Any expatriots here?

*shrugs*

(Gobs n' gobs of us, actually.)

-- Colin Meeder (amisrau...), February 11th, 2004.[/i]

yeah, that's why i figured i'd go and post this question on this board.

[i]what's the difference between being an expatriate and an immigrant? The intention to return?
-- Elliot (elliotsi...), February 11th, 2004.[/i]

damn, that's a good question....i just tried looking it up and realized that i spelled it wrong--it's EXPATRIATE. the dictionary meanings are pretty similar...i guess, when i think of immigrant i think of someone who moves to another country where the economy, society or political climate is more suited to their needs--whereas, with expatriates, curiosity, or need for change of environment seem to be equally (if not more) important.

Finding a job in a new city is not that much more difficult than finding a new job in the same city. You'll probably want to have some kind of work authorization sorted out first. Start looking into this (at least find out if it is necessary) as soon as you know you want to go somewhere. Not having a visa that permits you to work will limit the kinds of jobs you’ll be able to find, but doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t find anything. If all you can get is a tourist visa it might still be worth going. Similarly, not having a reasonable grasp of the language will also limit you as far as jobs are concerned, but shouldn't make you rule out going somewhere you'd really like to be.

It's nice to have enough money (or access to money through credit cards / family / whatever) to cover food and rent (plus security deposit and realtor fees) for at least two months. If you don’t have that then at least make sure you have a return ticket. Do as much research into jobs and apartments as you can do online before hand. Talk to anyone you know that has been there. Book yourself a room in a cheap hotel or hostel for the first week (do this before you go). Try to find one that is as close to the city center and public transport but as far away from central bus or train terminals as possible. Bring the addresses of alternative hotels / hostels and internet café’s in the same area. Don’t bring too much stuff with you (you can always have your first couple of visitors bring stuff over to you).

Meeting people can be difficult. If you already know people who are living in the place you want to go to (or even know people who know people who live there) everything will be much, much easier. If you do go somewhere where you know nobody, be prepared to spend a month or so of Saturday afternoons wondering around shops on your own and nights feeling sorry for yourself. You’ll eventually meet people, through work, going to gigs or bars or just hanging out in the same shops every week looking lonely.

xpost..

It's been a while since I moved anywhere totally new, but I've generally averaged about six or seven weeks before I at least got a co-worker / fellow student to feel sorry enough for me to ask if I wanted to come out for drinks. Thinking about it though, it was at least a year before I knew people that I was close enough friends with to be able to properly rely on...

yeah, that's my biggest concern. apparently they have programs where you can get a 6-month work visa and job placement (mainly in bars or resorts) but that's only if you're a student or if you've graduated within the past 6 months.

it may be fun to go back to school--but being that i'm not the academic type, i'd prefer not to. i'm also not very interested in teaching english abroad since i've never seen myself as being a very good instructor.

...i heard there are certain countries that are pretty lax about granting work visas to foreigners (even americans). apparently new zealand is one such place--although this could all be rumor.

My reasons for leaving were many, but mostly I/we just like the Bay Area and wanted to live in a smaller city (than London) for a while.

All visa stuff is by nature a HUGE pain in the butt. poor choice of words.

It has not been easy to meet new people, though I am lucky in that there are many nice ILXors here that don't occasionally mind tolerating my presence. I don't have any non-ILX friends yet. It helps that I have lived (briefly) abroad before, and so am somewhat used to this feeling. I hear culture shock of any kind (and I know we're not talking about a massive difference in cultures here, though you'd be surprised) takes a year to get over.

The one thing that made living in a foreign country difficult was that I had enough of a grasp of the language to have conversations, but not enough to communicate or understand certain nuances of the language (ie humor, sarcasm, etc...) so I felt like part of my personality was lost--and vice versa. There were a couple people who were so linguistically and culturally well-acquainted with American culture and language that they could pick up on my sense of humor and cultural references...but in general, it was hard to connect with people on that level--and I felt like a nerd not being able to pick up on other people's jokes.

...But still, I have a lot of fond memories living abroad and am eager to do it again.

(Oh, I'm a Limey who's lived in and around Vancouver for much, much longer than two years. It hasn't always been easy, but I love it here. As far as papers, etc, it took about 18 months between my first application to emigrate and the moment I stepped off the 747 onto BC blacktop.)

-- @d@ml (nordicskilla@hotmail.com), December 11th, 2003.

http://ezyinfo.co.nz/listings/images/r124.gif

or THESE?

http://www.tomas-katz.com/images/HappyEater.jpg

Adjectives which describe living abroad:

wonderful,challenging,frustrating,exciting,maddening,illuminating,humbling,encouraging,fun.

Hardest Part: Being away from friends and family, not enough hockey in Japan and falling in love with people and things I know I'm going to have to leave behind one day.

Seriously, every day I learn something, about either Japan or myself. Very, very valuable life experience. I'd recommend living outside the country to anyone who can handle it.

JetBlue is running a "Election Protection" special right now.

An airline says it will help voters distraught over backing the losing candidate in next month's presidential contest flee the country — for free.

JetBlue Airways' new "Election Protection" promotion allows voters the chance to win a free round-trip ticket to one of the airline's 21 international destinations if the election doesn't go their way. Contestants first must preregister at http://www.jetblueelectionprotection.com. After the Nov. 6 results are in, the airline will give away 1,006 roundtrip certificates — that's 2012 seats — to participants whose candidate lost.

"We've all heard it said before: if my candidate does not win, I'm leaving the country," said Marty St. George, senior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy for JetBlue. "Fun is one of our five founding values, and in this spirit, we decided to give people a chance to recover from the political noise and follow through on their claim to skip town if their candidate comes up short."

http://www.jetblueelectionprotection.com

Should be one-way tickets, really.

smart PR effort

Hoping JetBlue runs this offer again in 2016.

I'm staying here and fighting, but I do confess to reading https://www.reddit.com/r/IWantOut/ at least once a day.

Obligatory :( xp