Lifestyle - Expat Magazine
Meet this month's blogger, Anja, and indulge into expat life in France through her stylish lifestyle and travel blog Tales From The Right Brain. After meeting her love in Paris, Anja decided to leave her successful career as an auditor and moved to Paris where she is now restarting her professional life with new influences and ideas in mind. If you are looking for some inspiration and tips on how to live life to the fullest, follow Anja's weekly blog posts.
If you have travelled to your new destination only with your e-reader due to its practicality, but you are missing flipping through ink books, we have composed a list of the world's coolest bookshops in five urban expat destinations. You don't have to be the typical bookworm to enjoy the benefits of a nice bookshop — you may go for the good coffee, to meet other expats, or to do your work.
Expats have special needs due to the unique lifestyle that they lead — from packing and travelling to moving and recreating the comforts of home in a new environment. Technology, if chosen and used wisely, can help expats of all types to enjoy a comfortable, efficient, and fun expat life in their new country. We have composed a handy list of our favourite tech products and apps to ease your transition from native to expat life.
Timor-Leste
Xian, an Australian-Chinese-Filipina, amateur photographer, badminton player, and swimmer among others, moved to the island nation of Timor-Leste three and a half years ago to continue her wonderful work on gender equality and the prevention of violence against women. Xian has absolutely adapted to the unique style of island living, and shares with Expat.com some tips on making the most of your expat experience in Timor-Leste — spoiler alert: food and snorkelling included.
A healthy environment is one of the key factors for a good quality of life. If you're planning to move abroad, especially with your family, you are probably concerned about the quality of air, water, and environment-friendly policies. To help you choose your next destination, here's an insight into five of the world's greenest countries according to the Environment Performance Index 2018 by Yale University and Columbia University.
Adapting your habits and lifestyle to a new culture during your expat life is challenging already as it is. However, be prepared that it may also be hard for your wallet to comply with the new costs. In order to help with your smooth transition from one economy to another while moving abroad, we have composed a list of the five most essential tips on how to save money as an expat.
Brain drain is the phenomenon during which young, highly skilled, and competent professionals leave their home country for better professional and financial opportunities abroad. This international movement of talent is usually from developing or small nations where unemployment and political oppression are through the roof, or business opportunities are limited, to richer and predominantly democratic countries. We look at six countries that appear to suffer the most from the side effects of human capital flight.
This April if you feel like building your confidence as an expat and achieving a new goal, five popular expat destinations invite you to explore new places and make new friends via the challenge of taking part in a Marathon. Whether you are determined to make it to the finish line or be the race spectator cheering for others, being outdoors in your favourite city and joining the enthusiastic crowds will give you a new perspective of your host city.
You and your partner are in a secure and loving relationship, which has to undergo a temporary physical separation due to set objectives for career growth or personal development. It is true that this sole expatriation, which can be anything from a few weeks to many months, can bring some uncertainties and unexpected difficulties in the relationship. However, we believe that true love doesn't know geographical boundaries, and expat life can be a valuable experience for both — the one who departs and the one who stays behind.
The world seems to have risen above the worst financial crisis in modern history, and we are benefiting from some of the highest living standards humanity has ever known. At the same time, we have access to unprecedented technological, scientific, and financial resources, which can give solutions to environmental, economic, geopolitical, and societal challenges. But how ready are governments, businesses, organisations, and people to recognise how interconnected we all are, collaborate and deal with problems at a global level?
Besides keeping you mentally and physically fit, sport has a much broader influence on the advancement of human rights, and social and economic development. Tomorrow we are celebrating the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, and we thought that it would be a good idea to introduce you to some of the most popular expat destinations and their national sports.
Expat life is professionally and personally rewarding, but it can also be emotionally overwhelming. Homesickness is a feeling of anxiety and distress, which can stop you from making the most of your experience abroad. It is important to understand that feeling lonely, confused, and unable to adjust to the new lifestyle and environment is normal. However, the symptoms of missing home, along with the security and the routine that come with it should not be ignored or suppressed because they will devalue your expat project. We give you nine tips to overcome homesickness and start enjoying a fulfilling life abroad.
It's not the first time that you hear about the importance of networking for your professional and social life. However, for your expat life, building meaningful relationships is necessary, if you wish to thrive in your host country. You might be going through a bureaucratic nightmare with your visa, jumping through hoops to make your long-distance relationship work, or spending long hours in the office — yet, don't let these be detrimental to your networking efforts. Depending on who you meet, your life abroad can be very different, as well as your views on your destination. Here is our guide on how to make the most of networking and what to stay away from.
New Zealand
We are happy to announce our April's Blog of The Month, Adventures With Pete by Eve Brickner, a twenty-something American expat in New Zealand. In 2013, Eve met her fiancé, and ever since they have been together on a journey of adventures. However, the biggest of all is living in New Zealand, and Eve blogs about the ups and downs, and the lessons learned throughout.
This year's World Happiness Report links together the happiness of two groups of citizens — the migrants and the local people — and assesses how the levels of happiness of each group interact and affect one another. In the past 25 years, international migration has raised by 91 million people. Reportedly, migrants are more productive at work, earn higher income, and feel safer in the host country. But which countries lay the groundwork for a happy life for migrants and locals alike?
Your expatriation project is soon coming to an end. During your expat life, you acquired new skills; experiences changed you; you made new friends, and have possibly established new priorities. Now, it's time to pack again — but this time to go back home. We recognise that repatriation can be as challenging as starting afresh in a new country. Thus, we have composed a step-by-step guide to successful repatriation.
Your employer has just placed you on an international assignment, and you wish to know what living standards to expect in your new city. Mercer, the largest human resources consulting group, ranks the quality of living for 2018 in 231 cities based on different categories — from the political and social environment, economic conditions, healthcare, and education, to public services, housing, natural environment, recreation, and availability of goods. Expat.com presents the five most competitive cities in the world when it comes to good quality of life and attraction of global talent and foreign investment.
Türkiye
Leonard, a writer, an educationist, a history-lover, and an avid reader and traveler, has found everything he needs to lead a fulfilled life in Turkey — where two opposite cultures meet and thrive together. He established his new home in Turkey in 2008 by some quirk of fate, and today, ten years later, he knows that his future is tied with Turkey. To find out more about his expat life in this magical country, follow us as we unfold Leonard's story.
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