How to be an Unhappy Expat

12 thoughts on “How to be an Unhappy Expat”

  1. I felt very much the same way returning to my home city Dallas after many years as an expat. I didn’t even have the XOM women in Houston for support or lunches!
    It took almost four years to establish a new group of friends here, and reconnect with old ones. Most of them were busy with their own lives and had sort of “forgotten” about me returning. Not to mention most people I met didn’t have or understand the expat experience and couldn’t even vaguely relate to how I’d been living for the last 14 years.
    I treasure my expat friends and keep up with them via FaceBook. A trip to Houston is a real treat for me. Little Lagos it is. Did you feel this was when you went back to Melbourne?

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    1. I am lucky in Melbourne. My sisters and many of my friends have been expats so I have a group who understands. I’ve also established my writing habits now that I can take with me, so I’m not starting from scratch as I was in Houston.

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  2. Your description is spot on. I went through this exact unhappy phase in Singapore of all places. It was not a reflection of the city or place in the world, but our emotional state at a particular time. Like you I had said goodbye to amazing friends in Lagos. The time zone in Singapore was perfect for a Skype catch up with Australia in the morning, the USA for lunch, South Africa for a sundowner and Europe for dinner. Luckily for me, Sally a fellow South African infiltrated my friendship barrier standing in line to see a movie and turned it around for me.

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