When Does an Expat Become a Seasoned Expat?

When can you say you’ve finally integrated and become part of the expat furniture wherever in the world you’re now living?

You’ve probably heard what you thought was an urban myth about the seasoned and jaded expat who sits in a bar all day, every day, regaling anyone who’ll listen with their rendition of how rubbish it is in the UK and how their life is so much better now that they’re living abroad and pickling their liver.  Well, once you move abroad and settle in, how long will it take for you to become part of the expatriate furniture too?

We’re not suggesting that you want to fulfil the image that many people have of the old soak expats who prop up bars in every country in the world, but when does an expat become a seasoned expat?  When can you safely say that you have arrived, settled in and actually become a truly integrated expatriate resident of your new nation of choice?

In this article we’ll take a humorous stroll down the path of exploring what makes an expat a ‘local’ in the likes of Dubai, Germany, France and Belize…

In Dubai, you know you’ve integrated into life as an expat when you’re comfortable driving around the city, actually know where you’re going to despite there being no street signs, and you get annoyed at people driving far too slowly in the fast lane!

In Northern Cyprus you know that you’re a seasoned expat when the ramblings and rantings you read each week in Cyprus Today and the crazy threads you follow on the forums all make perfect sense to you, and you don’t just think that those who write such utterances are mad or miserable!

In Germany it’s a case of acceptance – you’re integrated when you simply accept that you can’t wash your car on the drive, you have to clear the snow from the pavement and you can’t obviously hang your pants out to dry on a Sunday.  Oh, and when you can finally accept that German punctuality is a myth and that you’ve been duped all these years into thinking that all Germans are very practical and capable people you will have been in Germany for far too long.

In France it’s perhaps a case of not raising your eyebrows when you read the horrendous English translations for dishes on menus, and instead you can understand how the literal translation came about – or maybe it’s more a case of you coming to think that a strike or a demonstration is of course the first way to go about negotiations!

Expats who live on the southern coast in Turkey have been there long enough when they consider anything below 28 degrees centigrade to be woolly pully weather!  And those who live comfortably in Belize amongst the Belizeans have figured out that all Belizeans are related in some way or another, so if you have a negative opinion about one, keep your mouth shut and don’t gripe to another Belizean!

In Spain you speak Spanish with confidence as a seasoned expat – even if you know that after 10 years your Spanish is still horrendous!  The more confident you sound, the more people (both locals and expats) will be focusing on what you’re saying and not doubting you or your abilities!  And finally, if you’re an expat in Canada, you have friends from at least 10 different countries!