Exciting Expat Experiences To Explore
If you are keen to wave goodbye to the rat race, scratch your wanderlust itch, and do something spontaneous with your remaining years on this planet, you might be keen to look into overseas adventures ie expat. Just because you have financial debts and a mortgage doesn’t mean that you can’t plan for something more thrilling for your future. Many people are content scaling the career ladder, saving their pennies, spending time with family and friends, and allowing their life to navigate a more traditional path. However, for some people, this is simply boring and they strive for something more.
Don’t feel like you have to fall into the typical way of doing things. If you are keen to travel, see the world and immerse yourself in new cultures, then take a sabbatical and become an expat living in a new environment overseas. Take a look at these incredible expat experiences that could inspire your far-flung adventure.
Settle In The East
If you are eager to experience a culture vastly different to your own, then hot footing it to the east is the most exciting place to travel. Here, you can venture to the glorious metropolitan nation of Singapore, the exquisite Land of the Rising Sun, or China. In Singapore, plenty of expats live in the cities because their corporate blue chip multinational companies have offices there. You might not fancy swapping your middle management position for another, but you could settle, and decide to look at a shop for rent, to sell some wares and earn some income while on your travels.
Alternatively, you could head to Japan and try your hand at teaching English to elementary students or business people. The work is plentiful as many Japanese people are eager to learn English, and would rather learn from a native speaker. When heading to Japan, you may need to source a job prior to your arrival, so head onto some expat job boards and start looking.
Backpacking
If you’ve never enjoyed a period of backpacking when you were younger, don’t feel like the moment has passed. Plenty of thirty somethings are now reclaiming their youth and giving the whole jaunt across Asia and Thailand a go. You might fancy hot footing it to Goa to explore the region’s beautiful beaches and towns. Or maybe you’d prefer to venture to Bangkok and begin your trek island hopping across Thailand.
Being a little older, you might not fancy the beach parties, the hedonism, the slumming it, or the hostels. Instead, you can be a little more sophisticated on your travels and head to a homestay, living with local people from the destination of your choice. This way, you can live in the most authentic way possible. You’ll eat authentic cuisine, learn some of the local language, enjoy helping out around the home and really have the chance to immerse yourself in a new culture.
With the emergence of better understanding about climate change, more people than ever are choosing to forego the air travel in favor of rail travel. Traveling by train can be the best way to see the land to which you are traveling. You can venture across the continent of Europe with an inter-railing ticket allowing you to cross borders seamlessly (provided you have the relevant visas that you need.) This sort of ticket is perfect for those travelers who don’t have anything more than a skeleton itinerary of where they want to go and what they want to do. Inter-railing means that you don’t have to book tickets in advance. If you fancy traveling from Paris to Berlin on one day, you can head to the station and check availability.
Alternatively, you could take part in a tour catering for expats. These trains will be full of tourists paying for a catered tour complete with a guide. The experience might not be as authentic, but you will guarantee seeing the sights that you want to visit, and you can meet some fellow like minded individuals who are also after a unique travel experience.
Venturing overseas is one of the best ways to be more exposed to the world. Traveling is life affirming, exciting and will allow you to see new vistas, try new food and live like a local. If you have things to sort out at home before you travel, start planning now. Don’t bury your head in the sand and assume that you can’t travel – you simply need to think long term. Use this guide to inspire your expat experiences.
One Comment
Kate Sarsfield
This is something I’ve always regretted not doing. While everyone else in College was heading for the States, Europe & further afield, I stayed home & worked during every vacation.