An Expat's Life
We live day by day, travelling around the world and following where the money is!
We never stay around long enough to solidify relationships!
We make good friends yet break everyone's hearts as we know we have to leave!
When we take a liking to someone, we know there is no point in asking them out as we won't be around long enough to make it work!
We all make our money, but what about the important things in life? Love and Friendship!
Is the life of a single expat worth it?
As expats, please share your experiences!
PASSION comes first...:)
Hmm Well Passion comes first then money so money will follow one
"a travelling bunch of gypsies".. but WHAT makes me travelling??? i don't think it's money or "better life", or some other materialistic things...
it’ s like in one movie, one rich English guy fell in love with some beautiful gypsy, he even wanted to marry her.. and then it was a time for her to leave this place and move on.. he was very upset and he asked her: “what kind of people you are??? What are you looking for??? What do you want in your life???”.. she looked at him and replied quietly: “Nothing, my Master…we are not looking for anything… the only thing we WANT in our life is a ROAD”
.. so i think, may be some of my ancestors were gypsies??
We are but a travelling bunch of gypsies, seeking to make our fortune wherever the opportunity arises
Its so easy for one of the partners to get chatting to another person in a bar or at work, and before ya know it...Bang, they fall for them !
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From my experience , you are an exception , rather than the rule. I have seen numerous expat marriages break down, once they get out of the environment and go to their home country. However, I heartily agree that the friends you make are the friends for life.. This is because as expats, we live in close proximity, meet regularly, share joys and pain and act as pillars of strength for each other in a foreign land...
is difficult at first but rewarding at d end for som, and for others aren't...
for me... being an expat brodens my mind, dan being in my home country.
also, d rewards were der, particularly meeting diff. types of people n races, its like u feel d whole world from der experience. :)
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"Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray" (anonymous)
"When we take a liking to someone, we know there is no point in asking them out as we won't be around long enough to make it work! We make good friends yet break everyone's hearts as we know we have to leave!"
yes QT, you'd shoot it on... while we are away from home, there is really an apparent emptiness each us felt. we knew what our hearts longs for... we knew where it all to happen, we also knew when this has to end to... so sad that in the event we were able to establish a nice friendship... later on we'll just found ourselves looking back to the days longing the similar people again...
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I may like a lily which wherever
Hello - I LOVE YOU... really missed you this weekend...
I have been an expat for one year now.. at first its hard cause i leave my home country together with my family and friends...and also im a bit young.. but i get used to it cause im enjoying, earning and learning.. at the end, family and friends is over money
"Daniel Connelly: We're so arrogant, aren't we? So afraid of age, we do everything we can to prevent it. We don't realize what a privilege it is to grow old with someone. Someone who doesn't drive you to commit murder or doesn't humiliate you beyond repair." PS ILOVEYOU
Ya I'm seeing that britexpat. I'm thinking this year it might be time to go home. Money doesn't mean anything to me, friends and family do.
Visit www.qatarhappening.com
I have been an expat for many many years.. Looking back; although I have earned a lot of money, I have also spent a lot. In many cases, those friends I left behind in my home country are better off financially and also have families around them. I go home once/twice a year and see that the nieces/nephews have grown up and they don't really relate to me.
At the end of the day... the choice is ours..
hmmm, money and travelling, no love, no long term friend, no family. What an incredibly shallow and useless life we lead. :S
Visit www.qatarhappening.com
I've been travelling my whole life, and a large part of that was in Qatar, but recently, I've spent a few years in my home country.
I agree the rate of friends/lovers turnover is higher in Qatar, due to it's multicultural/high immigrant ratio. But, that doesn't mean people don't leave if u're back home. With every new stage in life, people will leave. Remember high school, uni, work, promotions??
PEOPLE NEVER STOP LEAVING.
This brings me to another point. What's home to you?
If you think home is where you were born, or where your passport was printed, I disagree.
Home is where you feel the safest, and wherever pays you enough to put food on the table. If it does that, gives you a nice car, and a cool place to stay, why can't that be home?
What I'm trying to say is, if you have all your friends around you, are living in your home country, but underpaid, can't afford ur own car or home, will u be happy then? Bearing in mind, that people will STILL BE LEAVING.
Don't make money your primary goal, and don't make people that either.. They BOTH LEAVE!
Try to balance it. Make reasonable money, cherish the friends you have now, and wait for the ones coming later, and remember the ones you had.
As for marriage, that's a whole different story. But being home never means that where you'll find your soulmate!
Is teh life of a single expat worth it?
Well...it is a personal thing, an individual choice and each person's answer differs.
About solidifying relationships , again it depends on the person in question. There are ppl hu stay at the same place but still dont hav as much gud relationships as an xpat does.
Same with broken hearts.....
Abt askin ppl out, dont worry abt having to move away...jus go ahead n ask him/her out. You do not hav to think it all out before u hav ur first date. If both of u really want 2 make it work, it WILL work!
Yes! Luv and frndship r very important in life, but so is $$$$! Doesnt sound romantic, but...
:-p
The only consistent feature in all of your dissatisfying relationships is you.
Expatriate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country, fatherland), and is sometimes misspelled (either unintentionally or intentionally) as ex-patriot or short ex-pat (because of its pronunciation).
The term is often used in the context of Westerners living in non-Western countries, although it is also used to describe Westerners living in other Western countries, such as Americans living in the United Kingdom, or Britons living in Spain. It may also reasonably refer to Japanese living, for example, in New York City. The key determinant would seem to be cultural/socioeconomic and causation.
In the 19th century, Americans, numbering perhaps in the thousands, were drawn to Europe—especially to Munich and Paris—to study the art of painting. Henry James was a famous expatriate American writer from the 1870s, who adopted England as his home.
A nickname in the UK for former expatriates who have returned to Britain is the "When I"s, or "When we"s, as they are accused of starting conversations by saying "When I was in Rhodesia" or "When we were in Singapore".
Trends in expatriation.
During the later half of the 20th century expatriation was dominated by professionals sent by their employers to foreign subsidiaries or headquarters. Starting at the end of the 20th century Globalization created a global market for skilled professionals and leveled the income of skilled professionals relative to cost of living while the income differences of the unskilled remained large. Cost of intercontinental travel had become sufficiently low, such that an employers not finding the skill in a local market could effectively turn to recruitment on a global scale. This has created a different type of expatriate where Commuter and short-term assignments are becoming the norm, and are gradually replacing the traditional long term. Private motivation is becoming more relevant than company assignment. Families might often stay behind when work opportunities amount to months instead of years. The cultural impact of this trend is more significant. Traditional corporate expatriates did not integrate and commonly only associated with the elite of the country they were living in. Modern expatriates form a global middle class with shared work experiences in multi-national corporation and working and living the global financial and economical centers. Integration is incomplete but strong cultural influences are transmitted. Middle class expatriates contain many re-migrants from emigration movements one or two generations earlier. In Dubai the population is predominantly expatriates, from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines with only 3% of the population made up of Western expatriates
Dealing with expatriates.
In dealing with expatriates, an international company reckons the value of them and has experienced staff to deal with them. Furthermore, a company often has a company wide policy and coaching system and includes the spouses at an earlier stage in the decision making process by giving them an official say in this. Not many companies provide any compensation for loss of income of spouses. They often do provide benefits and assistance. The level of support differs, ranging from offering a job-hunting course for spouses at the new location to full service partner support structures, run by volunteering spouses supported by the organization.An example of an expatriate led project can be found in the Gracia Arts Project of Barcelona.
Ok, so everyone understand now ?
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about being a career ex-pat is when you go home for a year or more, try to settle in, and then get the urge to move again and your family and friends have to say good-bye to you all over again. I think this last time was the worse for me as my sister and I are very close and we have now lost both our parents so saying good-bye had lots of tears and hugging as we felt it more deeply than before. On the bright and totally realistic side (for me at least) it's all about the $$$$ as the adventure bit wore off years ago. Just my humble personal view.
YES sometimes its really hard...
"Even if LOVE is full of thorns, embrace it. For in between those thorns there is a ROSE that's worth all the PAIN."
sorry, whens visiting hours??
will bring you grapes and flowers to make you feel better xx
Please don' give advice like that. I took it on the chin last week and am still here in Hamad Hospital :)
Go and google the meaning of expat !!!
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even in their own countries!
he came and left last week ...
you will be fine, you have friends and a good job by the sound of it, take it on the chin and the rough with the smooth, all good in the end.
Did you get to Doha in the end????
We can't complain! It's a good life!
"...You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Ha, Ha, Ha..." Donkey
Love being an expat. It is not easy though.. You need a thick skin. You work ith all types of people. Make friends who realy are friends. Keep in touch with some, lose touch with lots. Real expats become tolerant because they've seen all types of people, cultures. Money comes and moneygoes. The main tnings you cherish are memories...
...There's no place like home!
"...You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Ha, Ha, Ha..." Donkey
Been an expat a long time.. seen it, been there , done it..Been to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Made lots of friends. Made some enemies. The friends are all friends for life. Down side is love.. Been married and divorced.. Long distance relationships don't work - for me. Made lots of money, but also spent a lot..Still miss home though..
lol..
"...You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Ha, Ha, Ha..." Donkey
who is marryin who??? i am gettin a lil confused now.. lol..
"...You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Ha, Ha, Ha..." Donkey
QS ... i cant marry a baby ... Lol. And also i have no intention to dump my LSH (Long Suffering Hubby) as Jauntie put it in my beach party thread.
QS ... as far as you are blonde that will do him !!! QT that is ...
it is not a proposal.. it is order! and who said you have to marry ME?? marry NOVI!
"...You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Ha, Ha, Ha..." Donkey
...but I have terms and conditions. I'll fill you in later! LOL
"...You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Ha, Ha, Ha..." Donkey
Really appreciate you ... such a true friend you are. This a friend of us used to be our neighbours ... literally he used to live just outside our compound.
Can i send you to kill him ??? Thank you in advance for that. Lol.
her suggestions are always correct!! get married!! NOW!! RIGHT NOW!!
money is only in the initial stages.. then its ur position or the fame.. but still its the same.. u need to work for it too...
"...You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Ha, Ha, Ha..." Donkey
It's about loyalty! I am my boss's right hand! I go where he needs me! That means anywhere in the world!
Sometimes I wish I could just settle down somewhere!
"...You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain’t never seen a donkey fly. Ha, Ha, Ha..." Donkey
Get married now QT .... quickly !!!
Seriously ... my broken heart happen in annual circle. And it can happening few times in a year ... normally in the summer. This years 3 of my long term friend that i know for few year leaving for various reason ..., on top of that i met another friend recently from this forum. He got on so well with me and my hubby ... and alas he leaving us too !!!
Oh well ... what can you say / do ?
jaunts...sorry 4 hijack guys...this the last.i thought u were going for a short trip..didnt now it was going to be a long one..anyway comeback soon n hope to catch up again.adios for now
do it right - the first time!
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Fine! Tks for asking. Hope to be back in Doha within next couple of weeks. Look forward to meeting you (and yours) again soon.
QT.. I guess you need to make time for friends and love in between all this.. coz whereever u stay.. wherever u go.. you have to slog to earn money.. I think if you find friends during all this.. u r lucky.. and if u find love too.. u r luckier.. but there is no way we know we are gonna be somewhere for ever..
"following where the money is???" i never follow where money is.. i am following my heart... money will come, in the bigger amount or the smaller one...also money comes and go... heart is permanent...
hey jauntie good morning lady...long time no see.missed you. how are things?
do it right - the first time!
Loads of answers flooded into my mind, but I'm about to go to bed also, so I guess my pearls of wisdom will have to wait for another time.
PS Hi! So sorry I never got to meet you, and
PPS I married a serial traveller, so maybe my answers don't count anyway :D
G'night x