Expat Focus

Government-mandated isolation has become the new normal for so many of us, as the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm in lockdown here in France where only essential shops remain open, and we need to carry a permission form when we leave the house which can only be for specific reasons like, going to the supermarket, the pharmacy or doing some exercise close to home. In this episode I'm chatti...

You might be feeling a bit paralysed by the news at the moment as the Coronavirus pandemic worsens across the world, and governments update their guidance every day. But amid the chaos, are people trying to do some good. Volunteers in many countries are sewing masks for local hospital staff facing shortages. GoFundMe pages have been set up so we can buy coffees for people doing essential work. A n...

Today we're exploring the foreigner's experience of working in Asia, with a man who has written a book on the subject; Steve McGinnes. Originally from England, Steve has lived and worked across the Asian continent for fifteen years, and his book combines practical advice with first-hand stories and experiences of professionals, covering topics including power, relationships, family and corruption....

The Coronavirus pandemic is forcing cities across the world into lockdown, and in Italy , American business owners Linda and Steve have had to close their Rome hostel, The Beehive, for the first time in 21 years.  In this episode, the couple share what the past few weeks have been like as the impact of COVID-19 set in, what support Italy is providing to business owners like themselves, and how the...

Mario Cacciottolo's move from the UK to Malta was very much a homecoming. He spent the first 12 years of his life in the country, and its booming economy, 300 days of sunshine a year and a desire to close some local 'knowledge gaps' were big motivators for him to return. In this chat, he's going to shed some light on what it's like to live on this small island in the Mediterranean. You'll find out...

A fellow podcaster is our guest on this episode, to give you the lowdown on what it takes to set up and run your business from anywhere in the world. Sundae Bean is an American by birth and the host of the ' Expat Happy Hour' podcast. Sundae is an intercultural strategist who left her corporate job in Switzerland to set up her own coaching business, working from Burkina Faso in West Africa and lat...

Caitlin Taylor is a style coach, fashion blogger and podcaster who describes her expat life in New Zealand as "same-same but different." In this chat, you'll find out about the Kiwi fashion scene; how Caitlin's business has evolved over a decade; and how she found her business 'tribe' in her new home.  

It's a major "achievement unlocked" as an expat when you start to understand how the locals tick - and how long that takes is different for everyone. American, Chelsea, lives with her Norwegian husband in the town of Henningsvær in Norway. They've been together for five years and in that time, she's learnt a thing or two about the Norwegian approach to life - ten things in fact that she's going to...

It's all happening in the UK at the moment; at the time of recording this the general election is just one week away, and the outcome could determine when, how and if Brexit will end up happening. The UK's exit from the European Union and the tax and social security implications have been top of mind for British expats for a long time now. We're checking in on these issues with tax advisor Oliver...

Has a beachfront holiday home in Mexico taken your fancy? Maybe you've spotted a place with a great rental return in Malta. Or perhaps you have your sights set on a house to retire to, in Panama. If you've never invested in property abroad before, it's hard to know where to begin. So today's guest is going to give you some pointers, talking through the current hotspots and the things that can trip...

The logistics involved in expat life become even more complex when your partner is also a working expat. How do you successfully fuel each other's professional ambitions, as well as personal? Is it inevitable that one half will need to sacrifice their career, or take a backseat in the relationship to support the other? INSEAD Associate Professor Jennifer Petriglieri has researched hundreds of coup...

One of the fastest-growing EU economies, Poland is also rising in the rankings of popular destinations for expats. The country moved from 23rd to 13th in this year's HSBC Expat League Table, and it's among the five best countries in Europe for digital nomads, according to the Remote Workers Index by Plusnet. But before you pack your bags for Poland, there are some key things you should know. Our g...

Entrepreneur Alan La Rue is our guest in this episode of the Expat Focus podcast. A language school owner , he's been living in the country for a long time, and is going to talk through the essentials: from where to live to what to bring with you; job opportunities in Peru; how to approach learning Spanish; and the Peruvian cultural norms that may take some getting used to.

I f you're planning to move to France and become a homeowner, you're going to love today's guest. Mark Sayers is the Head of the Pyrénées-Orientales team at Artaxa - a real estate agency in Perpignan.  Buying property in a foreign country can be a pretty daunting task, with lots of unfamiliar processes. I know because, funnily enough, I've just been through it - and here in France. And I really wi...

After her first child was born, and she decided she didn't want to go back to full time work, British expat  Melitta  Campbell  dived head-first into entrepreneurship. She set herself up as a freelancer in Montreux - a French-speaking part of Switzerland. She quickly picked up work, and then more work... and then, running a successful business and being a stay-at-home mum became a bigger challenge...

Do you dream of moving to LA to chase your Hollywood ambitions? Today's guest has done exactly that: Mia Stewart and her husband Dave packed up their life in Australia, including their pets, and moved to the USA on O-1 visas. These visas are for "Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement."  So what qualifies as 'extraordinary ability'? What does this visa allow you to do, and how diffi...

Welcome to another episode of the Expat Focus Podcast. I'm your host Carlie, and on today's show we're shining the spotlight on expat family life in Finland. Paola is our guest, an Italian mum of two through birth and international adoption, who has lived in Finland for nine years. She blogs about multicultural family life at TheElephantMum.com, and she's going to share her insights on raising a f...

Today on the show, we're talking about raising children abroad, specifically as Third Culture Kids. 'TCKs' are people raised in a culture different to that of their parents, and the country named on their passport. My guest, American Rachel Jones,  is a mum of three TCKS. She left the USA with her husband and their young twins to work in northern Somaliland, and later Djibouti, where she still liv...

On today's show we're going to be talking to a Virtual  Midwife .   It's information overload when you're pregnant, and if you're having a baby while living in another country, there can be even more layers of complexity -  not just potentially in language, but in birth practices too. Your expectations versus the local reality might be quite different. Of course, you can find out almost anything o...

If you could start your life abroad all over again, what would you do differently? What would you prepare better for, and what mistakes would you avoid making? Trainer and stand-up comedian Carmine Rodi moved from a small town in southern Italy to Prague in the Czech Republic four years ago, for love. And about one year in to his expat life, he published a blog post that went viral, entitled ' 10...

When you're looking for a job in another country, it's important to know how to make your applications stand out - or in the case of Denmark, fit in. Karey Anne Duevang, the CEO and Founder of Welcome Group Consulting , knows exactly how to do this. A long-time expat in the country, she faced her own career challenges when she first moved to Denmark, and has since worked in operations for Danish c...

Cat   Gaa  was pretty good at Spanish when she was at school in the USA. She first went to Spain on a study abroad program, and soon found her way back there, this time teaching English.  Cat  worked out how to stay on in Spain, she started a blog at Sunshine and Siestas , and that blog turned into a side hustle with a fellow expat.    Their business, Como Consulting Spain , helps fellow non-Europ...

Our guest today is based in Thailand - a country that is well known for attracting expats wanting good living on the cheap, but just how good, and just how cheap? Brett Debritz is an Australian freelance journalist, currently on a 'trial retirement' in Thailand, and blogging at  Expattaya . If a move to the country is on your bucket list, you might want to take some notes during this chat, because...

Welcome to another episode of the Expat Focus Podcast!   What challenges have you faced in trying to settle into your new home abroad? Did you find the integration process easy, or, was it quite difficult? How do you go about "fitting in" as an expat in a country like Switzerland - with four official languages, a bunch of unwritten social rules, and locals who have a reputation for being a little...

Welcome to another episode of the Expat Focus Podcast. Today's topic concerns US expat investors who are living in Europe, and new regulations known as 'PRIIPS'. Our guest is Tom Zachystal from Individual Asset Management . He's here to explain what the new regulation means, and highlight some other investment issues that Americans living abroad should be aware of.