying life in my recently adopted hometown.

“There’s so much energy and activity…so many people and so much money flowing through that place right now, thanks, largely, to the Panama Canal expansion work, which began this year.

“Panama City is in your face. Downtown is noisy, dirty, frenzied, and completely alive. This is an exciting time in the history of Panama, and I’m enjoying the chance to witness it from the inside.

“Nicaragua, on the other hand,” I began…

“Is swinging contentedly in its hammock,” my new friend completed the thought for me.
And he got it just right. While Panama is busy remaking itself, retooling for a decade of further and continued growth, development, and expansion…Nicaragua is happy to sit back and enjoy the sunshine.

There are no big road works projects under way in Nicaragua right now…though, certainly, some of the roads could use improving.

And the Nicaraguans you pass as you travel around their country…they’re herding their cattle, tending their sugar cane, rocking slowly in their big wicker chairs…

They seem in no hurry to get anywhere or to do anything in particular, and, watching them, you begin to wonder why you are.

The price of oil…the price of gold…the dollar/euro exchange rate…the closing figure for the Dow…these things all seem far away and unimportant when you wander the roads of this beautiful and right now dazzlingly green country.

Don’t these people know the world is ending…that global markets are collapsing? If they are aware, they’re unaffected. And, again, spending time among them, you can’t help but wonder if they don’t know something you don’t.

I’ve got much to tell you about what I’ve seen so far…but I’m already late for my first appointment this morning. I’ll fill you in, don’t worry, on everything, when I’m back in Panama City and have more time.

Meantime, on the drive into Granada last night, my Marketing Director Harry, in Nicaragua for the first time, wondered: “What’s the demographic of the foreigners living here now?”

“The folks who’ve chosen Nicaragua for their overseas retirement or new life abroad are adventurers,” I replied.

“They’re out-of-the-box thinkers. Nicaragua isn’t an obvious choice for someone whose primary objective is to play it safe. This country is still rugged and delightfully unpolished.”

“I think I like it better here than in Panama,” Harry responded. “There’s something romantic about this place…I can’t explain it…”

I sensed it on my first visit, too. There’s something poetic in the Nicaraguan way of life. Infatuating.

The people of this little country have lived through troubled times. But they’re not bitter or calloused. They’re warm and welcoming. Big-hearted and quick with a smile.
They’re also strong and resilient…able to take the ups and downs of day-to-day living in their stride.

In Panama City, your pulse quickens. Your heart races. You feel like you’d better get up and get moving. Do something…build something…

Here in Granada, you want to settle back and settle in. Your mind wants to slow down, and your heart wants to savor.

“I wish we could stay longer,” Harry commented this morning over breakfast. “I could imagine staying on here…”

We’ll plan a more extended visit soon. Being here again has reminded me why I fell in love with this country in the first place, more than 15 years ago.

Right now, though, unfortunately, Harry and I have a full schedule. We’ve got to resist the urge to slow down. We must push ahead…to the Laguna d’Apoyo…to the coast…then back to Managua…

Kathleen Peddicord

P.S. My waxing poetic about Nicaragua neglects the practical. Here’s the important practicality to recognize about this country: It remains a true bargain.

Twenty years ago, Mexico was truly cheap. Ten years ago, Panama was truly cheap. Today, Nicaragua is still truly cheap.

Harry and I took taxis, ate out, enjoyed our share of Flor de Cana, and made a point of stopping in shops as often as we could. Everything from shampoo, bottled water, and pineapples to electronics, duffle bags, and washing machines is cheaper in Nicaragua than in Panama and, as far as I could tell, a bargain.

Breakfast for the two of us at my favorite Granada haunt, the Alhambra Hotel, was so cheap I re-checked the bill. Two plates of eggs, bacon, and toast, plus orange juice and hot tea, for about US$5, including tax and tip. In Paris, you can’t buy two croissants and coffee for US$5…and, in Panama, for 5 bucks, you and your dining companion are eating empanadas out of a cart.

Nicaragua remains the kind of place where everything is so affordable you never have to tell yourself no. Want to dine out? Enjoy late-afternoon aperitifs on the square? Drink and dance ’til dawn? Take a taxi to Masaya or Catarina for a day at the market? Take a boat tour on the lake? Why not? Your budget, even if slight, can handle it.

I’m speaking anecdotally. Our editors have figured the cost of living in Nicaragua more formally. They say you can live well in this country on less than US$1,000 a month.

Finance Your Life Overseas

The Travel Writer's Life

How I’m Going to Finance My New Life Overseas

FutureExpat — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:41:11 +0000

Last September, I started a series of posts talking about how you can finance your new overseas life if you’ll need to generate income. I stated:

“In our recent poll, we discovered that most — at least 80% — of our readers will have to generate some income when they move overseas. None of them plan to hold an overseas job with their current employer, but half intend to develop some kind of self-employment income. This will be the first in a series of ongoing articles that may give you some ideas about your overseas self employment.”

I started with a discussion of writing for a living, since that’s something I have a lot of personal experience with.

In November, I shared my forced entry into the corporate cubicle life, and now I’m happy to let you know that I’m done with the cube. I can’t begin to explain what a relief that is!

Now I’m starting the next step of my journey to move to another country, by creating a business I can take anywhere. My only requirement will be a good internet connection.

Since most of you will need to create some sort of geography-indepent business as well, I thought I’d share my plans with you.

My plan is to offer three types of services.

Website hosting

Over the past 12 years, I’ve created and/or managed a number of websites, and worked with several different hosting services. A few years ago, I found one I was happy with. I’ve stuck with them, and I’ve opened a reseller account. Basically, this means I can sell their hosting services and get paid a commission.

I am happy with this company’s technical support, which is speedy, efficient and effective. I’m very happy with their capabilities at hosting WordPress blogs (this site operates on WordPress, and I currently have three other WordPress blogs hosted on the service). Their terms are reasonable, and their offerings are generous.

If you would like more information about hosting your website or blog with a good service and allowing me to make a small commission, click here.

WordPress installation, setup and customization

WordPress is the best website CMS (content management system) there is. It’s the premier blogging platform, and so much more besides! I’ll be helping folks get their WordPress-powered websites up and running, and I’ll be posting more information about that in the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you’re interested in knowing more, please click here.

Copywriting

I have many years experience writing for business, and will assist businesses and their marketing departments in writing white papers, case studies, sell sheets, website landing pages and other business-to-business marketing pieces. I’m polishing up a professional website for myself (powered by WordPress, of course!), and will post that link here as soon as it’s ready for prime time. In the meantime, if you’re interested in knowing more, please email me.

I’ll update you on how my freelance business develops.

Do you have ideas for specific businesses you’d like us to discuss here? Click the comment link below!

What’s Holding You Back?

FutureExpat — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:58:54 +0000

Guest Post by Kathleen Peddicord, Overseas Retirement Letter

If you haven’t yet taken action toward realizing your dreams of a new life in retirement abroad, I say now, get moving.

Many Overseas Retirement Letter readers have taken off for new and exotic lives in the overseas retirement havens that called their names (and we share some of their stories with subscribers in the current issue). What’s holding you back?

I can imagine many things. Over the years, we’ve struggled with our own Reasons Not To Move Overseas. In fact, we’ve probably had more reasons than most not to push ahead with our various international escapades, for our situation has been complicated.

Lief and I met in June 1997 on a real estate tour of Ireland (that I was leading). We both happened to be on that fated expedition as part of research in advance of moves to the Emerald Isle that we both, coincidentally, planned to execute by the end of the year.

At the time, Lief was living in Chicago; I was based in Baltimore. We were engaged to be married in September and wed in November. All the while continuing with our relocation plans for December.

Who couldn’t talk him- (or her-) self out of an international move under those circumstances? Certainly, nearly everyone we knew thought we’d taken leave of our senses.

Including my then 9-year-old daughter. Kaitlin wanted no part of any life other than the one she’d been enjoying in Maryland, where she had friends and family, including a grandmother she visited nearly every day.

The grandmother (my mother) wasn’t big on our international relocation plan either. When, the day before our departure, she stopped by my house so I could give her the foodstuffs and other things I’d packed into a couple of boxes for her, she remarked, tearfully, “Oh, how can you give away all your teas? Can’t you take these with you?”

I was more concerned about leaving my antique furniture behind, so I invested in shipping a container load of it to Dublin, where it then had to be stored for a year before we were ready to take delivery of it in Waterford.

Lief wasn’t able to sell his house in Chicago before our December move date, so we had to continue paying the mortgage on it the first several months we were living in Ireland.

The morning we were to take off for our grand newlywed adventure overseas, Kaitlin lay on her bed, holding her grandmother’s hand, and sobbing. “Please don’t make me leave,” she pleaded. “I’m an American. I belong in America.” Her cries continued for our first full year abroad.

Lief and I pushed ahead, in the face of Kaitlin’s reluctance, in the face of my family’s misgivings, in the face of financial complications and setbacks, in the face of our own uncertainties. We organized the shipping of my furniture and the sale of Lief’s. We sold both our cars. We researched Waterford schooling options for Kaitlin. We parted with personal belongings, longtime friends, family, and co-workers. On the face of it, we abandoned everything…except each other and our dream.

It was not easy. Life in Waterford was not perfect. Some of our friends and family still don’t understand, all these years later, why we ever made the move, and I can’t, even now, articulate a response that makes sense to them. Perhaps you will understand. We wanted to see what we might see. We wanted to glimpse how people live somewhere else. We wanted a chance to understand how life in a new place would be different and the same from the lives we’d
known.

We perceived so much benefit from that first move from Baltimore to Waterford that we enthusiastically embraced a second one, about seven years later, this time to Paris. Then, last summer, we relocated again, to Panama.

Looking back now, I see many points along the way when we easily could have talked ourselves into staying put. We’ve gotten tired. We’re worried about the children. We’ve been overwhelmed by frustrations resulting from the different ways people do things in different places around the world. But this is the point, isn’t it, we’ve had to remind ourselves…to discover how the rest of the world works.

We’ve addressed all the questions one must address when undertaking these kinds of adventures: What stuff should we ship? Which health care plan is best for our family? Where should the children be educated? Should we rent our new home or buy one? What about the pets? Are we doing the kids a disservice by taking them so far from their extended families? What if they don’t like their new home? What if we don’t?

Here’s the lesson I’ve learned as a result of all the research and planning that’s gone into all our globe-trotting over these past dozen years: You can’t over-think this. Thinking has its place, but then action is called for. You’ll always be able to second-guess your plan and to rationalize walking away from it.

Moving to a new country–on your own, with your family, whatever your circumstances–requires courage and conviction. It means ignoring the nay-sayers and your own doubts. Practically speaking, it demands persistence and high energy levels.

More than anything, though, executing a move to another country requires a naïve faith in your own ability to work things out and to make things work. You can’t possibly imagine and plan for all possible contingencies and eventualities. You’ve got to trust that you’ll be good on your feet.

So, again, I propose a resolution: Start now. Put the planning, the research, and the thinking aside. Muster the self-conviction to follow your heart. Your new life overseas won’t be easy, and it won’t be perfect. It will come with a set of challenges and frustrations that you can’t begin to imagine right now. So stop trying.

Because, I tell you, it’s worth it. I can’t articulate an explanation that satisfies my family back in Baltimore, but I can tell you that I don’t regret one day or one move of the past dozen years. Our experiences have been broad, our lives and those of our children have been enriched, and our memories are diverse and comforting. Each step executed (successfully or sometimes not) has given us the confidence to take the next one.

From Baltimore, Maryland, on the East Coast of the United States to the Irish countryside. From there to the City of Light, then, last summer, back across the Atlantic to the Hub of the Americas, where we now reside in a 150-year-old Spanish-colonial house in this city’s old town, Casco Viejo.

Where from here? I couldn’t tell you with certainty, but I can’t wait to find out.

And I believe that you’ll enjoy the same sense of childlike anticipation and delight as you make your way down your own path overseas…wherever it leads you.

So what are you waiting for?

Used by permission. To see more of Kathleen’s wisdom, visit Live and Invest Overseas.

What Kind of Expat Is She?

FutureExpat — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:58:18 +0000

Margarita Gokun Silver recently posted her three top reasons for becoming an expat. It sounds to me as though she’s a good example of a Student/ Adventurer! What do you think?

Three Reasons to Become an Expatriate

Hong Kong Disney

by Margarita Gokun Silver

Growing up I never had an opportunity to travel and see the world. I was born in a country that didn’t let its people go abroad and thus I was effectively cut off from anything that lay beyond the borders of my homeland. Naturally, as it is with all human beings, the prohibited became an fascination — and I wasn’t of, course, the only one fascinated with seeing what lie beyond. Most of my generation was just as infatuated as I was.

When I finally broke free and moved to another country, I had all the freedom in the world. I could travel, see new places, experience new things, and learn. Travel was no longer prohibited yet the fascination stayed with me. To this day I am happier when I find myself in a completely new territory with adventure, things to explore, and change to experience.

Later in life, when I learned about values, I realized that my fascination with the “abroad” was the direct result of values that I held and hold dear to this day. Values such as adventure, newness/change, learning/growth, and challenge are central to my feelings of fulfillment. And those values are the ones that I was seeking to honor when I embarked on an expatriate lifestyle.

And so here are my reasons for becoming an expatriate in no particular order:

Learning and Growth. Expatriate lifestyle offers you an unmatched opportunity to grow. Yes, you can read about most places in books, you can watch programs about them on TV, and you can even travel to most places for a vacation. But you’ll never learn as much about a country and its people as you learn living in their midst. So, if you have a particular hunger for learning about different places of the world, this might be a reason for you to consider becoming an expat.
Challenge. Surely things can be challenging anywhere, but living in another culture takes the concept of challenge to a whole other level. So, if you thrive on being challenged to the brim, if you enjoy overcoming difficulties, and if you find yourself being bored in you current place of residence, expatriate lifestyle might for you.
Change. Many people have trouble tolerating change, but I am certainly not one of them. I even have to move furniture around in my house in order to change something. I thrive on change — change feeds my creativity, it empowers me, and it creates possibilities. So if you feel that change is something you crave, becoming an expatriate will definitely help you find it.Read more from Margarita at the Global Coach Center blog. Thanks for permission to reprint this post, which is copyright 2009, Global Coach Center.
Want to comment? It’s simple — just click the link below.

First Impressions – China

FutureExpat — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:39:42 +0000

Desi Downey is the author of the book NiHowdy, her recently published account of her six years in China as a trailing spouse. We appreciate Desi sharing her first impression of her adopted country. Scroll down for a link to purchase the book.

Neon.

Neon Lights in China

Lots and lots of neon.

That is one of the first things I remember about China.

When I was presented with the opportunity to live and work in China I jumped at the chance, even though I was both terrified and thrilled. And maybe just a little bit deluded.

I thought I would throw myself into this new reality lock, stock and barrel! I would get to know the Chinese people and learn to understand them. I would talk like they talked, walk like they walked, think like they thought, dress like they dressed, dance to their music, ride a bicycle, devour their food, drink their warm beer, live like they lived and sleep on a bamboo-grass mat.

I couldn’t wait to get started.

I’d been off the plane about six minutes that first night when I realized that the natural order of things in the Far East did not carry on in quite the same manner as it did back home in the good old American Midwest.

Oh my. What had I done?

Forget the Customs guys chattering nonstop at me in a language I didn’t understand while ransacking my bags.

Forget the horror of my first encounter with the squatty potty at the airport.

Forget the fact that all the men carried purses and the women held hands.

And once outside the airport, forget the walls of people, the constant car-horn honking, the incessant bicycle-bell ringing, the smells, the mist, the fog, the noise. All that noise. There was so much noise. I’m from Nebraska. I was used to wide-open spaces and quiet. Lots and lots of quiet.

Oh my. What had I done?

I remember pink. Hot pink. Lots and lots of hot pink neon, set against a black, black Chinese sky. Eerie pink neon, wavering in that misty night sky, written in a language of characters I didn’t understand, in a foreign country that was, for me, just about as foreign as it gets. For the first time in my life, I was illiterate. I couldn’t read their signs, and I couldn’t understand their words.

Oh my. What had I done?

My romantic delusions about living and working in a foreign country were quickly shattered. This was my new reality, and I had to get real, real fast.

I did.

I lived and worked in China for six years. I lived it, loved it, thrived in it. Sometimes it was hard. Sometimes it wasn’t. All times, it was incredible.

If you choose expatriate life, choose realistically. There will be fantasy and frustration, ups and downs, trials, tribulations and triumph.

And that is all part of the charm.

Buy the Book Ni Howdy!: An American Woman’s (Mal)Adaptation to Life in the People’s Republic of China.

What Were They Thinking?

FutureExpat — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:11:23 +0000

First of all, let me state that I’m a big fan of International Living. Their magazine and their daily postcards are gold mines of information, and I’ve also bought several of their country books.

But last week, they just floored me, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it comes back to the profit motive. Because IL is a business, and they want to make money, they gave some advice that I really disagree with.

Somebody wrote to them, stating that they thought everything they read in IL makes sense, that they thought financially they could retire overseas, but they were “not sophisticated, not wealthy, not bilingual and have never traveled abroad.” And they were “scared stiff.” (My emphasis.)

The advice they got was to “take the plunge” by planning a trip to a destination not so different from the US, someplace where they wouldn’t need to speak Spanish, then follow it up by attending an IL conference. Recommended spots to visit were Lake Chapala, San Miguel de Allende or Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

So far so good.

The next bit of advice is what got me. “If you’re still apprehensive, though, and really want to ease into this, I’d suggest you start by attending one of our conferences. In fact, start in the U.S.–we’ll be hosting our Live Overseas Conference in Las Vegas.”

So, here’s a couple who like the idea of saving money by moving abroad, but they are “scared stiff” and have never traveled internationally. Sorry, IL, but a single trip to an expat haven is not going to help these people figure out if they’d be comfortable living in another country.

They need to visit a lot of different places, and not just expat havens. Even if they do decide to “take the plunge” and move to a gated expat community in Mexico or another country, they will still be living in that country. They need to travel in the country, they need to visit several areas, preferably for extended periods of time.

Going to a conference where they can meet people who have made such a move might make them more comfortable with the idea of expatriation. But they’re already comfortable with the idea. They just don’t see themselves there. And they won’t see themselves there unless they put themselves there often enough to either increase their comfort level with actually being there, or to realize that it’s not for them.

While I don’t know how old these folks are, their mention of retirement leads me to believe they are close to retirement age. Frankly, if they’ve lived this long without ever setting foot outside the USA, I’m sceptical they would be happy living in another country. And that won’t change, no matter how many conferences they go to.

Throw in your two cents. Click on the comments link below.

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Buy the Book Ni Howdy!: An American Woman’s (Mal)Adaptation to Life in the People’s Republic of China.

What Were They Thinking?