Talking Travel – Expats Experiences

Hello and welcome to Talking Travel, your weekly show for travel tips, inspiration, fascinating guests and answers to all your burning travel questions with myself, Kay Holland, on women's radio station. Now, today we're talking all about expat life. Why? Well, because it's that wet, miserable time of year again, when thoughts turn to paradise and plans perhaps for 2019. So if you're thinking about a fresh start, perhaps somewhere sunny, then we'll be talking to Na and Ira about their expat experiences and also sharing with you all some advice to help you realise those overseas ambitions. So if you have a question for today's Talking Travel, don't forget you can tweet us womensradiostn. Before we kick off, though, let's hear a song. Now, I've chosen a great song today, a very appropriate one. It's Guns N Roses, welcome to the Jungle. And a little bit of information for you all. Axl Rose wrote this song about his transition from Indiana to Los Angeles. Welcome to the jungle. We got fun and games? We got everything you want? We know the names, we are the people that can find Whatever you may need. If you got the money, honey, we got your disease Jungle. Welcome to the jungle? I want to watch you bleed. Welcome to the jungle? We take it day by day. If you want to joke on a blee the price you pay. And you're a very sexy girl Very humble? You can take some bright nights but you won't get there for free. Welcome to the jungle. Feel my, my, my serpentine I want to hear you scream? Welcome to the jungle. It gets worse here every day you learn to live like an animal where you play. If you gotta hunk up on what you take it? Eventually you can have anything you want. But you better not take it from me. In the jungle. Welcome to the jungle? I'm going to watch you bleed. When you're high you never down. Sam, You know where you are. You in the jungle, baby, you got it down. To the jungle. Welcome to the. Jungle. That was Guns N Roses there with welcome to the Jungle. And welcome back to Talking Travel, where we're talking today about expat life and expat experiences. And I've been joined in the studio by. Drumroll please, women radio stations, producers Na and Ira. Hi, guys. Welcome. Hello. Hey. Thanks for joining us today. Now, coincidentally, you two are both expats, is that correct? Yes, we are. Yeah. Right. So where both from? Where would you call? Actually, it's a bit of a trick question. I was going to say, where do you call home but where. Where was home? Home was in South Spain. Okay, South Spain. Lovely. Very nice and sunny. An era. Yeah, for me it was Ukraine. Ukraine, okay. So why. Let's start with you first. Now, why. Why did you make the move abroad? So I was actually working as a journalist in Spain, but then recession came and obvious fire from my job and I moved to the capital. And even though I moved to the capital, I couldn't find anything. So the only solution back then was going to a different country to learn to speak English properly. Wait, just hold on a minute. You didn't know English before you moved here? Just high school English. That's fantastic. Yeah, I'm a typical Brit. I don't speak pretty much hardly any languages. And your English is, you know, you're fluent. It's fantastic. I had the luck. So obviously the first job, because you're not pretty confident in your language, you have to go through hospitality or au pair. So I was an au pair for about a year and a half and I was lucky enough to go to a family that was actually correcting me and telling me how to pronounce, not be scared of saying, I don't know, like bear instead of bear. So really encouraging you to. To practice your English and that was great. So you went from journalists in Spain to au pair in England. Then another two years of saving money to make sure that I could make my, like, do my master's. So I graduated in multimedia journalism and I specialize in broadcast. So that's what I did here in England. And that actually boosted your confidence, like doing a master's in a different country, in a different language? Exactly, exactly. It gave me the confidence to say, well, if I can do a master's, I can find a job, a proper job, like a real broadcast job, and get back into what I loved, which was like media and communication. So that's what I did. I'm feeling so inspired. Wow. Ira, top that if you can. Yeah, I was doing classical music degree in Ukraine, but I wanted to do some pop or commercial music or electronic, and we didn't have any education of that sort in Ukraine. So that's why I. It's not that the appetite for it isn't there. It is there. It's just the system is a bit behind, a lot behind. Yeah. So I decided to go abroad and. Yeah, so that's why I turned. I'm now in London and I was doing commercial music production course at the University of Westminster for three years. And. Yeah, that's why I'm here. And what Challenges do you both face as an expat in London? London. For me, London is kind of like a neighbor country. So challenges, I would say is just language and sometimes cultural wise in terms of. It's really hard in my opinion. In my opinion, it's really hard to make friends with a group of English people. They usually tend to be very close, but creaky, just close. And they don't do it on purpose, I reckon. It's not they don't do it on purpose. It's just even in London you find that. Yeah. Wow. And what about yourself? For me, and this is a bit weird. Maybe visa problems that, for example, I can get. I had. I have still a student visa, right? Yeah. But then to carry on being here, I have to apply for new types and new and new and new and. Yeah. And there's like a lot of documents, a lot of restrictions, a lot of limitations and it's really hard to be honest. Okay, bureaucratic nightmare then. And what would you say is the best part then? Let's forget all the challenges. What's the best part of living and working abroad, Particularly in a city like London, one of the greatest cities in the world. You have everything here. I come from a very, very small town. Like a tiny, tiny marine, let's say coast side. Right. So what would a Saturday night be back in your hometown? Oh, that's completely different. We go party hard there. Oh, you do, right? Yeah, it's touristic, but yeah, definitely. You have everything here and then the culture. There's so many cultures in London. I never tried Indian food until I came here. Oh, you're sport for choice then. Anira, what for you is the best part of living in London? Special for me is opportunities in music. You can be an engineer, you can perform, you can mix. Okay. So you kind of feel if you apply yourself, the world is your oyster. If you work hard, you have the opportunities are there for the taking. Yeah, exactly. Like in my profession, my specialty, I just love it. Oh, that's fantastic to hear. And how do you feel life abroad compares to life at home? Life abroad makes you stronger. It makes you more independent. Obviously you don't have your family, you don't have anyone, so you kind of have to fight. Will you learn to stand on your own two feet? Yeah. And for you, Ira, how does life in London compare to life back in Ukraine? I think that the first thing that was different is travel. It takes me about three hours a day to travel there and back. Travel? Sorry. Yeah. Like commute. Where back then commute between. No, here. Oh, in London. Yeah. So to commute from home to university to work. So it's like it takes too much time over it. It is exhaust. Where do you live, though? In south northeast London. Yeah. I find that I often. Not so much now, but I used to feel like the bag woman. I used to have to pack everything from like 7am to 10pm at night. Well, we'll take a quick ad break now and we'll be back to hear more from NA and Ira WRS Women's radio station Voice of Women Worldwide, Sarah's Universal Soul Show. What does your soul or spirituality mean to you? Welcome to future Classical Woman Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on Women's Radio Station. Welcome back. I'm Russ Cain. You're listening to In Conversation with On Women's Radio Station. I'm Angie. And I'm Patsy. And we're open. To see what other programmes we have on Women's Radio Station, head to our website, womensradiostation.com Mirae B Ltd. We are a virtual PA consultancy. We provide remote administrative services. Our offering is diverse. We manage your calendar, we update your client database, we take care of your property in France and in London, we also offer bookkeeping and translation services. Would you like to know more? Please call 077-868-48998 for further information. Miray B Limited making the life of the business owner successful. Struggling to get by financially, I was the same. I wasn't sure what we would do in an emergency. And then it happened. Bills were piling up and the kids needed activities to do over the holiday. Then I found Turn two us. Turn two us Give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you've experienced job loss, struggling to find work because of a disability or thinking of having a baby, they can help. Visit turntous.org.uk Women's radio station is a fresh new broadcasting platform driven by love and passion. Connecting women around the world in a global network is all about diversity from opinions, career, ethnicity, education. We aim to show the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and a platform for your voice. Women, the possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Do you dream of a wedding on the beach? Or maybe in the middle of a vineyard? Imagine your wedding in Italy, the land of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Getting married in Italy in a venue that is magical and has natural beauty. Amoretti weddings create unforgettable moments. What you had to do is just relax and watch us make your wedding a real fairy. Tale. Contact us now for a free consultation. Www.amoretti.co.uk with over 35 presenters, we have something for everyone on Women's radio station. Women's Radio Station is a not for profit, community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help. Welcome back to Talking Travel with myself, Kay on Women's Radio Station. Now, today we're shining the spotlight on expat life and we're joined in the studio by two bonafide expats here, Na and Ira. So we've talked a little bit about your experiences so far in London. The big million dollar question, guys. Do you see yourself returning to, I guess Spain and Ukraine respectively? Ira, do you want to kick us off? Yeah, I think I really want to come back at some point. Back to Ukraine? Yeah, to Ukraine. Because I wanted to share the knowledge that I got here in music production and commercial music. And I think it is, you know, like my goal probably perhaps to start teaching it or. Yeah, because. Spread the word. Exactly, yeah. Because I was studying it for three years and I was also working as a freelancer, producing music, mixing music. Commercial. Yeah. And I would like to share this knowledge because in Ukraine we only have classical music and jazz music is only starting to develop, like education. I mean, not the. Of course. I mean we have pop music. I'm very surprised. I'm sure. I've seen Ukraine in good old Eurovision and I thought it was quite poppy. Maybe I got that wrong. Yeah, but we don't have education. Right. We don't have education in pop music, in commercial music, electronic. Yeah. Even in jazz. It's not that good because I was trying to speak. Studied jazz and it. Yeah, it wasn't good enough. A few decades behind, to say the least, perhaps. Okay. It's very, very noble. I like, I like to hear that. What about yourself, Na? Will you be returning to small town life in your touristic village you mentioned? No, no, no, no. It's so small. I think maybe perhaps when I'm old and I want to retire, my parents are going to buy now an apartment. They say they're going to give it to my brothers and me. But it's so small. I feel like, because I've been moving since I was little because of my dad's job he was doing. He was a police officer, so he had to go around Spain as well. And I've been moving so much that I don't See myself staying in the same place for long. I understand. Well, we've been working together for probably just over a month now here at women's radio station and my vibe is that you're definitely a city girl. Yeah, yeah. I like having everything covered, not having to go to. I like traveling to the mountains and going to the beach but like on a weekend or holiday. Yeah, I think you like being able to eat Indian at 3am or Thai at whatever time and that kind of thing. Great stuff. And a final question for you both. Given all your experiences to date, what advice would you give to those perhaps our listeners who are, who are tuning in today and thinking they might want to move abroad? Any, any tips? Do your research, like research what's good for you? What economically can you afford if you're willing to take the risk? Like you, I was, I was earning 50 quid a week and living in a family with, with the family and the family. It was actually an au pair. Yeah. And, and obviously I love them because they taught me so much but it is tough not earning as much and living. It became my second family really and I felt like I was in my house instead of working away. But yeah, do the research and see what you can actually afford. Good tips. Good tips. Ira yourself, are we talking about moving to Britain or anywhere to anyone? I mean obviously we've got London based listeners or UK based listeners. They're probably thinking of perhaps heading maybe Canada or Australia or even Spain, Ukraine. But just general expat tips for someone that's looking to leave their homeland. I think being open minded and being ready to change and maybe adjust to the rules that are in the other country. For example, if to compare to Ukraine, people here are much more polite. And sometimes it's even hard to understand when people are asking for something because things like would you mind closing the window? And you might think no. Or like, yeah, I would mind. And people are not really asking you do you want to open or close the window? But they ask you to do that. It's the tone, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. And that took me like probably like three, four months to start understanding the purpose of some sentences. But yeah, if you're open minded and you're ready to change, it's amazing to take new cultures into your background and experience. It's amazing. I would say this is an advice I took myself and I gave to all my friends is try to surround yourself with native speakers as well and people from the country rather than looking for your own people. Like I know that A lot of, in my case, a lot of Spanish people, when they come to London, they try to surround themselves with more Spanish people. And that's not helpful at all. True. Very wise words. Well, I'll be sharing my tips as well for a successful expat stint. But first though, time for another song. Now, this is a classic expat song. It is Sting with an Englishman in New York. I don't drink coffee, I take tea, my dear. I like my toast on one side. You can hear it in my accent when I talk. I'm an Englishman in New York. You see me walking down fifth Avenue Walking cane here at my side, take it everywhere I walk. I'm an Englishman in New York. I'm an alien. I'm a legal alien. I'm an Englishman in New York. Whoa. I'm an alien. I'm a legal alien. I'm an Englishman in New York. If matters make us man as someone say he's our hero of a day. It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile. Be yourself no matter what they say. Whoa. I'm an alien. I'm a legal alien. I'm an Englishman in New York. Wow. I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien. I'm an Englishman in New York. My writing the leads are not to writing you in your past. The only one. It. Take small and combat get to make a man. It takes more than a license for a gun. Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can. A gentleman will walk, but never run. Welcome back to Talk Travel. We heard a little earlier from Naa and Ira all about their expat experiences. But they aren't the only expats. Every year, thousands of people quit their jobs, pack their bags and move abroad after becoming disillusioned with their hometown. I should know because I was one of them. About 12 years ago, the start of 2006, I was suffering from a severe case of the January blues. I was cold, I was tired, I was broke. And I began to dream about living in a place where the sky wasn't permanently the color of porridge. So what did I do? I stepped on a plane and made my way to the Middle east with its promise of year round sunshine. Now I thought that after a fun filled year in the sun, I'd be ready to return to London. Little did I know it's about 10 years via stints in the Middle east, the Cayman Islands, China, Argentina and Colombia before I finally returned to London. But we heard earlier from Na and Ira with their top tips. So I'm not going to repeat them, but I'm just going to add two that I'd like to share with you. And the first would be to do your research. Find out all you can about the country you intend to relate relocate to. For example, it's well known that it's a punishable offence to drink or to be under the influence of alcohol in public in the uae. But not everyone knows that the UAE and many countries in the Gulf deem homosexuality acts unlawful. So it's actually illegal to be gay in 78 countries, which is quite shocking in this day and age. But if you don't feel comfortable with that or you are gay or a lesbian, then, you know, you might want to think very carefully about relocating to these, these kind of draconian countries. And then, then my final tip for you is to prepare yourself for going home. We've talked a lot on today's program about preparing yourself for the big move. But returning home can, in many cases, as I certainly found, be tougher than moving abroad in the first place. And I think that's because as an expat, I expected to feel like an alien overseas, but I didn't expect to feel like one in my home country. While I was away, I kind of looked back at my life in Britain through rose tinted glasses and I romanticized about how wonderful it would be to return to the creature comforts of home. It was initially, but after that honeymoon period faded. The creature comforts, clothes that fit, familiar food, faces and surroundings, do you know what? They became monotonous very, very quickly. So my message is just don't expect repatriation to be a breeze and give it time. It took me probably a good 18 months to truly readjust to life back in London. And even now, three years down the line, I still have days when I dream of living abroad again. So do share your expat experiences with us. Tweeters. Womensradiostn. You've been listening to Talking Travel on Women's Radio Station. Now if you wanted to listen again or catch up on any of our previous programs programs, you can head to the presenters page on womensradiostation.com thank you for listening and we'll see you next week when we're off to Ecuador. Bye. Welcome to women's radio Station, the voice of women worldwide. Hungry? An average woman eats about 2 to 3 kilos of lipstick in her lifetime. Women's Radio Station, we want to hear from you. This is Women Radio Station. You're listening to Avril Price with Kitchen Sink Spirituality. It's Anna Kennedy talking all things autism. And my guest today is Karen Nunn. I listen to women's radio station Women. The possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. I'm Isabelle Manevy, an executive coach. Do you want to change a negative into a positive? We can do this by coaching you to rewire your brain using simple visualization techniques. In 20 years of practice, I've seen this transform lives. For more information, look on Women's Radio website. Call me on 079-844-22171. I'm listening. Let me tell you about German Street Theatre. This is a secret theatre in the heart of the West End. Once found, never forgotten. This is where careers ignite, where playwrights take risks, where great actors perform just feet away from the audience. This is where magic happens. We would love you to join our mailing list or become a sponsor or just buy a ticket to one of our shows. The website is www.www.germanstreettheater.co.uk. i'm Angie. And I'm Patsy and we're open to share our own personal stories dealing with life events, staying positive through the tough times. Share your stories too. What worked, what didn't? Join us each week for open. We know you're gonna love it. Hi, I'm Valentina Barbacci and I'm the Executive Director of Media Matters for Women. We're a registered charity operating in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo and we produce and share podcasts via Bluetooth on mobile phones focusing specifically on women and girls excluded from information due to extreme poverty. We empower those living in rural areas with media that transforms how they access, own and share information. To find out more and be part of this movement, come check out our website@mediamattersforwomen.org with over 35 presenters, we have something for everyone on Women's Radio Station. Women's Radio Station is a not for profit, community interest company. Supporting women is our passion. We're currently welcoming donations to help towards our running campaign costs to keep this important initiative alive. To donate, simply head to our website. Every little will help.