Category Archives: Living Abroad

Hello, and welcome to this part of my website!

More and more people are wanting to move to different areas of the world. With the rise of remote work (making lots of people realise that they don’t need to be physically in an office) and the growing realisation about the carbon footprint of fast travel, living in various cities and countries worldwide is becoming a viable, sustainable solution.

I’ve lived in six towns/ cities across six countries in my lifetime. In my native England, I’ve lived in London (where I was born) and Bristol (where I went to university and returned to as a young professional). I lived in Mexico City for a while when I was a teenager and returned to the Mexican city of Oaxaca when I was 25. And I spent a year and a bit in Australia, where I lived for five months in Byron Bay and a few months in Perth.

I can write about these places, but the project I’ve been envisioning has had so many more destinations. I want to create a space where people can read real life experiences of what it is like to live in cities and countries across the world.

For this project, I’ve asked locals to write some tips about living here. These tips are for any newcomer to the city, and I hope that they will prove useful to a large audience.

My other mission is to do this whole ‘living abroad’ thing a bit differently. I want to encourage people moving abroad to really integrate with the local culture and support local economies that way. This is why I’ve asked locals to write these posts, with the hope that they will be able to give us all tips on how to live as locals do in their city or country.

You can read a little more about my aims for this project here.

Or, read on to discover which city you might be able to live in next!

10 Things You Should Know About Living in Kolkata

“What West Bengal thought today, India thought tomorrow”– this perfect proverb indicates the rich cultural heritage and intellectual legacy of West Bengal. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal. It was formerly known as Calcutta before 2001. The city remained the capital of British India for more than a century, and today it is one […]

7 Things to Know About Living in Romania

Vampires? No. Fast Internet? Yes. Incredible food? Yes. Skiing in the Carpathian Mountains and swimming in the Black Sea only a drive away? Yes, and yes. Friendly people, who are ready to introduce you to the bustling nightlife? Absolutely! Living in Romania is an adventure.  The country is the gateway to the Orient and the […]

Everything You Need To Know About Living in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is one of those hidden gems that few people, outside the local region, have ever travelled to and a place no one seems to know much about. It’s a beautiful, relatively unexplored country that is worth the effort to spend an extended amount of time. Known as the Switzerland of Central Asia, mountains cover […]

15 Tips for Living in Seattle

This post was written by Seattle expert Andrew Wandola. It is part of a larger moving away series, where local experts are giving top tips on how to move to a new city or country. You can see all of these blog posts here. If you are planning to move to Seattle, you have probably […]

Living in Japan: 10 Things You Should Know

Living in another country can be an exciting, overwhelming and at times intimidating prospect. While there is the thrill of adventure and new experiences, it can be difficult to adjust to entirely new set of societal and cultural norms. Living in Japan is an amazing and life-changing experience for many, but most of us make […]

Living in Edinburgh: Everything You Need to Know

Edinburgh is an utterly bewitching city, so who could blame anyone for wanting to live there? A beautiful setting below the ancient castle, streets teeming with character and history, and elegant, sweeping Georgian architecture all make living in Edinburgh an experience to cherish! Add that to great shopping, incredible nightlife, a dynamic arts scene andsome […]

Living in London: 30 things to know before moving to London

Are you planning on moving to London? The capital of the UK is one of Europe’s most famous and vibrant cities, and there’s so much to know if you’re planning on living in London. Some of what you need to know is good, some is bad, and some is ugly (once you’ve been on a […]

10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Living in Vietnam

This post was written by Sam, blogger and Vietnam expert, who blogs on Itching for Travel. Vietnam is a trending destination in Southeast Asia for both backpackers and location independent travellers. Some travellers spend three months exploring the length and breadth of Vietnam. Others teach English in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang. […]

Everything You Need to Know About Living in Oaxaca, Mexico

Oaxaca might well be becoming my new Byron Bay, aka the place I write approximately 482 blog posts on. You might have read (or even be coming here from!) my bumper Oaxaca travel guide – and there will be lots more where that came from soon! So, in May last year, I suddenly thought ‘wouldn’t […]