10 profiles of expats you meet abroad

Living abroad can be an obstacle course. No, it won't be all rosy, but sometimes challenging and difficult. All these expatriates approach their daily life in their host country differently.

Deciphering the different profiles of expatriates that we may come across while traveling or in our daily lives.

The one who loves to travel, in search of discovery

He seeks whenever he can to experience the local culture and discover what surrounds him. He takes advantage of his expat life to alternate jobs and nomadic lifestyle to be on the road discovering the surroundings.

Here, when arriving on a 2-year PVT, many work 6 months and put some money aside to enjoy a road trip in the Rockies, the USA or even Central America. Thus taking advantage of a break in their life.

The one in the honeymoon phase

Yes, when you arrive in a new country to settle there, like in a marriage, you go on a honeymoon with your host country for the first few days of your expatriation for the most part.

Everything is about wonder and discovery. You are only superficially in contact with the culture of the host country. You only see the positive aspects.

You feel at home, love everything about this new culture that you discover a little more every day: local dishes, outdoor activities, people, etc.

You want to see everything, do everything, launch lots of activities to meet new expats like you.

In short, you are all fired up.

But this only lasts for a while when the reality of everyday life sets in and the novelty aspect has passed.

Which can create gaps between those who have just arrived and people who have already been settled for years. You are not at the same point and friendships can be more difficult to create between these two profiles.

The one who criticizes everything about his host country

We know that the French are known throughout the world for pulling faces and complaining a lot.

Unfortunately, when you are an expat, this pattern is confirmed at times. Faced with these jaded, bitter compatriots, whom you can rub shoulders with in your daily life or meet while traveling. Everything is negative, they do not try to acclimatize. It is too cold, then too hot, the food is disgusting, the city is ugly, etc.

The question then is why do they ultimately stay if they are not happy in their host country?

The one who adapts and integrates into his new culture

He is the one who quickly assimilates the codes, customs and ways of life of his host country.

To the point of taking on its accent and expressions, faster than it takes to say it.

Sometimes some people have lived in their host country for so long that they could be mistaken for real locals.

I had a chat with a guy here who I thought was from Quebec because his accent was so strong, but in fact he wasn't. He had been living in Quebec for about ten years in the countryside, where the accent is even more pronounced than in the city.

Not a minute before he told me in the discussion that he came from Nantes, I would have doubted his origins.

When I see myself, after my 5 years as an expat, letting go of my children " as a result " And "fuck" at all costs… There are double standards 😉

The one who undergoes his expatriation

We are talking here about the profile that remains against its will. It does not know its place in its host country.

This could be due to multiple reasons: people who have a deep feeling of unease about the country, but who cannot leave due to a lack of visas or papers to start again elsewhere.

Or local spouses who followed their other half to the country but don't like it there.

It can be really difficult on a daily basis when your heart tells you to leave but your reason forces you to stay…

The one who dismantles his country of origin

This is the person who will, at the first opportunity, remove his roots.

Listening to him, he would never set foot in the Motherland again for anything in the world. Compared almost to a gulag, forgetting the many advantages that one does not necessarily have in one's host country.

In the case of France (in my case), you have to leave your country to realize its inestimable advantages. Like a health system that is unique in the world, foolproof unemployment insurance, numerous forms of transport (TGV) that quickly take you to magnificent landscapes and even to a European country in just 1 hour sometimes, which is strategically at the center of everything, etc.

There is always good and bad in everything. But some people tend to see the glass as half empty rather than full...

The one who comes for business or for professional transfer

For example, in North America, we are more inclined to create businesses where there is a pool of people willing to embark on the adventure of self-entrepreneurship.

Professional retraining is very common at any age.

Where you can go back to school after 40 and there is no judgment on it, quite the opposite.

This may also concern people sent by their employer on a medium or long-term mission.

The one who escapes and runs away from his problems

We are going to talk here about someone who can escape from a family that is too burdensome, from problems or just from a general feeling of unease.

The need for elsewhere is felt but be careful it does not solve the underlying problem. And sooner or later it will come knocking at your door even if you move thousands of kilometers away.

Or it could also be the retiree who is a fairly classic example: he goes to seek out sunny coasts to escape the cold climates or the recurring rain of his home country.

He who emigrates for love.

To follow someone into a new life for love.

It's very common. I've met many people here who, at the beginning, didn't have this project to come and settle here, weren't interested in this destination, and in the end just followed a companion.

Sometimes couples did not last long. But that did not stop some from continuing their expatriation.

Or those who meet someone once they are already settled, on site, whether it is another expat like them or a local. So they end up staying even if the initial plan could be different.

Because love has no boundaries 😉

The one who comes for the money

In some countries, salaries are double what you can earn in France. For example, here in Canada, you can quickly increase your salary and progress in a few months in a job depending on the sector.

So some people think they will find an Eldorado through their financial situation by changing their lifestyle and profession.

But to be cliché, money does not buy happiness.

It's all well and good chasing a situation, but if you have nothing besides your job, what's the point, really? Anyway, that's my point of view.

So, fellow expats, what profile do you recognize yourself in?