Living Abroad

“A person does not belong to a place until there is someone dead under the ground.”

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, from One Hundred Years of Solitude

• 
  That Time I was in an Immigration Raid in China
  My wife and I spent about three and a half years living in working in China. During that time, we were essentially immigrants, even though we didn’t necessarily plan to make China our forever home. We did, however, learn first-hand how China treats its immigrants, especially when we experienced an immigration raid. Visa Runs I’ve… Read more: That Time I was in an Immigration Raid in China

Why Give up your life and Move Overseas?

The Experience

There’s absolutely nothing like completely uprooting yourself and delving into another country and culture. You learn about your limits and what you’re truly made of. If you can live abroad, you can do anything.

Permanent Vacation

Yes, you’ll have to work if you live overseas. However, if you do it right, you won’t have to work that much. And you might get enough outside stimulation that it doesn’t feel much like work at all.

Living overseas can also give you numerous opportunities to travel and see the world.

The Downsides of Living Abroad

Culture Shock

No matter who you are, you’re going to experience culture shock if you live overseas. That’s just how it goes. However, you can prepare for it and learn how to keep it from turning you into a racist scumbag. Click here to read more about culture shock.

It Can Be Lonely

You are going to miss your friends and family back home. That’s also just how it goes. You also might find that your experience abroad has changed you in an utterly profound way, but your old friends are still the same. Remember, you can always make new friends, right?

You’ll Always Be a Foreigner

You’ll make new friends in you’re adopted culture, but no matter how much you learn the language and integrate yourself, you’re still going to be an outsider. Learn to accept it, if not embrace it.

Teaching English

Why is Teaching English Best Way to Live and Work Overseas?

There are so many jobs

I’ve rarely turned down jobs before. When I was applying to be an English teacher I turned down at least three within a week. Japan, Korea, and China are all English teaching hotspots, but there are job options all over the world.

It’s Rewarding

Nothing warms your heart more than seeing someone who has been struggling with conjugating the past tense suddenly tell you a story about what their pet cat did yesterday. And the kids can be pretty darn cute.

But be Responsible About it

English teachers have a reputation as being kind of the losers of the ex-pat world. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes true. People rely on you to help them study English and are probably paying a lot to do so. This goes double when you’re teaching kids. The least you can do is sober up before class.

If you want to teach English overseas, you should have these three basic things going for you: be a native English speaker, have a bachelor’s degree, and have a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate. I’d suggest getting a bachelor’s degree at a cheap community college. I got my TEFL certificate from Teaching Nomad and thought they were pretty good. Keep in mind these ‘requirements’ can be flexible depending on the job market where you go.

Where to Live Overseas?

I Lived in China for Three more than Years

It’s been a wild ride, to say the least, but I have almost zero regrets. Read more about

Read about life in China

• How to Talk to People Who Don’t Speak English Good
  As the world grows smaller, it’s more important than ever to learn how to talk with people who don’t speak English as a first language. My fellow Americans, I have some disappointing truth to share with you. Not everyone in the world speaks English as their first language. I know, I know, it’s shameful and… Read more: How to Talk to People Who Don’t Speak English Good
• Loneliness, Holidays and Living Overseas
  Sometimes living overseas can be very lonely. This loneliness is worse during the holidays. This is a blog post about that.
• 
  Rethinking Travel Safety and Crime in Latin America
  Mention traveling in Latin America to almost anyone in the United States and you’re likely to get one question: is it safe? Our newspapers are filled with horror stories of cartel violence. Crime and safety even dominate discussions in hostel common rooms on the road. Not the food or culture or scenery or anything else.… Read more: Rethinking Travel Safety and Crime in Latin America
• 
  That Time I was in an Immigration Raid in China
  My wife and I spent about three and a half years living in working in China. During that time, we were essentially immigrants, even though we didn’t necessarily plan to make China our forever home. We did, however, learn first-hand how China treats its immigrants, especially when we experienced an immigration raid. Visa Runs I’ve… Read more: That Time I was in an Immigration Raid in China
• 
  What is Culture Shock? My Personal Experience in China
  Culture shock can be a real pain in the ass. But it’s something you just have to deal with if you want to spend more than a two-weeks vacation worth of time in a foreign country. Culture shock is more than just a vague feeling of “wow I can’t believe people do that or eat… Read more: What is Culture Shock? My Personal Experience in China