Expat Explorers - travels with my family ideas...insight...inspiration
Get in contact
  • About
    • Meet the family
    • Photo gallery
  • Blog
  • Travel ideas & advice
    • Expat suitcase >
      • Moving to Dubai
      • Moving to Singapore
    • Jigsaw pieces: travel advice
    • Australasia
    • Middle East
    • South East Asia
    • USA
    • Where in the world are we?
  • In the news
    • Freelance work
    • Who said that? Travel quotes
    • Signs that make you think
  • The book
  • Contact us
    • Explorers' Club

The end of the annual expat exodus

28/8/2014

9 Comments

 
what do you miss about home?Strawberries - what do you miss about home?
Dear expats: what do you miss about home?

Every year the expat hubs around the world begin to leak foreigners who flood back to the homeland. Like birds, the migratory pattern is seasonal and routine.

We have lived in two of the world’s biggest global expat hubs, Dubai and Singapore, and the phenomenon is similar in both places.

After school breaks up in June, families depart for the Western world, the husbands only staying a week or two in order to protect their annual leave.

But why do we make this annual trip, at great expense and inconvenience? After all, the husband complains he misses the kids (and occasionally his wife), the children complain that they miss their toys and friends, and the wife is pulling her hair out carting children around single-handedly.

[As an aside, I’ve often heard expat wives complain about hair loss issues. This happens in both Dubai and Singapore. I once put this down to desalinated water (Dubai) and humidity (Singapore). Now I put it down to stress of the Expat Exodus. I’ve just returned from the UK after a four-week trip. One week in Singapore and the plughole looks like the Yeti has fallen down it.]

So back to the subject. There are several reasons why the summer Expat Exodus is a necessary one. Most importantly it is about your identity and place in the world:

1.     We’re expats. We haven’t emigrated. This means we still feel the pull of the homeland. We understand that circumstances and jobs change all the time, and while we may feel that we’re here to stay, we could be gone tomorrow. We are part of a transient society.

2.     The homeland offers us stability in a global economic market that has had its ups and downs. We understand how the homeland ticks. We haven’t had to learn it, unlike our temporary expats homes. There is something comforting and effortless about that.

3.     Culture is important. What is the world without it? And so we ensure our children know what they need to know about bring British, or American, or Australian, or Kiwi.

4.     Family is really where the home is. We make fantastic friends in our expat homes, supporting each other with knowledge and a tissue when our mother is too far away. We all need support, and there is a certain magnetism about being with your own tribe.

5.     Friends also fit into the support category. We are the ones who have moved away and we need to make every effort to stay in touch with homeland friends. Forget about them and your risk feeling like an expat when you return home, starting your network from scratch.

6.     Getting out of the heat. Of course we love the weather where we live, most of the time. But everyone needs a break from 50C heat and 99% humidity.

We all miss different things about our homeland. For some it’s a postal system that runs smoothly (Dubai doesn't have a door to door system). For others it’s the freedom of having a car (Singapore, where the cost is astronomical).

For me, apart from friends and family, it has been the British countryside, gastro pubs and historical houses.  Oh, and strawberries that taste like strawberries, and don’t cost $20 and have a guilty-inducing 10,000 air miles attached to them.

What do you miss and why do you go home? We'd love to know.


Linked to the My Global Life Link-Up at SmallPlanetStudio.com.

9 Comments
Meghan Fenn link
29/8/2014 07:29:37 am

I wish I could go home every summer to see family and friends. For us, it's just too expensive! Plus, I can't take that amount of time off of work - my business operates 12 months out of the year even though I have three young children so for me it would be impossible to return to my homeland each year for an extended period of time. I suppose the things I miss most are the way the people are - the energy, the optimism, the feeling that anything is achievable and that most things can be worked out. Oh and the sense of self-reliance.

Reply
Expat Explorers link
29/8/2014 07:33:21 am

Hi Meghan
Lovely to hear from you. I know how you feel. Prices only seem to go up. Ironically, I'm just in the middle of writing an article about travelling without planes! I hope you manage to make a trip home soon.

Reply
Dana @ Wanted Adventure link
5/9/2014 02:26:32 pm

I'm an American expat living for the past 6 years in Europe. Living over here, I really miss the friendliness of Americans--the smiles and "How are yous?" As for stuff that I miss, they're all little things--my favorite hot sauce, my brand of peanut butter, etc. I actually just made a funny video about the topic and included it in the Website section. I wonder if other expats bring these same things back with them...I'm guessing peanut butter is a big one!

Reply
Cate link
8/9/2014 05:49:21 pm

I feel the pull to go home every year, even though I live in my home country! I'm 3000 miles away from "home" and on the opposite coast. At home, I enjoy the break from the usual heat and humidity and revisit my beloved mountains and wild ocean coast. It refuels me to go home and reconnect with my family and my roots.

Thanks for joining the #MyGlobalLife Link-up!

Reply
aaynoor link
25/9/2014 10:31:02 pm

You have shared the true feelings of expats. On the other hand, if you are an expat and plan on moving to Singapore, do check out www.placematch.sg. I found it to be very useful in finding a place.

Reply
TsMaids Cleaning Services link
9/4/2020 03:23:01 am

A very nice informative and well-explained Article thank you so much.

Reply
office cleaning singapore link
8/12/2020 08:56:28 pm

Hey thanks for posting this useful content on the annual expat exodus are discussed over here, I really hope it will be helpful to many. I hope you keep update us with such great tips and information in future too. This is a great post; I will share as much as I can. Appreciative content!!

Reply
Agatha link
18/12/2020 02:35:01 pm

Thannk you for sharing this

Reply
MckinneyVia link
27/4/2022 08:48:36 pm

I very much appreciate it. Thank you for this excellent article. Keep posting!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Get the book

    Picture

    Destinations

    All
    Abu Dhabi
    Advice & Top Tips
    Al Ain
    America
    Argentina
    Arizona
    Australia
    Bali
    Batam
    Belfast
    Burma
    California
    Cambodia
    Chicago
    Dubai
    England
    Expat Life
    Hong Kong
    Illinois
    Indonesia
    Japan
    Java
    Jordan
    Kuwait
    Las Vegas
    London
    Malaysia
    Misc
    Myanmar
    Nevada
    New Zealand
    Northern Ireland
    Oman
    Ras Al Khaimah
    Restaurants
    Salt Lake City
    San Diego
    Scotland
    Singapore
    Southeast Asia
    Travel Musings
    Uae
    UK
    Usa
    Utah
    Wales
    Woodstock

    RSS Feed

    Or if you prefer to receive an email update click here to register.

    Archives

    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    June 2019
    April 2019
    July 2018
    June 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    August 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.