Time flies when you’re living out of a sublet.
The line between “traveling” and “expatting” isn’t always clear, and I’m sort of in between right now. I have finished up all my “old business”. The money should be in my account by Monday. I have no other obligations or connections. It’s kind of strange, because I can’t remember ever having these few ties. I can do anything.
My only remaining “obligation” is the sublet I have for another 30 days in the apartment I had been living in for the previous 2 years, and that’s a great thing. Rents have skyrocketed in Oaxaca – especially in my Jalatlaco, so being able to pay my old rent for 6 weeks has been a godsend. I love Oaxaca, but I want to move on. It’s too hot here. I’ve already seen it all. I’m getting fat and lazy just when I need to be sharp and quick.
Traveller or Expat?
So that brings us back to the traveling – expatting continuum . First, let me try to define what I’m talking about.
For me, traveling is living out of a bag. It’s fluid. The trip is usually more important than the destination. There is a lot of concern, both personal and bureaucratic, about your next stop. You are in motion.
Expatting is creating a permanent base. Permanent is both relative and personal, so let’s say “a potentially permanent base”. This is where you feel safe, where you relax, where you keep your stuff. You have done some kind of paperwork. You pay bills. You probably have some kind of official status.
I still haven’t found my base. The quality of your expat life is directly tied to your choice of base — if you have a choice. A lot of expats are on business, so that’s a different conversation. But as I plan my next step, here is what I’m considering:
Expat City Criteria
Finance.
Is it affordable?
Is it livable?
Expat community
Is there one?
Are there several?
What are your feelings about expat communities?
Safety / Security
Megacity/City/Town
Culture / Lifestyle
Aesthetic concern
Local
Finance — I started traveling in the 1980s, when we still talked about “3rd World” and “developing markets”. Back then, the US$ went amazingly far in some pretty great cities – like Taipei and Shanghai. Even Hong Kong and Osaka were affordable. But I was on business, and when Business shows up then quality of life and the cost of living both go up quickly. Expat destinations aren’t immune from inflation. I look at rents and food. Especially rent because there are usually local markets where the quality is high and prices cheap. You want to make your dollars (or whatever currency) go far but beware of costs that are too affordable. I had a nice life in Chiang Mai and Saigon, but I was paying “high end” expat prices. When I visited Cambodia and Vientiane I heard about the rock-bottom cost of living, but even I would go crazy in those places within a few months. It always takes a while for the expat service sector to swing into action. Make sure you’ve got basic services (security, shopping, transportation, predictable electricity, a water situation) while putting together a list of potential destinations. Be realistic about your lifestyle needs, and then try to put together a rough visit.
Expat Community. We’ve talked about this before, and we’ll talk about it again. Even if you are expatting in a country where language is not an issue for you, you will still have to make decisions about your contact with the expat community in your town.
The Usual Story: In typical business centers, there are a number of overlapping expat communities. It ranges from a favorite bar or restaurant to Chambers of commerce to government/agency events. The expat community generally divides its attention and energy into 4 general themes: 1. Business. 2. Local culture. 3. Expat-social 4. Philanthropy/service.
Do decide what you want/need, and then do the research. I am not a “joiner” but when I lived in Shanghai, I was a regular at the AmCham happy hours (really, all the chambers) and the expat bars.
Safety / Security. I go right to Facebook Groups or try to find a WhatsApp group for this. You need to hear current information from other expats on the ground. Before I came to Oaxaca, I was convinced there were going to be cartel shootouts on every corner. This city has its dangers, but I was completely unprepared for the real situation. Street crime in tourist areas (i.e.: around bars late at night) was the real danger — not narco-crime. Both are bad, but they’re different.
Remember — if you want to connect with actual, on the ground expat communities, Facebook Groups is probably your best bet. (Search: Expat, City name).
City or Town. City or town, beach or mountain. You have preferences, and they probably aren’t going to change when you go to a different country. Visit as many different places as you like, but beach people end up on the beach, city people end up in the city. I’ve been doing a mountain thing for the last few years — not loving it anymore. There is at least one beach town on my to Do list.
Culture/Lifestyle. I put this one last, but it could also be first. You have to decide what kind of lifestyle you want. The good news is that you can have any kind of life you want. You can live pretty much the same way you did back home, going to familiar gyms, restaurants, and stores. You can watch western movies and TV and eat regular food. Or you can go more locally. Or some weird combination that makes complete sense to you but no one else. But you have to make the choice – and often put in some planning – or you slip into bad patterns. (That’s why I’m still speaking Int Spanish.)
Ok. I’m going to wrap up for now. I’ll be back this weekend to talk about two cities I’ll be talking about for the next few weeks: Huatulco, Mexico and Medellin Colombia