Expat Focus

If you're a member of one of the Expat Focus forums or Facebook groups, or in any international community group for that matter, you've likely seen a discussion around the term 'expat' and how it's used.   What makes one group of people 'expats', and another group 'foreigners', or 'immigrants'? Why does the terminology matter, and how does it shape our views of different groups of people who move...

We're diving into the Danish healthcare system today with a returning guest – expat blogger and expert,  Melanie  Haynes of Dejlige Days .    She gave us some great insights into the Danish way of life in our first chat – so be sure to take a listen to our ' Life in Denmark ' episode.    This time,  Melanie  is going to go through everything you need to know about signing up with a doctor in Denma...

Is your dream to live, or continue living, in France? It is possible as a non-EU citizen, without needing to get married or become a student to make it happen.   American Allison Lounes lives in France. She runs the website Paris Unraveled , and she helps people to navigate French administration - like visa applications - in a way that's much less stressful than going it alone.   Allison's going t...

Bec Holmes moved to a village in the Austrian mountains, where she fell in love with a Dutchman and relocated to the Netherlands. After a few years, marriage happened, and then she became pregnant. The first pregnancy is daunting for any woman, but add a foreign country and language into the mix, and there are a lot of unknowns. Bec has navigated pregnancy in the Netherlands twice now, and she has...

Did you know that the country you choose to divorce in can directly impact what assets you're left with? Or that being an unmarried expat couple is a legal issue in some countries? Do you know how the laws of the country you're living in apply to your children, if you're having custody issues?   Our guest in this episode of the Expat Focus podcast is  Alexandra  Tribe - a lawyer, and the owner of...

If you're a Brit in Europe, or a European citizen living in the UK, the issue of Brexit will be high on your radar. At the time of recording this, there are just six months to go until the UK leaves the European Union, and there's still no deal. European leaders at a summit in Salzburg just shot down the UK Prime Minister's latest plan, so everyone's gone back to the drawing board. There have been...

When it comes to taking your career to Luxembourg – where do you begin? What are the main industries for expat workers in the country and, what sort of salaries can you expect? Do you need to speak one of the key languages, or can you get by with English? You're going to learn all about the Luxembourg job market in this episode. Our guest is  Amy Amann , a local coach, trainer and consultant. So k...

Going it alone as self employed and setting up your own business is always a big step – and it's an even bigger one to take, when you're doing it in a foreign country.    British expat  Michelle  Purse Sweeney did it in Germany 9 years ago, starting  her own marketing business,  and in this episode she shares her 5 key tips to help make your German business journey, a little bit easier.

When you move abroad, there are inevitably things you find out that you wish someone had told you about earlier.    In this episode we're joined by James Cave from  Portugalist , who is here to help if you're considering a move to Portugal.   

When it came time to think about retiring, Ben Zabulis and his partner Hillary quickly realised that the typical European expat retiree destinations, like Spain, weren't quite right for them.   Instead, they sold up in the UK and moved to Hong Kong; a place that had captured their hearts years before.   Ben's a regular columnist for Expat Focus, and he joins us in this episode to talk about how he...

In this episode we're focusing on tax issues for South African expats. Did you know they're on track to break their own emigration record this year?   And the biggest mistake expats can make, according to today's guest, is thinking they're not a big enough 'fish' for the South African Revenue Office to bother coming after. You won't just disappear off their radar once you leave the country.   Atto...

In this week's podcast, Expat Focus talks to John Siskar about his experience of teaching in Germany. Having moved from being a kindergarten teacher all the way through to secondary school, John has a wealth of experience to share!  What can you expect as a foreign teacher working in Germany? And what do you do when your school goes bankrupt? American expat John Siskar wasn't planning to dive into...

Tony   Elliott 's job as an interest rate trader has seen him live in the some of the most exciting cities in the world. Meantime, as a dad, he's busy raising seven kids - in two countries.   So what's expat life like when you've got a big family in different locations, and a job that means you need to move around, often at short notice? Listen to our latest episode to find out. 

What was your biggest struggle when you moved to your new country? For  Melanie  Aronson, an American in Sweden, it was overcoming this unexpectedly deep sense of loneliness. She felt it so strongly, she decided to make a  friend-finding app called Panion  to help others who were feeling the same way she was. Keep listening to hear all about Panion, and  Melanie 's experiences in Sweden.

Remote working has definitely hit the mainstream … and around the world, more and more people are taking the opportunity to be 'temporary locals.' Combining their jobs with longer-term travel, staying in one country for a month, or a few months at a time. Longer than the typical annual holiday allowance. But how do longer stints abroad – when you're working – impact your tax situation? Today on th...

What does it take to own and run a B&B in the Italian countryside? American Ashley Bartner can tell you all about it – and she's going to, today on the Expat Focus Podcast.    10 years ago, she and her husband Jason left the hustle and bustle of New York for a big old farmhouse in the beautiful  Marche  region of Italy. They've turned it into a very successful organic farm, inn and cooking school...

What's your motivation for moving abroad?  British expat  Melanie  Haynes was ready for an adventure, and it led her and her husband to move to Denmark.  More than  eight years later , they're still there, living in the capital of Copenhagen.  And  Melanie 's blog  dejligedays  has become a go-to for many English-speaking expats in the city; she shares her discoveries, recommendations and gives ne...

For a lot of us when we move abroad, the last thing we really want to think about is our tax situation; getting paperwork in order, remembering reporting dates and deadlines for a country we're no longer living in.   It might not be exciting, but it's necessary, and our guest in this episode is going to run through some common scenarios for UK expats.   OLIVER  HESLOP is the owner of GETS –  Globa...

The  Netherlands  is well known for its great work-life balance, its cycling culture, tulip fields... But did you know it's also a bit of an expat's dream when it comes to making your move to a new country, and settling in?   My guests in this episode are Sharon and Gladys from Rotterdam Partners, and the  Rotterdam Expat Centre.  This and other centres like it in cities across the  Netherlands  a...

Could you handle composting your own toilet waste? What about doing away with the convenience of the supermarket, and growing all your own food?    Choosing a life that is more sustainable and self-sufficient is becoming easier, and more realistic for many of us, and living off the grid can also be very affordable in some parts of the world, once you get past all the up-front costs.   Ian   Usher...

Expat Focus talks to entrepreneur Craig Carlson about moving to France and starting his diner chain, 'Breakfast in America.'

In this episode, Expat Focus talks to Jonathan Brown – an American who is carving out a location-independent life, while basing himself in Singapore. Jonathan originally moved to Asia to work for LinkedIn. Since then, he has published a book called  The World Is Your Home , aimed at young professionals looking to take their own careers abroad.  So what is life like as an expat in Singapore? And wh...

Many of us want to ditch our 9-5 life and travel the world. But finding a viable way to do that long term can be a bit of a challenge! One way that is increasing in popularity is house sitting. Vanessa Anderson is the publisher of  House Sitting - the Ultimate Lifestyle Magazine . She and her partner Ian are living that ultimate lifestyle, as nomadic expats, looking after other people's homes and...

Expat Focus talks to Naomi Hattaway about repatriation, and what it's like to never quite feel at home. Naomi is the brain behind the popular I Am A Triangle concept, which she explains in more detail in the podcast.

Amanda Walkins talks to Expat Focus about how she came to move abroad, and how she ended up being a serial expat. Covering topics such as finance, check lists and the practical considerations necessary when changing countries, Amanda describes the joys and surprises of expat life.