Lifestyle - Expat Magazine
Christmas is a season where expats feel the blues the most. The nostalgia of spending the season surrounded by family and friends, reliving traditions passed on from one generation to another, gift giving and the sumptuous food on the table are all enough for one to go mad when away from home. Unfortunately, sometimes expats have to stay in their host countries over the holidays. But who says this means you cannot offer presents to your loved ones?
In this feature we interview a first time expat, Mary Christianne who recently made a big move from Manila, Philippines to Pennsylvania, United States. In our Expat.com interview with her, she talks about how it is spending the holidays alone for the first time in her twenty plus years in life, her plans for the holidays and how she will cope with being away from home this Christmas.
Food has always been one of the most important and most common means of exchange between people. It is a never-ending trend as it borders between necessity and pleasure. Food represents comfort and a moment of happiness, as some even say that “love comes through the stomach”. Our fond memories of tastes and smell enable us to travel through time and space and to feel what we felt in one moment of bliss.
Denmark has just launched a six-month programme to help expatriates integrate. Indeed, leaving everything behind to settle in an entirely new country is never an easy thing to do. Just like Denmark, some countries seek to make things a little easier on expats by providing them with integration courses. Here are the countries that do and the different forms these programs take.
France
Lyon is France's oldest and second largest city, a leading silk producer in Europe and was also known for its printing presses and mercantilism. To this day, this French city is still a financial and business hub as recognized by Arthur Loyd Law Firm when it ranked it top most attractive city in France for the third year in a row. For expats searching for a place to settle, Lyon is an excellent option to work and reside.
Turn on a television, open a newspaper, click on social media and it feels as though everyone is talking about terrorism. As the Institute for Economics & Peace releases its Global Terrorism Index 2019, we take stock of the situation and we ask the question: “Should the prospect of terrorism deter anyone from settling abroad?”
Moving to a new place can be stressful. Juggling between a new job, the feelings of homesickness, a -sometimes difficult- integration to a new environment. Here are a few tips on how to take care of your mental health.
Studying abroad is not only fun, it also promotes personal growth like no other experience does. It is more and more common for young people to study outside of their country of birth or the country where they have completed their primary and secondary studies. While there has been a democratisation, there is still a perception that studying abroad is a “rich people's thing”. Expat.com attempts to bust this myth.
Freedom of expression is important for most of us. Being ourselves is important. And being able to express our opinions and thoughts freely is a right we hold on to. When moving abroad, however, this can change. Whether because of laws that prevent freedom of expression, or because of unwritten rules which confine one to certain norms… one's freedom to express oneself can change during expatriation. When relocating to a new country, the freedom of expression is closely related to the need for acceptance. The old patterns of identification with the home culture slightly dissolve, and new ways of behavior and thought arise. How do expats deal with this?
When settling down in a new country, one of the first challenges is mastering a new language and then a whole new cultural setting. The latter will, however, depend on your expat destination and cultural differences between native country and adopted country. However, in general, expats also face common difficulties that are more or less the same regardless of where one goes. Expat.com has compiled a list of the 10 things that are most likely to be difficult for expats to adapt...
Again and again one will hear how living abroad changes you forever and what an incredible experience it is. And yes, expats always have good stories to tell about their life abroad. But it is important to tackle the flip side of the coin from time to time and sometimes, it takes the form of xenophobia. What are instances expats have encountered xenophobia while living abroad and how have they dealt with it?
The Smart City Index 2019 was published last week. It ranks the smartest cities in the world. But what exactly is a smart city? And how much should “smartness” weigh in the balance when choosing what city to settle in?
Have you been offered a job abroad? Do you feel the need to get out of your daily routine? Do you dream of going away? But are you really ready to leave everything behind and move abroad? Here are five questions you need to ask yourself to find out...
Climate is often a decisive factor when it comes to choosing an expatriation destination. Who would not want to move to a sunny, tropical island? Circumstances, however, often mean that you are most likely to end up in a country with harsher weather conditions than that. Here are some tips for choosing your destination and preparing for your new life.
Whereas a retirement plan should be a concern for every adult who wishes to spend their golden years in relative comfort, expats have a lot more to organise when it comes to their pension. Precisely, if you have been living and working abroad for many years, you cannot rely on what your home country's national pension scheme has to offer. To make things clearer and your expat life easier, we have put together some insightful information about retirement planning when working outside your home country.
When a couple decides to settle abroad, very often there is the person who leaves for work and the one who follows. And while both partners have usually properly thought through their decision, the entourage is not always very open-minded regarding the role of the “trailing spouse”. What are the questions expat partners get asked all the time but cannot stand?
You want to go abroad or have just settled there. You are wondering how to integrate well and most of all be able to communicate with the locals and other foreigners? Perhaps you are even looking for a job that requires speaking another language.. Learning the local language seems like the most natural thing to do. But a lot of us get discouraged really fast. In fact, after 2 years living abroad very few English-speaking people do speak the local language. For some of us this means, less professional and personal development opportunities. Personally this meant not being hired by anyone when I first moved to the German-speaking part of Switzerland. If you want to make the most of your experience abroad, you are going to need to avoid the 3 traps most expats fall into - including me a few years ago. For each of them I will give you an alternative and well as a concrete action you can take right now for immediate results.
The Friday the 13th superstition is thought to originate from the last supper of Jesus where 13 individuals were present. Today, the superstition is alive and kicking and the fear of Friday the 13th even has a scientific name- triskaidekaphobia. It has given rise to a famous and very successful franchise of movies and it is also known to cause significant loss to businesses in the United States as a lot of people refuse to travel to work. But this is not the only, or even the strangest superstition. What are other superstitions around the world you should absolutely know about?
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