Top Expat Blogs and Forums

Expat blogs

International living insight is bountiful on the internet. There are many expatriates who want to share their stories with the world. A surprisingly large number of them are good writers and dynamic photographers. Naturally, these expats are able to make pretty compelling blogs.

These blogs give personal insight on what it is like leaving one culture and adjusting to a new one. If you are an American moving to Italy, then finding an expat blog written by an American living in Italy can provide you with valuable information. You can learn what the precise cultural differences are in your new country from the perspective of someone with a similar background. You also can get some insight on the logistical moving process to that particular country. Different countries often have very specific customs regulations and visa requirements that can vary based your origin country. Finding information from someone moving from your home country to the same country is valuable.

You can get an accurate view of what it is really like living in your destination country. You can even decide which country to move to by viewing several expat blogs and comparing relevant expats’ experiences. You can even see what foreign expats in your current country have to say about their adjustments to your culture. It can let you gain some international self-awareness.

Want to get started looking at the best expat blogs? Head to Expatsblog.com. This website links to over 2,500 different expat blogs from over 130 different countries. It also divides the blogs into neat categories so you can easily search for the country and blog type that you want. There are handy flag symbols below the blogs that show the blogger’s origin and destination countries. This is the best way to find interesting expat experiences.

An additional benefit of Expatsblog.com is that it promotes the best, most consistent blogs at the top of the page. Only quality blogs get their seal of approval. Take some time to browse through the blogs, even if you don’t have a pending international move planned. You may like what you see and it should get you a taste of world travel. Here are a few of my favorite expat blogs:

• Access Riviera: A blog about a family from New Zealand living in the French Riviera. This blog publishes posts consistently and addresses the many issues of living internationally with a family, especially when at least one family member may have limited mobility. This is perfect for families looking to find out what it is like to experience a European destination with the challenges of traveling with a family. There is a wealth of useful information on this blog.
• A Beautiful View: This blog is written by an American girl in her twenties who moved to South Korea to travel and learn about life and herself. It is about traveling alone and the personal epiphanies it can provide a young adult. It also acts as a travel guide for a variety of Asian locales and is filled with very good photography.
• Abandoned Japan: This truly unique blog is written by an English man who has moved to Japan. He takes a variety of photos of abandoned buildings in Japan and talks about them. Analyzing buildings that have been abandoned evokes a strangely bittersweet melancholy – the photos aren’t focusing on Japan’s financial troubles, but are about what stories old, forgotten buildings can tell, especially in Japanese culture. It is captivating stuff.

Expat Forums

If you have specific questions or want to directly find and contact expats, visit an expat forum. If you can’t find a topic that you are interested in, you can always join the forum and make a topic thread yourself. It is thrilling to see other expats responding to your questions or comments. Expat forums are usually listed by the country the expats are currently in. Expatsblog.com has a directory of forums that are listed this way. You can also visit expatforum.com to try another portal to a variety of expat forums.

The advantage of a forum is getting real feedback from real expats in any country you want, about anything you want–but that is the great thing thing about the international traveling community. They love to help each other. The large number of expat blogs and forums is a testament to that. Moving to another country can be a lonely experience, but it is important to know that there are many others who have done the same thing and would love to help you. You aren’t alone.