In her recent interview, serial expatriate Heather Wright stressed the importance of research before making the big move.  There’s a ridiculous amount of information to be processed – from the nitty-gritty of visas, bank accounts and the packing up of an entire life; through unfamiliar cultural dos and don’ts; to strategies for dealing with the inevitable culture shock and emotional impacts.

Here’s a round-up of my favourite expat resources on the web.  You’ll find websites dealing with the details, YouTube channels, and expat bloggers and tweeps who’ll offer a more personable peek into expat living.  Obviously I can’t include people from each and every possible destination, but the two expat portals, Expat Blog and Expat Exchange, are good resources for connecting with people already in-country.

Websites and portals

• Tales From a Small Planet is a non-profit online magazine for expats, with an a range of funny to informative to inspiring articles about expat life all over the world. They also have a handy list of recommended reading on expat culture, repatriation, third culture kids, and more
• Transitions Abroad’s Living Abroad page has an excellent selection of well-written, informative articles and first-hand reports
• Expat Blog – is a networking portal for expats and a great place to start if researching for a particular destination.  They provide links to expat’s blogs, classifieds, articles, and user-contributed “Life in…” guides
• Expat Exchange is a similarly formatted site to Expat Blog; they’re both worth a look if you’re tracking down bloggers in a particular destination
• Expat Interviews offer a selection of detailed interviews with expats worldwide.  They focus on costs of living, legal and bureaucratic problems, and other logistical odds and ends
• Matador Abroad publish thoughtful articles on life overseas, language study, cultural travel and teaching abroad
• Family Life Abroad publishes articles, links, and a collection of English learning materials for the kids
• Meetup.com can be a great place to connect with people in your destination – it’s an engine for organising meet-up groups for like-minded people, all over the world

YouTube

• MoveOne Relocations have a channel devoted to expats; it hasn’t been updated in a while, but is worth a peek
• Expat Expert Robin Pascoe launched a YouTube lecture series on successful living abroad yesterday.  Obviously its too early to tell, but it could be interesting to watch it unfold

 

People

There are far too many excellent expat bloggers and tweeps out there to list them all, so I’ve limited this list to those that focus heavily on expat life.  More country-specific people to connect with can be tracked down through Google, or the expat networks listed above.

• Tom, @ExpatAlley, writes Expat Alley.  With his wife and four kids, he’s lived in Japan, South America and the US and provides advice, reflections on expat life, and an interview series
• Susanna, @futureexpat, runs Future Expat Forums, a blog addressing the human side of expat life – how to make the decision to move, and how to deal with the repercussions of that decision
• Todd of Todd’s Wanderings, @toddwassel, has recently kicked off a Lifestyle Strategies section on his blog.  As a development worker (and “that guy”) he’s managed to build a life wherever he lands – the Lifestyle Strategies section aims to help you learn to do the same
• Heather writes Expat Heather, with loads of information for prospective expats, especially English teachers abroad.  Follow her on twitter @expatheather
• Andy runs Grounded Traveler, with lots of information and reflection on expat life – he’s living in Germany, and you can find him on twitter @groundedtravelr
• Andrea, @andreaexpat, runs the page Expat Women
• Maria, @theexpatwife, tweets regularly about expat living, and writes for Expat Arrivals