5 Things I Love About My Expat Life
1. All the wonderful people I’ve met who I never would have met if I didn’t live abroad.
2. The fact that I’ve learned so much by living life as an expat and have truly lived a rich life with amazing and quirky experiences.
3. My children who are growing up British and my husband who swept me off my feet (literally) all those years ago.
4. My British in-laws, especially both my sisters-in-law and the friendship they’ve given me.
5. The fact that I’m still learning and seeing new things all the time. Such as British English expressions and idioms, visiting historic places, discovering (sometimes abruptly) new and different ways of doing things. I learn from my children, I’m always adapting and I love trying to do things the ‘British’ way even though at times I’m unsuccessful, it’s the journey that makes my expat life interesting.
This is a blog link up called “Celebrating Expat Life – Blog Link Up” and hopefully others around the world will also be posting the same thing (perhaps not the same answers though!). Thank you Amanda for this, it’s so much fun and I will try and do the others, but I might miss out a few!
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Meghan Fenn is the author of Bringing Up Brits and co-author of Inspiring Global Entrepreneurs with Heidi Mulligan Walker. Meghan is also the Director and Chief Designer at her own design company, White Ochre Design Ltd. And, she is an award winning expat blogger.
Thanks for joining in Meghan. Expat life really opens up a world and your number one about meeting people is one of the best things in my opinion. I would never have friends from the rich variety of cultures I now have had I stayed in England. And thank goodness your inlaws are a blessing!
Thanks Amanda. Really enjoying all this blogging and connecting via our blogs so thank you for inspiring us all! It’s good to celebrate because it makes the hard days and the challenges easier to overcome.
I was brought up by expats, thats if you can call Scotland another country? Well at least I know India is another country which is where at least one of my parents came from. Love hearing your views and stories about living in jolly ol England Meg and its good to have you here .
Ha Ha thanks Moose! And you are part of a cross-cultural family aren’t you. Thanks for your comment
I’m enjoying the quirkiness of expat life as well! It’s wonderful to see that family plays such a big part in your happiness as an expat. Getting to know my own British inlaws has been an amazing and sometimes strange experience for me as well (they are so different from my own Southern US family)!
Yes, I know, my British in-laws and my own parents are like chalk and cheese – British reserve vs. American effusiveness! Took me a while to get used to it and also took my British husband a while to get used to my folks. Didn’t take long though and he loves them as I love his parents.
Actually it’s a very good point about how big a role family plays in expat happiness. If you move countries to be with a partner then feeling welcome, feeling supported is a huge advantage especially in the early days. My in-laws (with the exception of my father in law) have no role whatsoever in our lives and it is tough knowing that you left your own family behind, family that wants to play a big role in their grandchildren’s lives, for a family that couldn’t care less. When I have bad days (luckily not common) I do feel that it would be easier living near supportive family!
I’m so sorry to hear that Amanda. It must be so hard. I know we just ‘get on with it’ as they say and accept things the way they are, but some days can be difficult knowing your family is so far away and not able to share your lives in that every day sort of way. It can make all the difference having wonderful in-laws. And I love being able to support and offer friendship to my sisters-in-law too – it goes both ways.