Who? Why? How?

We’re here to look at who decides to live overseas, why they do, and how they accomplish it. There are probably as many reasons to live outside of your native country as there are people who do so. In my case, my husband and I realized several years ago that, if we stay here, we will never be able to afford to retire. Add to this my lifelong desire to spend significant time in another country, and we began looking at the possibilities of retiring overseas. But that’s not the only reason, not by a long shot! More

Expat Books: The New Global Student

This entry is part 7 of 15 in the series Expat Books and Movies

The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education by Maya Frost.

Exchange Students

Maya Frost has written a rather astonishing (to me, at least) how-to book. While her focus is ostensibly on how living and studying overseas is a powerful alternative to the standard US

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Do I Need to Learn the Language? (Again)

No.

If you are going to live in an expat enclave surrounded by your fellow countrymen and –women, you don’t need to learn the language. If you are not an Adventurer or a Cultural Expat, but an

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Do I Need to Learn the Language II

Yes! Learning the language is vital to the success of your move. That is, if you’re a cultural expat.

As a cultural expat, you are motivated to bring your culture, or a specific aspect of it, to the people you’re living among (missionary expat), or you are a student of the new culture.

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Are You an Adventurer Expat?

This entry is part 3 of 10 in the series What Kind of Expat Are You?

You May Be an Adventurer If. . .

  • You enjoy learning a foreign language just for fun

  • You can’t wait to eat fried sheep’s eyeballs
  • You think of swimming in shark-infested waters as a minor

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Student Expats

This entry is part 3 of 10 in the series What Kind of Expat Are You?

Students

Today’s cultural students come in all shapes and sizes. Of course, there are the ubiquitous junior-year-abroad 20-ish college kids. But the students category of cultural expat includes so much more. A student can be one who takes a formal course of study at a college or a university, or someone who comes to a country purely to immerse himself in the language and the culture.

There are those who combine studying another country’s language and culture with volunteerism. And there are people whose studies are less formal, but no less formative, who simply go and live among the native residents and absorb their language, culture, cuisine and

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Do I Need to Learn the Language?

One of the big questions when moving to another country is, do I need to learn the language, and if so, when?

Since we have already determined we will move to Central or South America, and since I am already well past the age when language learning comes easily and naturally, I have started

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Why Do I Want to Move Overseas?

My reason is simple. My husband and I are nearing retirement age. We have no pension plans, no 401 K investments. We’ve raised five children, the youngest of whom will start college in the fall. Almost our entire net worth