There's no better way to learn a language than from the locals themselves. As someone who has lived in two different countries to improve their languages skills, I've found different locals tend to have different approaches towards your language efforts.. Here's a few of the personalities I've come across: The Understanding Local Us foreign language learners... Continue Reading →
I love celebrating my birthday and even when I try to make it as small as possible, it always turns into a big celebration! I see my birthday not only as an opportunity to celebrate another year, but to bring friends together and enjoy the time with those closest to me. I've been living abroad... Continue Reading →
If you aren't too sure how long you'll be staying in your new expat home, then you probably won't want to commit to a one or two-year gym contract just to keep fit and you'd rather go with something short-term. It's easy to let exercise slip when monthly gym payments aren't being debited from your... Continue Reading →
I moved from London to Frankfurt in August 2016 and although it’s only a one-hour flight away, I tried my best, especially during my first year, to make sure I built a life for myself in Frankfurt without allowing myself to feel like I still live in London. I did this by having very few... Continue Reading →
I randomly wrote a list of things that I wanted to work on and named this list "Aims, Goals & Aspirations." My list consisted of long term-goals to work towards and short-term goals that I could meet in the next few months. My "aims, goals and aspirations" consisted of anything where I felt there was... Continue Reading →
Spending some time back home after living abroad for nearly two years (and hardly visiting London) has made me realise that life abroad doesn't always feel foreign. At some point the tables start to turn... It wasn't Christmas, it wasn't my birthday, it was just the first 'normal' week I'd spent working in London since... Continue Reading →
Germans are so direct that the term 'small talk' doesn't even exist in their language. Why? It's just not something they do. Regardless of whether it's a touchy subject or not, Germans jump straight to the point in conversation, rather than beating around the bush and facing confrontation as indirectly as possible, as do the... Continue Reading →
Friend in Frankfurt: Once you've been here for a while, you'll realise that your English begins to change. Me: No chance! I couldn't have been more wrong. 21 months later and I often catch myself saying odd things in English that I never would have crossed my mind before I moved abroad. Of course, the... Continue Reading →
Following my post '5 reasons why it's OK not to be in love with the city you relocate to', I had two conversations with people who have thought about moving back home, or even just somewhere else away from the city they relocated to. I'm sure this crosses most expats' minds at some point, weighing... Continue Reading →
Time flies when you're having fun and whilst being abroad, I feel like it goes even quicker. Here's how to make the most of living in another country so you don't to look back on what you wish you had done whilst you were out there: Make a bucket list Whether you do it before... Continue Reading →
There's a lot of stigma around going out for dinner on your own. I'm not talking grabbing a Brötchen (bread roll) or quickly having some chips at a take-away style place. I mean actively choosing to go to a restaurant to sit on your own and enjoy a meal. People tend to feel sorry for... Continue Reading →
My actual plan was to relocate from London to Berlin, so I ended up in Frankfurt. For those who aren’t aware, a friend once said that Berlin is like the Shoreditch, London of Germany and Frankfurt is more like Canary Wharf. And you know what, I totally agree. I would have rather gone to Shoreditch... Continue Reading →
Making new friends when you relocate can be very hit and miss. I would actually describe my experience as miss-miss-hit-miss-miss-miss... and then a couple more 'hits' after a lot more 'misses'. Ugh. It takes a lot of effort, and the word 'easy' doesn't describe my experience at all, especially in Germany where people are quite... Continue Reading →
We want to travel the world, visit as many continents as possible, touch base in as many countries as possible and explore as many cities as possible. Every time we book a flight we get a rush of excitement as we look forward to leaving the countries we live in for a new and unfamiliar... Continue Reading →
When I last went back to London (home-home), I realised I wasn't checking my phone half as much as I do when I'm at my home abroad. The reason is obvious: I have 25 years of solid friendships to maintain in the UK compared to 18 months of developing friendships in Frankfurt. I am lucky there's... Continue Reading →
One of the beauties of speaking another language is that it allows you to express yourself through different words and concepts that don't exist in your native tongue. Never did I think though, that it could make me (loud, outgoing and laughs all day Alisa) appear to be shy and reserved. Why is it so... Continue Reading →
