What drives an expat? - Expertise in Labour Mobilityexpat policies, practices and services – it is a good example of eLM’s pragmatic slogan ‘making mobility ... no, but my Mexican

cultural consequences of mobility

What drives an expat?

NaNNette RipmeesteR (editoR)

cultural consequences of mobility

What drives an expat?

what drives an expat? 3

foRewoRd

"it is my pleasure to write the foreword to this booklet, which focuses upon the cultural conse-quences of mobility. this publication "What drives an expat?" is celebrating expertise in Labour Mobility (eLM)’s 20 year anniversary. we have worked with nannette ripmeester and her team for many years adding value to our expats across the globe. eLM understands what drives an expat and what informa-tion mobile workers and their families need to be successful at each new location. we all understand international mobility entails more than moving boxes and learning new lan-guages, however as multinational you need to ensure your expats are making informed decisions when they go abroad. Multi-topic, comprehensive and transparent communication with the entire organi-sation, involving both expatriates, international Mobility staff, hr and line managers across the organisation is vital for success. at philips we understand that working and living abroad bring to both the expat as well as his or her partner and family additional challenges and oppor-tunities for personal life, family and work, and that living in a new country is not always easy with the ‘honeymoon’ feeling sometimes wearing off quickly.

working with eLM in producing for instance ourExpat Assignment Starters Kit and the expat maga-zine ‘mo ving abroad’ has resulted in effective and easy to read and understand communication about expat policies, practices and services – it is a good example of eLM’s pragmatic slogan ‘making mobility work’. The 20 profiles in this book provide a multi-angle perspective on what international labour mobility entails: Spanning the mobility field from frequent travellers to entire families on the move. Further-more, each profile provides a peek into the personal motivation of that particular person to take the plunge and head off to new pastures. in other words, it highlights what drives them. i hope you – as i did – enjoy reading the book and finding inspiring ideas within, irrespective of your personal link to mobility. today almost everyone is more or less a global citizen - this book celebrates this as well as eLM's 20 years in business.” Marin CocuHead of International Mobilityphilips international B.v.


preface

what drives an expat? Given the increasing globali-sation, it is captivating to understand the intrinsic motivation of people to move around the world to live and work elsewhere. despite the emergence of technology and instant worldwide communication,many people still choose to meet colleagues in ankara, work at a Bangalore based company, or meet with clients in Chicago. why do people bother totravel when they could just as easily connect online?the reasons are human curiosity and true under-standing of the other: Knowing and trusting each other is still the basis for working relationships, even for the “wiFi generation”. internet has made us more, not less, interested in exploring the world and the cultures around us. expertise in Labour Mobility enables people and organisations to be successful in this global market-place. with 20 years of ‘making mobility work’ through research and expertise, eLM shares know-ledge about how – and how not to – do business abroad. Using information gathered from a vast number of countries, we support the ever-changing international labour community. providing insights into expat trends; drafting expat policies; and design from concept to end result Keep In Touch expat star-ters Kits. with our workshops, we both welcome people to the netherlands as well as give them the

best possible send-off to other countries, to give them a positive intercultural start to integrating and work-ing wherever they may go! people and their under-standing of other cultures are our primary concern. Our series of “Looking for work in...” guides provides an introduction to the ins and outs of the social and working cultures of over 40 countries. working closely with experts from those nations and people who have made the plunge, we develop an accurate and realistic understanding of what an international worker can expect to come across in whichever coun-try they choose to visit!

This publication shows 20 profiles of a variety of people sharing their reasons for and experiences of being mobile. From expat kids to retired ambas-sadors; from frequent travellers to entire families on the move; it tells the stories of experienced expats and young people embarking on their international careers. 20 profiles of mobile people living and work-ing outside their home country - 20 pictures of what drives them.

this book, celebrating 20 years of expertise in Labour Mobility, highlights the stories and experien ces of those living and working around the globe. it explains what drives world citizens to be mobile.


woRd of thaNks

2012 was expertise in Labour Mobility’s year of celebration. we are in business for 20 years and that called for a party! On the 22nd of June we organised a seminar on “the architecture of Mobility: what makes the world go round?”. with nearly a 100 clients, colleagues and friends, we discussed at the dutch architecture institute (nai) in rotterdam what constitutes mobility. For people – expats, students, high potentials – mobility has become an integrated concept of modern life nowadays. the diversity of the speakers provided us with the opportunity to understand what defines mobility. We are grateful that architect prof Michiel riedijk (neutelings riedijk architects), expat manager priscilla van der Linden (rabobank international), policy maker dr irene Jansen (daad Jakarta) and medical doctor prof dr eric sijbrands (erasmus MC) were willing to share their vision on mobility. Getting a peek view into the various disciplines showed the participants how mobility influences our day-to-day lives. From the actual movement of people through time and build-ings, to the practicalities of sending people across borders, from policy decisions to attract and retain international talent to the effects of migration on a population’s healthcare – the different aspects of in-ternational labour mobility painted a comprehensive picture of what mobility entails. the event was a great success thanks to the speakers, the effective and humorous chairing by rens de Jong, the participants and of course the eLM team. i would

like to take this opportunity to thank my entire team, Joseph Cavanna, Lotte edelkoort, diana Lefterache, archie pollock, wytske siegersma and alfa Maria tampubolon for their enthusiasm and for making it happen. particular thanks go to Lotte edelkoort for the organisation of the event. Over the years many young people have worked at expertise in Labour Mobility during an internship, several of them have stayed in a regular job, but each of those young, often foreign, talents have contributed to the success and insight of what makes mobility work. i’m grateful to each of them!

an organisation never stays in business if its services and products do not meet a market – our clients, some of which we have worked with over the entire period of 20 years, deserve a big thank you – with-out them we would not have sustained those 20 years – we thank them for their support and interest in expertise in Labour Mobility. the 20 people who were willing to be interviewed for this booklet “what drives an expat” deserve our gratitude too. they pro-vide the readers with an insight into their intrinsic motivation to live and work abroad – and they show us what drives an expat. enjoy reading this publica-tion, we enjoy sharing it with you!

Nannette RipmeesterCEO and Founder of Expertise in Labour Mobilitynovember 2012


"as ambassador you have your car with your driver, but that does not stop you from using

other means of mobility…"

eRic Niehe (1943)

Home Countrythe netherlands

Host Countryvia venezuela, Ghana, Brussels, india,

ireland, hungary, and india again back to the netherlands

PosItIondiplomat, retired

last post: dutch ambassador to india

what inspired you to move abroad? in 1968 i was part of the dutch Olympic rowing-8. we headed to the Olympics in Mexico, and this trip triggered a curiosity for unknown cultures and countries. the Mexico i en-countered was quite different from the Mexico i had seen on dutch television: much more diversity, poverty yes, but also middle class and rich people. a small anecdote: when we went for our practice to the regatta course, a dutch newspaper reported that the Mexican organisers had not sufficiently catered for the transport of the athletes. To the contrary, the transport was very well organized. however we preferred to hitchhike, as we would be picked up by young good-looking Mexican girls in their daddy’s large cars, who were very willing to bring us to our practice – what more could a bunch of a young men wish for? has there always been the urge to move abroad? no, but my Mexican experience had prompted a ‘wanderlust’ in me. at that time (1970), there were three options to satisfy that: work for a multinational company, get a job in the development aid sector, or join the dutch Foreign service.The last option sounded most tempting. Just before my first posting to Venezuela my fian-cée Louise and i decided to get married. we had this romantic idea of closing our bond in Caracas, until we realised that the service would be conducted in spanish, a language we did not yet master sufficiently. So we decided to have our civil wedding in Amsterdam. It was the 60s: we got married in a green woolen unisex outfit, leaving the clerk to believe that it were our two witnesses he had to wed. he realized in time that it was us and so we went as a married couple to our first diplomatic posting.

what has impressed you most during your postings abroad?the possibility to get submerged in different societies and cultures. Our curiosity grew with every posting– we have always strived to get to know the country and its people, particu-larly outside of the diplomatic circles. sports, helped in some countries: from the Friday afternoon tennis followed by heineken beer in Ghana to rowing with the veterans in dublin and Budapest. why india twice? India is most fascinating. That was so in the eighties during my first posting there, that was even more so during my second stint, as dutch ambassador (2003-2007).demography, democracy and diversity – with a 4th d, dynamism, added in recent years. the diversity in this country, from religion to languages, and the ease by which the indians navigate it, is admirable. - Gandhi said “Be yourself the change you want to see in the world”. i have tried to embrace india as it is, and at my return to the netherlands the indian com-munity here has embraced me. they make me feel as if i had not left india; it feels as a continuation. that is something i cherish. what did you miss most about your country of origin? “hagelslag!”


what inspired you to move abroad, and why did you choose the Netherlands?In fact, it was my Dutch girlfriend at the time. That definitely influenced my decision quite a bit. i had also met several dutch people during my holidays in France, and i felt a connection with their culture. i got along very well with them. eventually when i was considering doing a master degree abroad, i felt that the netherlands was a good idea.

have you always wanted to move abroad?Not really, to be honest. The first time I went abroad was to Aalborg. I moved abroad because i could. i do feel that moving abroad is something worth doing, something that everyone should experience at some point in their lives. i felt the time was right and went for it. after studying abroad i knew that living abroad was something i would enjoy.

what has impressed you most in the Netherlands?i really enjoy the dutch directness. in other cultures, especially those you are unfamiliar with, it is often difficult to know what a person is thinking or feels about you or some-thing else. in the netherlands people have a tendency to say what they think, i very much appreciate that. You tend to know where you stand. i was also surprised by the vast amount of international people that i came across. it could be the fact that i have been liv-ing in rotterdam, which is a multicultural city. But my impression is that it is something you also see in other parts of the netherlands.

what food do you like best and worst in the Netherlands?My most and least favourite food in the netherlands is the same one: Kapsalon. it is my most favourite because it tastes really good, and least favourite because it is really bad for you. Kapsalon, a dish that originates from rotterdam, consists of fries and shoarma or döner meat, grilled with a layer of cheese on top, and topped by some salad, mayonaise and sambal sauce.

if there was one thing you could change about the Netherlands, what would it be?dutch customer service, which happens to be quite the opposite of British customer ser-vice. in the netherlands it often feels as if i’m asking staff in a shop for a favour, which i don’t feel i am since it’s their job to provide service. in the UK people will go a little bit out of their way to help you, the dutch in general won’t.

one last question: how do you travel from home to work in the Netherlands? On the jog, son! Oh, and sometimes i bike.

aRchie pollock (1985)

Home Country scotland

Host Countrythe netherlands

PosItIonCultural projects Coordinator,expertise in Labour Mobility

"On the jog to work..."


what inspired you to move abroad? as a little girl in China i dreamt of becoming a journalist. My mum, a radio presenter and journalist herself, was less enthusiastic about this choice. in China, career choices are quite heavily influenced by parents, hence I opted for a literature and language study abroad. i did an internship at expertise in Labour Mobility, worked four years for Green-peace in Amsterdam, but, I’ve finally realised my dream and I’m working now as a journalist.

why this country? when thinking about international study options i automatically thought about the Us or the UK. in fact, i ended up in amsterdam. it wasn’t a deliberate choice, but i became pen pals with a dutch boy, and guess what: we are married now and we have two boys together!

have you always wanted to move abroad? Yes. as a 13-year old girl i went to a special language school in nanjing and i had foreign friends. they were much more mature and independent – i was very impressed. i wanted to be just as interesting and adventurous as those kids.

what impressed you most in this country?dutch directness! i love it! it took me a while to get adapted but now i’m almost addicted to being so straightforward. i see mainly advantages...

what has surprised you most in this country?Clinton said once about the netherlands “small country – big footprint” and i agree. when i came to the netherlands i knew you had van Gogh, Gouda cheese and wooden shoes. i had no idea how small the country was as the netherlands is quite well known in China.

what food do you like best about your host country? well… food still is an issue. Erwtensoep, cheese and bread is one thing, but food such as Boerenkool is just awful. i’ve no idea how people can like that!

what do you miss about your home country? Obvious answer: i miss Chinese food! the different tastes, the variety Chinese food offers. But i also miss the busy evening life. in the evenings, when people are done working, you have evening markets, street entertainment, etc. particularly the fact that you can go out after work and shop until 10 pm is something i miss here in the netherlands.

if anything, what would you change in your host country? i would change the ‘poldermodel’. the dutch longing for consensus drives me nuts. at work there can be endless discussions with dutch colleagues, everyone has an opinion and feels entitled to that opinion. to me the netherlands would be an even better place without all that talking. when something is done, it is done and people should get on with their lives.

Bei waNg (1977)

Home Country China

Host Country netherlands

Industry Journalist,

Chief editor China desk rnw

My means of transportation? a bike of course! i’ve become very

dutch i guess: biking through the rain with your kids…


what inspired you to move abroad? the Bay area was a place which stole our hearts. My wife’s mother and sister lived in sacramento and we fell in love with California. Moving to this area was something con-stantly in the back of our minds, but we thought it was not very realistic. i had a safe posi-tion in London, we had a young son and a little baby boy. But winters in London seemed to get wetter and with every wet UK winter the temptation grew… and then my wife was offered a job in san Francisco and i could start in UCsF. My professional area was really taking off in the Us; i was offered an interesting position with the possibility to develop new techniques. Of course we had second thoughts, but it was so appealing, we made the step. have you enjoyed making the step abroad? Yes! Yosemite is close and the perfect getaway for camping with two young boys, you can go skiing after a 2.5 hour drive and you are next to the coast. it was a bit of a downer that we could not sell our London house and as a consequence had to rent apartments for 4 or 5 years – but altogether we have never regretted the step.

did you experience a culture shock?we lived in the early seventies in the Midwest of the Us – that was a culture shock! But going in the late eighties from London to san Francisco can hardly be seen as a culture shock. sF is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and the atmosphere is very similar to London. in fact it was just awesome! But i have to admit my weekly subscrip-tion to the Guardian was a bit of a lifeline. nowadays you have internet and when i wake up, i have the UK headlines before Britain is awake, but back then i missed the British news and the BBC quite a lot.

what do you like best about your host country? i love the diversity of the food; there are so many restaurants at such affordable prices. that has changed now in the UK, but if you compared the restaurant scene in London in the eighties with that in sF – you were in for a shock! such variety of restaurants was unthinkable, certainly at those prices. But i, shamefully, have to admit i missed english beer with porkpie… Oh gosh and cricket – i missed cricket, both playing it and watching it on television – terribly British, but something i did miss a lot!

if anything, what would you change in your host country? the health system – that is very disappointing in the Us, certainly when compared with the British nhs.

are you a curious person? Yes of course! i’m a scientist! i’m curious by nature! i want to know how the universe works – i want to understand it in its widest aspects!

clive pulliNgeR (1949)

Home Countrythe United Kingdom, London

Host Countrythe United states, Bay area, California

Industry Biochemist, associate professor,

Cardiovascular institute University of California, san Francisco

"Not sexy, but terribly efficient. i travel to UCsF with the Bart"


coliN wolfe (1956)

Home Countryireland

Host CountryBelgium

Industryinternational administrator european

Commission (transnational programmes Baltic sea region)

what inspired you to move abroad? Coming from ireland, i wanted to get the bigger perspective, understand the bigger plan behind things. and ‘europe’ seemed a very exciting place, the place to be. have you always wanted to move abroad? Yes. when i was 15, i decided i wanted an international job. i was very naïve and had no idea what i meant by it. i came up with the idea of becoming a geologist as i saw this as the best opportunity to end up in an international job. in hindsight i think the idea of spending time in the jungle of Brazil or in alaska would not have been a match with my skill set, but at that time it seemed the perfect choice.

what impressed you most in this country?working with all the different nationalities is without doubt the most intriguing thing about working at the european Commission. in our team we have 25 different natio-nalities, even trainees from outside the european Union. all those different perspectives help you to form better ideas and may help you understand how to get things working at their best. i do not consider myself very forceful, but over the years i’ve learned to be more diplomatic in saying things trying to reconcile differences. On the other hand, i’ve just been working with someone from the Us and directness of speech suddenly got a very different meaning.

what has surprised you most in this country?when i started in Brussels i was not expecting the level of bureaucracy. i came from the irish civil service, so had experienced bureaucracy before, but i had not expected a european institution to be based so much on a different national model. the French rules-based culture was at that time strongly present and to me that included rigidity of decision-making. nowadays the Commission is much more action and solution driven, although, because of the nature of the work, regulations remain important.

what food do you like best about your host country? ah! the Brasserie-style food is great; the combination of nice food in an informal atmos-phere is a mix i really like.

what do you miss about your home country? i miss the sea. the sea because it is so much part of ireland, it is always there, part of the landscape and the weather. next to the sea, i miss the people, not certain people in par-ticular, but just the familiarity i feel with irish people in general.

if anything, what would you change in your host country? if the Commission was not based here, i might not have ended up living in Brussels. the city doesn’t have the attraction of amsterdam or paris. Furthermore, the country has no dra-matic scenery or coastline, but i became fond of it and appreciate it now. it is a very human place that has to reconcile and accommodate differences and that is it's attraction to me.

"i would love to travel to work in a car like this, a little on the

dramatic side but…"


hasse RomBouts (2000)

Home Country Belgium

Host Countrysingapore

Industry school kid

what was it like moving abroad and going to a new school? i remember before we left and you interviewed me for the philips ‘Moving Abroad’ Maga-zine I was rather anxious: That first school-day was indeed scary. I had no idea what to expect, what the school was going to be like, in which grade i would enter school, what the children were like, whether i could talk with them as i did not speak english when we left. But in hindsight it wasn’t that bad. none of the kids could speak english – we did not join the mainstream class because that is for native english kids living in singapore – they were all new and excited, just like me.

what food do you like best in your host country? prata! Lea, our housekeeper who lives with us, makes them and she is a very good cook. it is normal here to have someone living with you and taking care of you. we will soon go back to Belgium and then my mum and dad will have to cook again… i will miss Lea i think. what has impressed you most in your host country? i guess learning new things – i have had to learn many new things but i like that. i love speaking english – at home our parents want us to speak Flemish, but i’m proud i learned to speak english rather quick. i also like learning new things at school. we have humani-ties and i like that a lot. we learned about the evolution of civilisation, about different dynasties and we had to write something about our favourite country and i wrote about Belgium and that was very nice.

what do you miss most about your home country?My friends! My friends and my family i miss most. in Belgium it is common to have a special friend, somebody you know everything from and that you have a special bond with. here it is different; everybody is friends with everybody. we are all here for a short period and we are all looking for friends, but you do not bond with just one person. that is what i miss most. i do skype occasionally with my friends in Belgium, but due to time differences that is not easy and we do share a skype group in which we just write things – but that is different.

if there was one thing you could change in your host country – what would it be? I think I would like to find a solution for all the differences between people. There are people from so many different backgrounds and it is so easy to insult someone. i do not make jokes too often because you may say something that hurts somebody else’s feelings and that is not what i want to happen. everybody has their own traditions and rituals and that is sometimes a bit confusing because i do not know all these traditions and i can easily make a mistake.

would you like to work abroad yourself later as a grown-up? No definitely not, maybe go abroad on a holiday or so, but not working in another country – i know more people in Belgium and it is my baby language – i feel happy in Belgium.

"i wish i could travel to school each day like this…"


maRitess soBejaNa(1973)

Home Countryphilippines

Host Countryvia singapore to hong Kong

Industrysenior Manager

philips Consumer Lifestyle

what inspired you to move abroad? the opportunity to work with people in a different culture and environment really appealed to me. For me, moving abroad means opening yourself up to a new world of learning and experience. working in hong Kong inspires me a lot. it gives me ideas about a different mindset and I find it a valuable experience to adapt to this new culture. Dea-ling and communicating with people who all have different backgrounds really satisfies me, especially when we succeed in reaching the objective set beforehand.

have you always wanted to move abroad?i was always open to the idea of moving abroad. when philips offered me a job in hong Kong in 2009 i decided to at least consider it. it was a pretty hard decision because my husband and two children would stay behind in singapore. however, after some good conversations with my family i decided to take the plunge and took off to hong Kong. it is relatively close to singapore; besides the fact that my family still lives there, i also consider singapore as my second home because i lived there for over 15 years. Moving to Hong Kong three years ago was the first time I have been away from my family. Particu-larly in the beginning it was very difficult. Thanks to all the technology it is easier to keep in touch with them. and although we miss each other a lot, also a lot of positive things have happened which would not have happened if i had rejected this assignment!

what has impressed you most in this country?the public transport here is really convenient, especially the trains. it operates at fre-quent intervals; every 2–3 minutes during peak hours and between 6–10 minutes during non-peak hours.

what food do you like most in your host country?i like the hong Kong “dim sum”. this is typical Chinese food, prepared as small bites of food that are traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. i usually eat dim sum when i go out to a restaurant to have a cup of tea, because tea is traditionally served with dim sum.

if there is anything you could change in your host country – what would it be?First, i would bring down or moderate the property prices. the prices are sky high and only millionaires can afford it. secondly, i would promote the use of the english language in hong Kong, while at the same time preserving their mother tongue. hong Kong is con-sidered to be one of the world’s leading international financial centers, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia Pacific region. Being in-ternational, it is surprising to see that the majority of the people, including the younger generation, are not able to speak (proper) english.

how do you travel from home to work in hong kong?By a train called ‘KCr’ (a high speed train service) and mini-bus.

"My means of transportation? i miss the philippine’s “jeepneys”

as a mode of transportation!"


aNtoiNette de weeRd (1966)


Host CountryFrequent traveller

based in the netherlands

Industrysenior purchasing,

high-end fashion chain Claudia sträter

what inspired you to move abroad? i always wanted to move abroad. as an au-pair i spent a few months in paris, and after completing my Master’s degree at the University of amsterdam i was convinced paris was waiting for me. But it turned out it was not that easy to find a job abroad. In the meantime my career progressed in the netherlands and these days i spend at least 4 months a year travelling, so my need for wanting to be abroad has declined. which countries do you travel to on a regular basis? i go at least twice a year to China, spending lots of time in hong Kong. i also regularly go to hungary, Bulgaria, romania, and… i still go to paris quite regularly, so my love for paris is continually fed!

what impressed you most in these countries?My work allows me to travel but also provides enough time and space to truly interact with local people. i try and go to the same hotels and build up relationships with the peo-ple working there. not because i like to show off to colleagues if i’m greeted at the door by name, but because I sincerely like to find out what the lives of these people encom-pass. seeing holiday pictures of someone who has saved 5 years to go and visit a place special to them enriches me as a person. it makes me realise how privileged i am and it puts things into perspective. what has surprised you most during your travels?the pleasure people have in living their lives. even with very little means, people are able to enjoy and appreciate life. it does strike me how people in the netherlands can sometimes complain about their life which is in such a contrast to what i’ve experienced in countries where life is certainly less luxurious.

what do you pack if you go abroad? always too much! i bring lots of clothes also because it is important in my job to look fashionable. But i’m quite like a chameleon; when shopping on a local street market in hong Kong i wear very different clothes from being at Chanel in paris. i try to blend in as much as possible and try and take in the colour of my surroundings. power dressing is saved for when i have to do tough business negotiations.

are you a curious person? Yes! i’m extremely curious; i want to know it all! i want to meet people, learn about their culture, their lives. i have to admit when i started travelling i spend many nights having dinner in my hotel room. But at some point i got truly bored with the biscuits from the mini bar! now i go out and have dinner by myself, although some countries are easier than others if you are a female business traveller. But in these instances my chameleon traits do help…

"if i'm not in a plane, i travel by car to visit our shops"


jude oBi (1967)

Home Countrynigeria

Host Countrythe netherlands

PosItIonshift production Manager,

FrieslandCampina

have you always wanted to move abroad?Yes, it was always my desire to move abroad, i love travelling. i always had that inner drive and passionate desire to travel and meet people of various races, backgrounds, cul-tures and traditions. any job that gives me the opportunity to reach and interact with dif-ferent people would be a dream job. if my occupation wouldn’t give me this opportunity, I would definitely use my holiday to travel. With my current job I have been able to travel to Germany, spain, switzerland, Belgium and the netherlands. i also travelled to some parts of africa during my holidays.

what factors motivated you to work in the Netherlands?apart from the intrinsic value of going to a new country, there were some practical rea-sons that motivated me. For one, the fact that you are paid in Euros is quite beneficial. the salary is higher, and the conversion to my home currency worked to my advantage. another reason for moving to the netherlands was that, as an engineer, getting the right tools and machines from suppliers is far easier than in my home country. And finally, it was a good opportunity for me to get to know people and build relationships for future projects.

what food did you enjoy the most during your stay in the Netherlands?i enjoyed many different foods, but i really liked the tomato soup and the bread that was served with it. it temporarily replaced the food that i missed the most from nigeria, the ewedu soup, which is made with ewedu leaves.

what dutch food did you not enjoy as much?(Laughs) I don’t need long to think about that: the raw fish. I did not particularly like haring.

what surprised you the most about the Netherlands?everything was so different. i was particularly amazed by how everything is so organised. For example, the traffic is very well organised. The bicycles have their own lines, the cars drive in an organised manner. trams, trains, busses, it is all very well organised.

what were your means of transportation during your stay in the Netherlands?My means of transportation in the netherlands was mostly cycling. when going to work and moving around town i would use the bicycle. i really enjoyed it as well while doing some sightseeing or visiting some friends. if i wanted to visit some nearby cities for work or for visiting some friends i would catch a train.

"Office life, and life in general, is extremely organised in the

netherlands."


maRco gRaziosi (1965)

Home Countryitaly

Host CountryCanada but in the process of moving to the

Usa

Industryvice Consul at the italian Consulate General

what inspired you to move abroad? i have always loved to travel and when i fell in love with a dutch girl as a teenage boy i knew i really liked to experience other cultures and other countries. i’m very proud of my native city rome, but i’ve learned rome can also make you lazy in believing it has all a city can offer. i know now, rome has a lot to offer, but it is just another destination. My job in the italian diplomatic service has offered me the possibility to travel, but it is my family – my wife and our twin daughters who have made it happen. we lived in Melbourne and sydney in australia, have spent 4 years in toronto and our now literally preparing for our move to Chicago. we have been told 2 weeks ago and have now 3 weeks to prepare the move – but we like challenges! why this country? australia was great, a bit far from the rest of the world, but a great place to live and work and raise your kids. Toronto was our first choice, and this time my wife and I had hoped to move closer to europe, however the girls are thrilled to stay in an education system they understand. For me personally it is less about the country as such and more about the actual job i do. and i think i’m very privileged with my work – i enjoy every day of it!

what impressed you most in this country?the city of toronto is easy going, has a very relaxed way of living, but it is the variety and the true multiculturalism that has impressed me most. what has surprised you most in this country?the humbleness of the people, they are extremely polite, almost apologetic. But the mul-ticultural attitude, the genuinely mixed society has surprised me most. i thought after australia there could be no destination that was more inclusive and tolerant, however toronto has surprised me. respect, integration, a great sense of community, it is all there and it is combined with an easiness of pursuing career opportunities. You can guess this city has stolen my heart!

what food do you like best about your host country? again it is the diversity, you can eat everything here. But my favourite restaurant is prob-ably the restaurant of a friend of mine in sydney. Food means a lot to me – i’m italian so what else do you expect! - but it is the connection with other people which makes me enjoy food most.

what do you miss about your home country? Culture!

if anything, what would you change in your host country? i have loved every country we stayed in, but if the Canadians would be a bit more extro-vert I think it would do them more justice. They are a bit flat in their emotions… or maybe i’m very italian in that sense too!

"Of course there is the official car, but I believe a bike is faster and healthier too…"


maRia jose saNchez(1979)

Home Country Guatemala

Host Countrydenmark

PosItIonstudent at Copenhagen Business school

"public transport is well organised in denmark, so usually i take the train or the

metro to the university or to work. when i lived in Copenhagen, i also went to

the city centre by bike.

what inspired you to move abroad?in 1999, i met my husband anders – i was living in Guatemala with my family and he was travelling through Central america. For four years, we were in a long distance relation-ship in which we saw each other only two times a year. this situation was not ideal, so we decided to give it a try and i moved to denmark in 2003. we both studied in aarhus and after in Copenhagen. in 2009, after my Bachelor’s degree, our son victor was born. i took a year off before i started with my Master’s degree at Copenhagen Business school which I am about to finish right now. It is quite common in Denmark to take a break between your studies to work or travel or, in my case, take care of a child. have you always wanted to move abroad?no, actually it has never crossed my mind. i really like travelling, but i was happy in Gua-temala and i never thought about moving away from my family. this is however some-thing i could not have expected – looking back to it, i would not have done it differently.

do you speak danish?soon after i moved to denmark, i started learning the language, and i got a side job next to my studies to practice my danish and to really get to know the danish culture. For me, it was really important to do this since it was my ticket into society. when you really want to integrate in a new society for a substantial period of time, it is crucial to create your own life with your own friends. i wanted to be independent, and not living my husband’s life.

what has impressed you most in denmark?The welfare system – it is unbelievably good. At the same time I find it one of the most surprising things within the danish society. even though this system provides everyone with enough money, you still see people living on the street. in Guatemala, there are many poor people, but they do not have a choice. here, it seems like people do have a choice.

what do you like best and worst about denmark?The worst is definitely the weather – it is so unpredictable, and I just can’t get used to it. It is one of the things I miss the most about Guatemala. Also I find the lack of spon-taneity difficult to cope with, especially in the beginning. In Denmark, you have to plan everything in advance. so meeting the danish was not that easy – i really had to change my attitude. One of the best things about denmark is the safety. it feels so good to not worry about crimes and kidnaps. For small children like victor, the quality of life is high in denmark. that is one of the main reasons we’re not thinking about moving to Guatemala in the near future. it is just not safe there. But sometimes we think about moving somewhere else...!


mauRo Nicolao(1975)

Home Countryitaly

Host CountrySheffield, England, UK

PosItIonearly stage researcher

at the University of Sheffield

"I walk. Sheffield is very hilly, thus cycling is not that easy, and i also live

quite close to the department where i work. to move around the country,

i am a train enthusiast."

how do you like living abroad?Before moving to Sheffield, I had travelled a lot, but I had never lived abroad. And in the beginning, it was sometimes difficult to get settled and sort out the practicalities. Right now, i really enjoy living here. together with my girlfriend, who was also willing to move abroad, it is a great opportunity to broaden our horizons. actually, i feel more and more like a stranger when i return to italy. i’m developing an outsider’s view on my own cul-ture, and sometimes i can’t stand the common italian attitudes. For example, i come from a country where it’s a surprise when public officers or waiters are polite with people. But here the customer care is so good. especially in Yorkshire: people here are direct but always friendly and polite. You could call it fake and it’s maybe not always sincere, but i’m enjoying it while i can. this part of england is very different (in a good sense) from places such as London and Cambridge.

have you always wanted to move abroad?i have always been interested in seeing new places and meeting new cultures, but i never thought I’d actually move abroad though. Now it’s difficult not to keep moving.

what has impressed you most about england?i am a huge fan of British music and being here i realised why it’s so good. in every part of this country and especially in Sheffield, music is part of everyone’s life. Every pub has live music and concerts. And the most striking thing is that you can find all sorts of people at these gigs – from young teenagers to middle-class adults.

what food do you like best in england?i actually like the food here, especially the pub food from the country side like sunday roast and Yorkshire pudding. i can however not cope with black pudding and real eng-lish breakfast. it was striking for me to notice that food is actually made for the country – here is it often colder than in italy, so it feels more natural to eat the english food. eat like the english do, i would say.

what do you miss most about your country of origin?the ‘aperitivo’ for sure! You sit in a nice place by the seaside or riverside, with good food and drinks. But this is not just an after-work drink with friends, but much more. it is a great way of chilling out and chatting with people. it is a state of mind that i need to get rid of the stress of the day. I can’t find the same attitude in pubs. if there was one thing you could change in england, what would it be?the imperial system for measures – it makes no sense that i buy 1 kilo of potatoes but that my weight is 13.5 stones. and also driving on the left-hand side!


melaNie maRtiNelli (1980)

Home Countryswitzerland

Host Countryindia

Industrydirector & principal Consultant,

Cultural & skills training and Consultancy, C2C

what inspired you to move abroad? well i rather call it an accident than career planning! i just had hunger for the unknown and when i was offered a job after my internship abroad i just said yes. why this country? again an accident; i had to do a 4-months internship abroad for my master thesis and 3 weeks before i would head to russia the company where i would do this internship went bankrupt. i asked the student organisation aieseC for help and said ‘Anything will do’. they came up with an internship in india, next i was offered a job and now after 8 years i have a company with 3 partners and 10 staff in Bangalore. to me it all happened acciden-tally, without planning, but according to indian people it is my faith!

have you always wanted to move abroad? Yes. when i was 15 i decided the level of english taught at my school was not good enough and subsequently i arranged for a year abroad at an american high school. at 16 i went to the Us. i grew up in switzerland and my university course brought me to 3 different countries. i just have a passion for travelling and discovering new places and cultures.

what impressed you most in this country?the constant energy that seems present in everything and everybody. nothing seems or-ganised or established, yet it works. And the contrast you find in India: Unity in diversity. You have on the one hand huge international investments in india and on the other hand very backward industries; you have extremely wealthy people versus very poor people; you have the best and the brightest global it talent versus illiteracy. and of course you have history and tradition versus a very fast international development in india. this country holds all those differences and somehow it manages.

what food do you like best about your host country? i love Masala dosa, a south indian breakfast or snack, i love vegetable dishes and the variety of food, but i noticed i’m getting languid about food. i used to indulge myself in in-dia and indian cuisine and had different dishes almost every day, i wanted to try it all. But now i’m here for 8 years and i must admit i’m happy we have a place called ‘Café noir’ sell-ing european style coffee. the excitement has worn off a little; maybe i need to move again.

what do you miss about your home country? i thought i was never going to say it but the bread and cheese was something i would start to miss after a while. however, globalisation has not left the indian supermarkets untouched and you can buy almost everything here now – but still… i miss the easy access to nature; the Indian infrastructure is not helping in that sense and the huge traffic jams are not helpful either.

if anything, what would you change in your host country? The traffic!

"For years i used the tuktuk as my main means of transportation –

quick, cheap and very indian - but i do have a chauffeured car now."


Niels vaN duiNeN(1965)


Host CountryUsa

PosItIondirector of Global Marketing,

philips Lighting

"i walk, because only that way i can get as close to the actual environ-

ment as possible."

what inspired you to move abroad?More than 15 years ago, my wife France and I moved abroad for the first time. Actually, for France it wasn’t her first time, since she has spent almost her whole life outside her home country. i lived my whole life in the netherlands, but i always felt a desire to travel and to see more of the world. so when my employer gave us the opportunity to move to Lyon, I was happy to finally be able fulfill my curiosity. After Lyon, we moved to Dubai, paris, and currently we live nearby Boston in the Usa. in the meantime our family has grown by two, with our children Ulysse and Cassandre.

what do you like most about living abroad?For me, living abroad has always been an adventure: cultural differences are not risky or dangerous, but they offer chances and possibilities. and moreover, getting out of your comfort zone makes you understand your own culture better. after all, it is with contrast you can see things well... You need to be flexible, interested, sometimes patient and full of trust in every new situation, but intercultural encounters always result in such valuable experiences.

what is it like to live abroad for so many years?when i left 17 years ago, the netherlands was the country where the journey started, but it is not automatically the place where our journey will end. it is so easy to lose your anchors along the way, but in the end your own culture will always be your point of ref-erence. Therefore I find it very important to maintain my social and cultural connection with the netherlands. a few years ago, France and i bought a holiday home in France to create an anchor point for us and our children. it is the place where our photo albums are and where we can meet up with our family. it is also the place where France and i met twenty-seven years ago on holiday.

how do you travel from home to work in your host country?this question made me think about my favorite means of transportation. i came to the conclusion that it is walking, because only that way i can get as close to the actual envi-ronment as possible. this is important for me, since i still feel the need to get absorbed in the local situation. the other day i had to go to san Marcos in texas for work. Usually i arrive by plane, get in the car to drive to our company, and i sleep in the usual hotel chain. this sometimes frus-trates me, because i can only see the highway. so this time i booked a small and charming bed and breakfast in town, one where they usually do the local weddings. and after a long day of work, it was so nice to walk next to the old train track, to see the river where the inhabitants started to build their settlement. this is what i like so much about mobility: seeing new places, encountering new cultures, and discovering local history.


pamela spokes (1975)

Home CountryCanada, prince George

Host Countryvia the UK, Canada, sweden, Finland,

Japan, scotland, and back to the helsinki area in Finland

Industryinternational student development,

higher education sector aalto University

what inspired you to move abroad? according to my grandma i have gypsy blood! in the 1950s my grandparents went from the UK to Canada, my mother was their first child born in Canada and when I was 11 my mum returned to the UK and we lived in the village my grandmother originally came from. as a teenager i resented the British school system, with uniforms and so many rules. i went from liberal to rule-bound, but in the end the structure ensured an academic interest in me which may otherwise have been less present. have you always wanted to move abroad? Yes, definitely, I get cabin-fever! I cannot stay too long in the same spot (although this has had to wind down a bit since having a child). it seems that there is a northern theme weaving its way into my destiny . even my two years in Japan were spent in the north of the northern island, close to russia and the most ‘sunny’ place i ever lived in was scotland. But i do love a warm climate and sunny summers; i just somehow never man-age to end up in such places. and now i’m living in Finland, with a Finnish husband, a daughter and a baby on the way… but the urge to live an international life has not left me. in my current job i travel a lot and the focus of my work is the internationalisation of higher education. it is a combination that i have always found irresistible- education and international. and i already had this urge in high school; in Canada, i introduced a new category to the yearbook: “A world beyond Prince George” and i used it to interview those students that came from abroad. That Latvian boy whose family ‘fled Communism’ was so much more interesting than my other classmates who all came from the same area, did the same things, had the same ideas… at 16 i was already into adventure.

would you describe yourself as a curious and adventurous person?Yes, apart from food. My grandparents came from the UK and boiled everything. i am certainly curious and adventurous, but not so much when it comes to food.

what do you like best about your host country? The ‘integration’ levels of the systems. If I move house here in Finland I just tell one office and all government offices and banks, and some others are informed. It is totally diffe-rent to Canada where moving between provinces makes it necessary for you to take out 3 months of private health insurance, because you cannot bring your insurance from one province to another, and this is in a country where they have socialized health care! another example of this integration is if i get a speeding ticket in Finland, the police of-ficer swipes my driving license and based on my income the fine is decided. The more you earn the higher the fine!

if anything, what would you change in your host country? the language!

"it is a shame i can not travel to work zorbing everyday..."


louise Nicol (1975)

Home CountryUnited Kingdom

Host Country: Malaysia

Industryinternational education Consultancy

what inspired you to move abroad? My husband was offered a job in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, two and a half years ago, so we decided to take the opportunity and move abroad. One year after our arrival in Kuala Lumpur we had our daughter emily. since emily’s birth we have had many adventures – in her first year of life, Emily travelled to the UK twice, to Australia, Burma, New Zealand and singapore. More than most people travel in a lifetime!

have you always wanted to move abroad?i was brought up overseas and spent my youth in south america, the Middle east and Japan. after studying in UK, i began working for the Ministry of education in Japan. i found Japan an amazing country, culturally very rich but i also experienced extreme culture shock living and working there. there is a great deal of social etiquette in Japan, fortu-nately people were always very understanding that as a foreigner you make mistakes. Living overseas as a child and working in Japan, the move to Kuala Lumpur was a great opportunity for me and my family. whilst i am used to living overseas it does not make it any less exciting!

what has impressed you most in this country?in Kuala Lumpur the level of english is very high and the population really value edu-cation. Malaysian people are very friendly and welcoming towards foreigners. if for instance i go to the local market to buy fruit and vegetables the locals are always willing to help me choose the best product. at the same time people never create a fuss around me, something i have experienced in other parts of the world.

what food do you like best or worst in your host country?all cuisines are great! the Chinese, Malay and indian people all have really good food. plus, a rich colonial history means there is a great deal of fusion food here. i love curry laksa, chicken rice, sate & fresh seafood, to name just a few. the food is great here!

what do you miss most about your country of origin?People that can drive follow the rules of the road and park considerately. The traffic is indescribably chaotic in Kuala Lumpur and a short journey can take forever. Usually, the locals are very considerate but, as soon as they get into a car, that all changes! it is not unheard of for drivers to reverse down three lane highways if they miss their exit.

how do you travel from home to work?after my daughter was born i quit working temporarily but now she is 18 months, i will start working again. i run my business from home so don’t have to travel between home and work. we have two cars, a BMw and a range rover. due to import tax, cars are relatively expen-sive in Malaysia so we have bought vintage cars, our range rover Classic is more than 30 years old. we also have a vintage vespa moped which is great in the city, and a bicycle. My husband usually takes the vespa to work during the week and uses the bike for recrea-tion at weekends.

"daughter emily is a world traveller already: she has been to 5 countries

in her first year - she may turn out to be like her mum..."


meRcedes RamiRez (1983)

Home CountryMexico

Host Country the netherlands

IndustryOnline Media, Game point

what inspired you to move abroad? Love!!!

have you always wanted to move abroad?Yes, i always had the feeling i would move abroad. it actually came as a surprise that love was the reason in the end. i visited europe for my “quinceañera” (the equivalent of a sweet sixteen party in america) and loved it immediately because of its history, culture and quality of life. also, the openness towards other cultures in the netherlands attracted me, although it has its limits too. people often think i am from Morocco and, to be hon-est, i noticed that is not always a positive thing… however, i am very happy to be here, especially after having a long distance relationship for two years it is really good to be together now. what has impressed you most in this country?First of all, the fight of the Dutch against water. I think it is unbelievable how the Dutch run and organise a country that finds itself completely below sea level. Also, I am amazed by the way traffic is organised in the Netherlands. In Mexico the bus stops whenever someone wants to get in or out of the bus. Over there, you just wave to the bus driver on the sidewalk and the bus stops (mostly). Here, the bus has fixed stops and runs according to a time table, usually on time – that quite impresses me. another thing that surprised me in the Dutch traffic is that I have the idea that cyclists and pedestrians have more rights and advantages than car drivers. In Mexico traffic is organised more based on the idea of the survival of the fittest: the bigger the vehicle, the more rights you have.

what food do you like worst in your host country?Meat like frikandellen! On the other hand, i love the dutch plate stamppot and the typical combination of potatoes, vegetables and meat. although i learned that the dutch them-selves do not eat it that often anymore. they seem to cook more internationally and eat pasta and rice all the time.

what has surprised you most in this country?Last year my father in law gave me a bike as a present for coming to live in holland. peo-ple warned me to always lock it. not only the lock on the bike itself, but also the chain to something steady; like a fence or a lamp post. One night i didn’t lock the chain and my bike was stolen. that was quite hurtful, especially because it was such a nice present. however, dutch people didn’t seem impressed at all and told me it happens all the time. they told me it didn’t really make sense to go to the police; apparently they wouldn’t re-ally do anything anyway because it is very common in the netherlands that your bike gets stolen. i thought to myself: ‘if it is so common, why don’t you do anything about it?’ in this sense, the dutch police doesn’t differ that much from the Mexican police!

how do you travel from home to work in the Netherlands?By bike of course!

“After my first bike got stolen i learned to lock it properly. it is not nice to learn things

the hard way…”


zaNa Rustemi (1984)

Home CountryMacedonia

Host Countryvia istanbul, the netherlands,

istanbul again to washington dC

Industryhr & recruitment specialist,

looking for work

what inspired you to move abroad? since i was a little girl i had pictured my life to end up abroad. i grew up in istanbul as the daughter of a diplomat, and we moved a lot when i was young, between Macedonia and turkey. if someone asks me where i’m from i say Macedonia, but istanbul is my second home – it’s the city where i feel most at ease, or maybe i should say ‘the least restless’. if i’m in one place for too long i just have to move again... i think i can stay maximum 5 years at the same spot! istanbul is the only place that has managed to keep my interest longer. i studied in the netherlands and although i liked amsterdam, i did think it was rather small and after a while i was happy to move again. when i was at university i became convinced of the idea of leading an international life. why did you move to washington dc? i got married 3 months ago to my turkish boyfriend and emre was offered a good job in washington dC. this was one of the hardest decisions of my life – i had a nice job and was asked to give up my career… it made me think twice. On the other hand, both of us want an international career and we have both seen western europe, the Balkan and the Mid-dle east… hence the only place we had not really visit was the Us. we both believe you build up the best career if you spend it in different places. the decision to go was made quickly. emre’s career path suddenly changed when the company he worked for came into ‘stormy weather’. We have given ourselves 3 months to find a job in the Washington area – we are both positive this will work out and if it doesn’t, we’ll just move east. we have not yet been in south east asia, and that part of the world offers many opportunities for young people such as ourselves. But this is the first time we have to think as a couple. Before we could just do what we felt like as an individual. now we have to think in op-portunities for both of us and that makes things quite different.

what has surprised you most in washington dc?the free museums; all well-equipped and in good condition. that is something which has surprised us in a positive way. i’m also pleasantly surprised that washington is a shop-ping heaven! But what i miss about istanbul is the diversity – in the streets, in the food, in the art. i think the arlington area where we are living is very mono-chronic, very corpo-rate in style. Of course there are certain distinct neighbourhoods, but what i’m missing is the diversity without having to look for it. and of course, i miss the view of the Bosporus!

"a metropolitan travel style..."


Yoshi gRote (1981)

Home CountryUK

Host CountryJapan

PosItIonenglish and intercultural communication

teacher at Kyoto sangyo University

what inspired you to move abroad?My father worked for the British foreign office, so I spent the first 17 years of my life over-seas, living in six different countries. at the age of 17, i moved ‘back home’ to complete my university degree in the UK. But after a few years the inevitable itchy feet set in, and from that moment moving abroad became (again) part of my life. it’s not easy for me to answer the question ‘where are you from’. i have a British passport, but going home to the UK, where my parents live, is actually not going home. it feels more foreign than any other place does. ‘Most people have a place they think of as home all their lives but for some, home is not a place, it’s a state of mind’ (Brats: Our Journey Home – D. Musil).

why did you decide to move to japan?why not? this is usually my philosophy behind moving to another country. however, this is the third time i’m living in Japan so i guess in a certain way it now becomes familiar. But it’s never too familiar. if it is too easy to go around, for example if i know where to find everything in the supermarket, I know it is time to move again. Japan is so different to other countries i have lived in, and that still keeps me interested.

what has surprised you most in japan?the Japanese know how to solve problems nobody knew existed. For example opening a package – in every other country you just figure out by yourself how to open a food pack-age. in Japan you get so many instructions on how to open it, and eventually the package opens really nicely. They always find little solutions for little problems. Another example: when it rains in Japan, there is a gadget developed which you place on your bike that holds your umbrella!

what do you do in japan?i teach english language and intercultural communication at a Japanese university. Japa-nese children learn english from junior school, so when they go to university they speak quite a bit of english. the school system focuses mainly on reading and writing, so it sometimes seems like they do not speak english, but they actually understand a lot!

what are you going to do next?well, my girlfriend and i both have a contract for around 3 to 4 years, which is quite a lot for me! after that, we do not know yet what will do and where we will move but hong Kong could be interesting…

how do you travel from home to work in japan?every morning i go to the train station by bike, and then after the train i take the bus. But i plan to buy a scooter because that is quite common here. after all, Japanese cities are quite densely populated, so travelling by car is very frustrating.

“i would love to own a scooter!”


hRóBjaRtuR daRRi kaRlssoN

(1961)

Home Country iceland

Host Countryvia United states, Germany austria,

norway, the netherlands, back to iceland

Industry Medical doctor

both Cardiologist and veterinarian

what inspired you to move abroad? in iceland you can study medicine, but for your specialisation it is essential to go abroad given the small size of the country. so there was a very practical reason for going abroad, but it was also something which i had always wanted to do. i have this urge to meet new people, new cultures, and experience new situations; the best way to satisfy this urge was by leaving iceland and exploring unknown pastures.

have you always wanted to move abroad? well, i’m a rather curious person, who indeed has this itch for the unknown, so i’ve al-ways wanted to go abroad. From being a young boy onwards, i wanted to discover new things. At first I wanted to become an astronaut, because going to the moon would defi-nitely have cured my curiosity, but while growing up, i came to realise that not that many people are sent to the moon. hence i settled for less high-level intrigue, and went for medicine. what impressed you most in the countries you have lived in?the people, the culture, the landscape; being in an unknown culture is something i really enjoy. i thrive in unknown circumstances and truly enjoy meeting new people and lear-ning about their lives. i always try to really understand what drives people and if you come from abroad into a new circle of friends, you can get a peek into their lives quite quickly if you are open and truly interested in them. what food do you like best from your host countries? When I went abroad the first time, I went to California. The availability of fruit surprised me most. i was used to half an apple a day, simply because there was very limited supply of fruit at that time in iceland. and the diet nowadays in iceland is quite limited, as we are not able to grow much fruit and vegetable in our climate.

why did you return to iceland? along the route i met my wife thorhilde and we have 3 teenage sons. we decided to re-turn to iceland because we wanted them to bond with iceland. we thought it made sense for them to really get to know their family, their ‘native’ language and their home country. At first, our boys were not happy with our choice because at that time we were living in norway again and they loved it. But now i think they do understand why we made that choice some years ago. we wanted to give them the opportunity to decide for themselves; iceland or anywhere in the world. You can only make the choice to ‘move somewhere’, if you have the feeling you ‘belong somewhere’, wherever that place is. we wanted them to have that choice.

if anything, what would you change in your host country? nothing! i always came to learn new things – why would i change anything?

"On my bike to the hospital is the most efficient and healthiest way."

what dRives aN expat?Cultural consequences of mobility

published by expertise in Labour Mobility (eLM) authors: Joseph Cavanna, Lotte edelkoort, archie pollock, nannette ripmeester, wytske siegersma Graphic design: blue in green/Jan van wessel printer: drukkerij de Maasstad isBn:978-90-5896-102-0 Copyright expertise in Labour Mobility/nannette ripmeester photo nannette ripmeester: shody Careman

© 2012 expertise in Labour Mobilityreproduction is authorised following written permission of expertise in Labour Mobility, except for commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.

What drives an expat?Whether travelling for work, or working for travel, people have gone to the ends of the earth for their job. This is certainly not a new trend; it’s been happening for many years. Experiencing travel and world culture have become paramount in the international labour market, so much so that without international experience, it’s as if a piece of the puzzle is missing...

This book, celebrating 20 years of Expertise in Labour Mobility, highlights the stories and experiences of those living and working around the globe. It explains what drives world citizens to be mobile.

Documents

What drives an expat? - Expertise in Labour Mobilityexpat policies, practices and services – it is a good example of eLM’s pragmatic slogan ‘making mobility ... no, but my Mexican