What it is like being an expat, why we do it

Posted on October 1, 2014 • Filed under: Expatriates

mytefl.net reported…”What do expats want? A change. Why? Either they have reached a dead end or are bored stiff with their lives.

Either way they have a driving need to widen their horizon, start afresh in a new country. As an expat I met all sorts: those driven to Asia for economic reasons, those tied to romance, some running away from big issues at home or others just plain wandering. In all cases, I believe they shared a sense of risk-taking that you will not find amongst most regular folks at home besides a few, let alone the natural worldliness that comes with the experience. The idea that one can grow up and remain in a single society, to my mind, is disappearing fast in today’s globalised world. But then again, I hold this viewpoint because I am who I am: a cultural hybrid, ambitious, wandering the world, living overseas, searching for opportunities, just because I know it’s that easy to go and look for it where it is rather than limit one’s self to a small playground.

I’m not Bruce Wayne

I do have to accept my limits too: I was not clever enough, smart enough, connected enough, social enough to climb the narrow ladder offered to me in my home country. I was average, OK with about everything, shite at some stuff, good at a few others, and mostly lazy. Acutely aware of my own limits, I searched for a way to level the playground. How could I reach a form of success with my life without having to go through the gruelling rat race at home? Run away and start living overseas, was the answer. Physically running away from this boring country that was my home. Read Article

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