A Different Approach to Everyday Life: A Return to One’s Own Values Abroad
Living abroad not only opens up a completely new view of the country and its people. The perception of worldwide cultural differences also does something to one’s own ideas. What is desirable? What belongs to the things that are absolutely necessary and what are things that are considered absolutely necessary in one culture and play no role at all elsewhere? This becomes very vivid if you make yourself aware of an everyday situation in a very concrete way. In this article, I look at the different designs of children’s rooms around the world and what this has to do with a return to our basic instincts.
Why less families decide to move abroad
Are families less willed to move abroad in this world of uncertainty? How will expat assignments change within the next year? How to make the decision of moving abroad or working from home in another country? This article is shedding some light on the future of global mobility in the world we are living in right now.
Should I stay or should I go?
The pandemic is entering a new phase. How do I know that? The fact that more women are approaching me again who are faced with the decision of whether or not to move abroad tells me the world starts spinning again. For a long time, companies froze and suspended their international assignments. Now it seems to start slowly again and especially women from Europe with possible assignments to America are just approaching me. So I thought it would be a good time to talk about this crucial phase of the decision-making process.
Why do women move abroad?
What makes women seek a life abroad? What drives them? What is their motivation to pack their bags and move their whole life to the other side of the world?
I was curious to know more about that. So I asked 30 female breadwinners to share with me their own story and motivation. This question is part of my Female Expat Study that is published on this blog in October 2021.
The global glass ceiling of the Female Expat
The percentage of female expats is raising but it is still far away from gender parity. I was interested to learn more about the reasons behind it and came across the concept of the global glass ceiling which I will explain in more detail in this post.
This is a small glimpse into my upcoming study of the „Thriving Female Expat! which will be published in October 2021 and which you can access here soon.
Repatriation with Kids
During summer many families are relocating to a different country. In this guest blog post, Anne is giving valuable insights into the psychological aspect and provides tips and tricks from her own experiences.
Why some assignments fail
Not every posting ends happily. Many secondments fail, affecting not only corporate projects but also, especially in the long term, family and personal satisfaction. In this blog post, I would like to share a few insights that I was able to find in the course of my research on this topic. I like to refer to academic studies and large-scale studies and I am glad that there have been more studies on this topic especially in the last 20 years. If you want to look more into the topic feel free to check out this info box. In this box, I put the names of some papers and studies that I consider relevant.
The WHY & HOW to approach strangers abroad
This blog post is all about making acquaintances abroad. I share the great TED Talk from a 75 year old Harvard study on the value of relationships on our happiness and health, share tips from the SharetheLove community and introduce you to the great Kio who shows you how to approach strangers. Life is too short for loneliness. Get proactive and inspired by all these great resources!
Finding friends abroad – how to connect with other expat families
Family and friends are the most important pillars in our lives. While we can take some of our family with us on our expat adventure, our friendships stay behind. So I was very happy when Dzhangar from Matchfamilies contacted me. His app that connects expat families was exactly the solution for the phase when you realize that you miss friends but don’t know what to do about it.
1 Year later – expat families in the midst of a global pandemic
One year ago, I interviewed families who were going through their very first weeks of the global pandemic. How are they doing 1 year later? Are they finally reunited? Have they returned home early? Also lots of additional resources for support in this new blog post.
How expat families are coping with the coronavirus
2020 had a rough start in terms of global news. The outbreak of the coronavirus was one of them. The sheer amount of media coverage (on all levels of quality) and the uncertainty that the virus outbreak brought to many lives also affected expat families around the globe but specifically those closer to the area of origin. I was wondering, how expat families are coping with the challenge, how they made their decision on whether to stay or to go „home“, and what they have learned from the current situation.
Mastering the international move
Moving overseas is a stressful time, especially when the two Cs (Children & Container) are involved. With our own move shortly ahead, I want to summarize all the tips and tricks I received from other experienced expats and that helped me the last time we have moved countries. This list of tips is tailored to families moving with a container. Often there are professional moving companies involved and while that is a huge help in can also lead to many misunderstandings and hiccups along the way.
Life abroad: Perception vs. Reality
The perception of our lives abroad often differs tremendously from reality. While life abroad definitely brings along a lot of joy, happiness, opportunities and exciting experiences, it also comes with a price tag. Like everything in life, there are two sides to a coin.
The idea of us sitting along the pool sipping a margarita might feel far away for you. For your friends and family back home, this might be the picture that they have in their heads.
Negotiating your Expat Package
If you are an employee sent abroad by the company you want to read this, I will give an overview of the essential aspects of expat benefits and how to negotiate a better deal.