The Expat Chat
145 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★ - 124 ratingsThe Expat Chat is a weekday podcast where we interview inspiring expats who have thrown off the constraints of western congestion to enjoy their dream lifestyle in other parts of the world. If you want to combine the travels of Rick Steves and Samantha Brown with the lifestyle freedom of Tim Ferriss then this is for you.Subscribe today.
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Episodes
Traveling the World on $US63 Per Day - An Experiment in Retirement Living
November 12, 2015 18:00 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBFeeling jealous about your children enjoying a gap year overseas? So were Duncan and Jane Dempster-Smith until they asked the question “Why can’t we have a 12 month overseas escape too?” They failed to come up with a good reason why not, and in 2013 headed away on a 12 month sabbatical with the goal of seeing the world and living on $A185 per day – the target for what it would have cost them to have stayed at home. Experiment over, they decided on their return that it was possible to gear t...
Why Iran Should be Seriously on Your Travel List
November 11, 2015 18:00 - 41 minutes - 38.7 MBTurning a part time travel blog into a fulltime means of income may not be as easy as you think. For Italian Margherita Rag and Australian partner Nik Burns the decision to start fulltime travel wasn’t a hard one. The two met in London and started their travel adventures in 2009, initially living off savings. They developed their blog which initially had a short hiatus but have committed to using it as a regular source of income in the last 12 months. In this interview Nik and Margherita t...
Single in South East Asia: Leaving the Health Service for a New Life Abroad
November 10, 2015 18:00 - 31 minutes - 29.6 MBYou never know where a chance meeting can take you. A train ride to London saw Alice Nettleingham sitting beside a girl who had just come back from teaching English in India. Alice’s life in the English National Health Service wasn’t unhappy but she felt there was more. Inspired by her talk Alice decided to venture out and explore the world and three months later found herself in South Korea. She has since explored much of Asia, falling in love with the region and its people. She will tradi...
Living in Penang, Malaysia - an On Location Interview
November 09, 2015 18:00 - 1 hour - 64.2 MBToday in our first ever on-location interview we caught up with Daniel Chen, an expat American and Steve Struyck a retired Dutchman who have both made the move to Penang, Malaysia. In this interview Daniel and Steven share their experiences of Penang, why they love living in Malaysia, and the cost of living they have in this country. It was great to do our own research into expat living while we were here. Accommodation is very affordable, with an average 2 -3 bedroom apartment going for ar...
The World's First Digital Nomad (Maybe!)
November 08, 2015 18:00 - 34 minutes - 32.1 MBWas he the world’s first digital nomad? Maybe, maybe not... but there is little doubt that James Clark was one of the first people to make an online living while traveling. The Melbourne native took to the road fulltime in 2003 while earning an income from his website business and he hasn’t stopped moving since. Currently based in Vietnam he spends much of the year traveling between various hubs catching up with online colleagues. James has built his business to now include travel blogging ...
Work Anywhere You Want: A Future World of Location Free Earning
November 05, 2015 18:00 - 37 minutes - 35 MBThanks to the growth of the internet more and more people are enjoying the opportunity to work from wherever they wish, anytime they wish. It is the biggest change in our working environment since the industrial revolution created the growth of cities. It provides freedom on a level our ancestors would struggle to comprehend. It’s creating the perfect cloud based nirvana for those wishing to travel. But even a digital nomad sometimes needs an oasis in the desert. Traveling the world making...
Tales from Tel Aviv; Why I Left LA to Rebuild My Business
November 04, 2015 18:00 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBSometimes circumstances outside of your control can be the catalyst to finally make the step to becoming an expat. For Ron Perry the 2008 economic crisis forced him to downsize his web design business and think about how he could run his operations while being location independent. Influenced by The Four Hour Workweek Ron made a conscious choice to reorganize his life and in 2010 he headed abroad setting up shop in Chiang Mai Thailand. In this interview he talks about the challenges of set...
Why 50 is the New 30 For Travelers
November 03, 2015 18:00 - 36 minutes - 34.1 MBSome business headaches were the catalyst for Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning decision to leave their Minnesota home and start traveling the world in 2010. Their publishing business had met some resistance with the global financial crisis and the couple decided it was the perfect opportunity to put their plans for a location independent lifestyle into gear. 5 years on the couple have now seen much of the world and have no intentions of slowing down anytime soon. We caught up with them visiti...
No More Bean Counting: Why I Walked Away From Acountancy To Travel the World
November 02, 2015 18:00 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBIt took Brendan Lee around 72 hours as a chartered accountant to realize that it wasn’t the career for him. But leaving wasn’t easy – he was on a committed tenure that meant he had 4 years to work – and what about his degree? 4 years of his life looked like going up in smoke, plus the additional time he had to spend working it off. It would have been enough to worry most people but Brendan had a goal – travel. He knuckled down, paid off most of his student debt, worked out his tenure savin...
From the Middle East to a Place in Greece
November 01, 2015 19:00 - 33 minutes - 31.5 MBThe Middle East can seem a scary place – and not the ideal location for a single British woman to be heading to. For Amanda Settle spending more time in the British education system as a teacher wasn’t going to provide her with the fulfillment she was after. Feeling disillusioned she took a teaching position at an international school in Kuwait. Since then she has worked in Qatar and Dubai, meeting her husband along the way. Amanda has now taken a break from teaching and relocated to the G...
Why I Left My "Dream" Career to Care For Elephants
October 29, 2015 18:00 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBTraveling can be a fantastic experience at the best of times but it’s even better when you can combine it with something you are passionate about. Diana Edelman took to the road in 2010 after realizing that her “dream” career in public relations wasn’t making her happy. She’d developed a passion for elephants ever since first encountering them and badgered her way into a volunteer position taking care of the magnificent creatures in Chiang Mai, Thailand. After 2 ½ wonderful years there Dia...
Caribbean Views for $5 A Day - Managing 50 Ukrainians from a Mexican Hideaway
October 28, 2015 18:00 - 38 minutes - 36.1 MBAlthough Barnaby Andersun had lived the typical suburban lifestyle of house, mortgage and car for 18 years in Brisbane,Australia he always knew that with a portable business there was a less stressful option that would cost him less and allow him to travel the world on his own terms. In 2012 he finally made the leap, taking his branding business with him. He started in Bali, before moving to Chiang Mai, back to Bali, on to Canada and New York before settling in over the last 6 months in Mex...
How Teaching in Korea Gives Me 3 Months in Chiang Mai
October 27, 2015 18:00 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBDo you consider yourself too old to move countries? Maybe you’re a middle aged single woman who’s fearful of the world… or perhaps you have no skills to earn money with if you do shift. All perfectly legitimate barriers to becoming an expat. Or are they? Barriers often only exist in the mind – and for Nancie McKinnon they weren’t going to be factors that stood in her way. The Nova Scotia native left Halifax 15 years ago, leaving behind a corporate lifestyle and embarking on her new career a...
How We Pay For Travel with a Camera and an Etsy Store
October 26, 2015 18:00 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MBOne of the tricks to being able to travel is making sure you have enough money to do it. It’s less expensive than you think but some form of income is still going to be handy! Sometimes this might involve an existing skill you have or sometimes you develop new skills that can be used anywhere you go. Jenna and Micah Kvidt are Minnesota natives who in the last twelve months have made the world their oyster. Through their website www.wanderthemap.com they’ve been everywhere from Iceland to J...
Retirement Renegades: How To Downsize and Hit the Road
October 25, 2015 18:00 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MBTo many a comfortable lifestyle in Corpus Christi Texas would sound like retirement bliss and for Anita and Richard Oliver it had its benefits. Anita was still working as a pharmacist while Richard had retired and enjoyed his mornings walking or catching up with friends. They had the typical house with the typical toys – but something was missing. 3 years ago they made the decision to sell up or giveaway most of their possessions except the house and start travelling. After working their wa...
One Dad, and One Kid - The Travel Adventures of a Single Dad and His Teenage Son
October 22, 2015 18:00 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBToday’ interview is longer than our normal but I think you’ll agree it’s worth every minute. Just over 4 years ago Talon Windwalker was dealing with depression and his 9 year old son was battling with anxiety. He had become disillusioned in the US and felt the education system wasn’t providing his son with what he needed. Together they embarked on an adventure that has seen them travel through 6 continents and share the sort of father and son experiences that few others would have had. We...
Life as a French Au Pair
October 21, 2015 18:00 - 29 minutes - 27.9 MBOne of the issues facing perpetual travelers and those wishing to become global nomads or expatriates is “where do I make some money?” Well there are lots of options available online but if you’re into a more traditional form of work and don’t mind giving up some of your privacy then being an au pair or child carer could be the perfect option for you. Today we talk to Roisin Grace about her experiences of being an au pair in Paris, the do’s and don’ts of being an au pair and where you can s...
On the Road for 30 Years - Why Age is no Barrier
October 20, 2015 18:00 - 31 minutes - 29.7 MBBeing a perpetual traveler is one of the new ways to see the globe but 30 years ago it was more a rarity – and even more of a rarity for a single woman to be doing it on her own. For Leyla Giray Alyanak travel was in her blood. Her parents and grandparents were all expats and she grew up on the move. When the time came to make the decision to end her journalism position and take to the road it was probably no surprise to anybody. 30 years on this multi-national citizen has settled in to Fr...
Living Well in Europe For Less $1000 Per Month
October 19, 2015 18:00 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MBIf your image of the typical house-sitter is a cat loving baby boomer than think again. Laura and Tanbay are two twenty somethings travelling the world and enjoying it without the cost of accommodation. A chance search for how to live rent free led them to discover the art of minding houses and three years later the two young people have enjoyed many parts of the world while living on minimal costs. Their adventures have taken them from Australia to the Azores. We caught up with them both ...
Building an Online Business So You Can Travel - How To Find Expert Help From $3 Per Hour
October 18, 2015 18:00 - 40 minutes - 37.8 MBSo you’re looking at heading overseas and want to set up an online business, maybe a travel blog, to bring in a little money. Trouble is you don’t know the first thing about website building, affiliate marketing, and have never run a Facebook ad in your life. No problem! The good news is you don’t have to know it all. There are well qualified people with the expertise to do all the technical stuff you don’t know so you can focus on the more important parts, namely sunning yourself on the be...
Earn Dollars - Spend Pesos; Leaving the Career Path to Build a US Business While Traveling
October 15, 2015 18:00 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBTravel can be tough if you go against the norms of society. You left the career path you had lined up to do what? You’re travelling the world with two kids under 5…are you nuts?? You could listen to others…or you could do what you knew was right for you. For Billy and Scarlett Thomas the standard well-worn path of get career, have kids just didn’t feel right. There motto is “have kids, will travel” and indeed they do! Since leaving the United States 3 years ago their young family have jour...
My German Adventure; A Lesson in Lifestyle Choice
October 14, 2015 18:00 - 33 minutes - 31.3 MBDo you live to work or work to live? This is a question Margo Eggeling finds herself asking more frequently after her experience of living in Heidelberg Germany. Her time away has provided her and her husband with fantastic memories, great photos and an ever expanding group of friends in all parts of the world – but the question of what she wants to do with her life is now foremost in her mind. A child of the American university system who has to date followed the corporate line Margo has r...
Life Begins at 55: How I Overcame Illness to Travel the World
October 13, 2015 18:00 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBFacing death is the ultimate motivation to revisit your life’s purpose and ask yourself whether what you are doing is truly making you happy. For Barbara Weibel that challenge came to a head in 2007 when, dealing with lymes disease, she realized her corporate life was making her richer but leaving her feeling empty inside. She hopped on a plane to Vietnam writing the story of her journey while away. Upon returning to the US she discovered that over 1200 people had found her journey worth re...
From Legal Eagle to Basking in Biarritz - Embracing a Slower Pace of Life
October 12, 2015 18:00 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBIt’s a long way from California to the west coast of France, especially if you’ve never visited before. Daniele and her husband Mike made the big move after Mike got a job opportunity in the French city of Biarritz, one of the surfing capitals of Europe. Although something of a culture shock Daniele has so far enjoyed the tradition – swapping the business suits of her former life as a lawyer for the running shoes as she enjoys a more relaxed lifestyle in France. Today we talk with Daniele ...
Living a Loire Lifestyle - An English Comedian in Rural France
October 11, 2015 18:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MBWhat do you do if you’re a stand-up comedian who has just lost his day job and your artist girlfriend has also lost hers? You move to France of course! Today we interview Tommy Barnes who with his girlfriend left London 5 months ago to get away from the rat race and stress of big city life. They moved to the Auvergne region of France and have embraced the contrast between their old London existence and what small village French life has to offer. They have even dispelled a few myths about t...
How to Be an Expat Without Leaving the Country
October 08, 2015 19:00 - 44 minutes - 41.5 MBIf you’re keen to live the expat life but overseas travel and cultures are not for you then why not consider being an expat traveler within your own country? Lots of people are doing it and todays travelers are no exception. Chuck and Lori Ros are combining the best of overseas travel with the chance to see more of the United States and they’re using a multiple of methods to cover the cost of their adventures including swapping work for travel, housesitting, house swapping and some very affo...
Why Colombia is the Best Place for a Heart Attack
October 07, 2015 19:00 - 41 minutes - 38.7 MBIf you’re in need of some heart repairs would you be comfortable with having it done in another country? For many people the thought of this would seem terrifying – but as an expat living in Colombia Michael Kershaw was able to relax confident in a medical system he knew would look after him. Colombia is fast developing an excellent reputation for both medical and dental care and medical tourism is on the rise. Michael’s hospital visit was covered under his medical insurance with no out of ...
The New Colombia; Life After Drugs
October 06, 2015 19:00 - 36 minutes - 34 MBColombia is a country that has been struggling to throw off its history of civil war and drug crime. A country that was well off the radar of travelers even 10 years ago has undergone something of a transformation. The capital Bogota offers good living at an extremely affordable price with an ever growing expat community. Today we talk with Karen Attman, a US native who has spent the last 19 years living in South America, initially in Venezuela and for the last 3 years in Bogota, her husban...
Winters in Cancun: A Thirty Something Perspective
October 05, 2015 19:00 - 36 minutes - 34.1 MBBeing an expat doesn’t have to mean leaving your old life behind. An increasing number of people are enjoying the benefits of their home life while spending a significant portion of the year in other locations – and you don’t have to be a retiree to do this. Jen and Jay Kerwood are Toronto natives who have spent the last 3 northern winter living in Cancun, Mexico. They spend around 8 months of the year there, returning to Toronto during the summer months when the weather is more settled. J...
Kiwis in Korea: How To Get a Cheaper Funded Education
October 04, 2015 19:00 - 37 minutes - 34.9 MBSo what do you know about Korea? In my case not very much. I certainly wasn’t aware that I could leave my wallet on a public bench and have a better than even chance of getting it back! But this is just one of the many pleasant surprises I found out during my conversation with Dain and KJ Leathem, two expat kiwis who have been living in Korea for the last 12 years. Today they share with us many of the insights to Seoul that only a local would know, including how keen Korea is to attract int...
Living a Hong Kong Lifestyle
October 01, 2015 20:00 - 28 minutes - 26.8 MBIt’s a long way from Edinburgh Scotland to the heart of Hong Kong; not just in distance but also in contrasts. For Joanna Claire an opportunity to shift with her employer was too good to turn down and she made the move in early 2015. So far the experience has been wonderful for her making new friends and giving herself the perfect starting off point to explore much of Asia. Joanna sat down for an interview with us and shared her perspective of being a young woman in one of the world’s large...
A Brit in Brazil: Teaching English in Sao Paulo
September 30, 2015 20:00 - 26 minutes - 25.1 MBGetting a gun pointed in your face is often an experience that would cause many to catch the next bus out of town but for Andrew Creelman he hasn’t allowed it to faze his enjoyment of living in Brazil. Andrew has lived and worked in Sao Paulo as a teacher for a number of years. Initially from England he worked in Japan until a chance beer with a friend one night let to a spur of the moment decision he hasn’t regretted. Andrew shares with us his experiences of living in Sao Paulo, the good ...
Children Are a Reason To Be Expats
September 29, 2015 20:00 - 38 minutes - 35.7 MBChildren can stop you from travelling – or it can be the very reason to be doing it. Today we talk to a couple who have certainly been leading an international lifestyle and have two very international children to show for it. Matt and Hannah Curtis have spent the last two years living in Okinawa, a sub tropical island south of the mainland of Japan. Although a Japanese island it sits closer to Taiwan than it does to Japan. Since their arrival the Curtis’s have come to love the island and t...
$5000 Per Month From Blogging
September 28, 2015 20:00 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBOne of the great advantages of the internet is the ability to create a portable income, one that isn’t time dependent and one you can earn from anywhere in the world. In fact if you’re an expat with a story to share that very fact could be a source of income in itself. If you’re looking for a means to earn some online income as an expat then blogging could be an option for you. Today we talk to Yeison Kim and Samantha Wei who are enjoying the good life in Costa Rica. Samantha is from the Un...
Hanging Out in Honduras; From Secretary to Scuba Instructor
September 27, 2015 20:00 - 37 minutes - 34.9 MBIt’s never too late to become an expat and its certainly never too early. Sometimes a moment happens when you realize that the life you’re living isn’t what you want to do anymore. For Rika Purdey it was one lunch time sitting in the cubicle of her office in downtown Vancouver where she practiced as a para legal secretary. She took one look at the stressed out housewives sitting around her and made the decision that she didn’t want to be still sitting where they sat when she reached their ag...
Burritos and Bandits - Our Housesit in Mexico
September 24, 2015 20:00 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBLove Mexico? Happy to live in million dollar homes for free with the housekeepers and gardeners while the owners are away? If this sounds like the lifestyle for you then you’d better listen to today’s show. Jason and Deidre enjoyed a six figure corporate income in Kansas City but they were stressed, unhappy and never had any money left at the end of the month. The passing of a friend made them realize that life didn’t go on forever and that waiting for retirement was not the best way to live...
An Expat in Central America
September 23, 2015 20:00 - 36 minutes - 34.2 MBNot everyone chooses the expat lifestyle but there are few who regret it once it’s happened. The global economic crisis put paid to Susanna Perkins plans to stay in the US and she was forced with her husband to find a more affordable location. A one week reconnaissance trip and they were off. Although Susanna wouldn’t recommend the speed of her transition the experience has proven wonderful as her husband and her settled into small town life making friends along the way. Susanna has put her...
Starting a New Life in Panama
September 22, 2015 20:00 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBYou don’t have to be seeking a warmer climate to make an expat move. Michael Long and his wife had been enjoying the warmth of Tampa but decided that life had more to offer them elsewhere. Michael had experienced life as an expat in Thailand as a younger man so knew the experience of a shift wouldn’t phase him. With his wife having US and Panamanian citizenship it seemed the obvious place to go. 15 months on Mike has been enjoying the experience but forewarns other expats that although Pana...
My Life in Malaysia
September 21, 2015 21:00 - 33 minutes - 30.9 MBBeing a single woman in midlife doesn’t seem like the best time to make a leap into the unknown but for Diane Dupres it proved the making of a new life. Originally from England but teaching high school drama in New Zealand Diane felt like her life needed a change, she was destined to spend the rest of her life “with crochet and cats” to quote her own words! She made the brave decision to become an expat teacher, taking on a two year position in the Muslim country of Malaysia where she fell ...
How to Teach English While Traveling
September 20, 2015 21:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBOne of the biggest fears for any would-be-expat is throwing away the day job and moving overseas. Unless you’re well set financially then another source of income, however small, needs to be set up. One great opportunity to earn a living in this area is by teaching English. As English speakers we are blessed to already know a language that is universal and many people are ready and waiting to learn it. There has been an explosion in this area in recent years and with the continuing evolutio...
How To Take Your Job From Chicago to Costa Rica
September 17, 2015 23:01 - 39 minutes - 37 MBHow long would it take you to get tired of Chicago winters and two weeks holiday per year? For Illinois couple Jackie and Junior Minchillo it wasn’t long. The corporate life of all day meetings and working into the night proved to be too much and in April this year they made their move to sunny Costa Rica with their pet dog Harvey. After some initial problems with the first house they stayed in they have now settled into a local expat community in Playa Langosta a small beachside community ...
From Corporate Lives to Cafes in Laos
September 11, 2015 19:30 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBNot many people are willing to leave suburbia, head for the jungle and run a business that gives all its profits away, but todays guests are the exception to the rule. Andrej and Karen Brummer said goodbye to two well paying jobs and left their western lifestyle to head for Laos 4 years ago. They swapped their big city lifestyle for an environment of jungles and temples on the edge of the Thailand border and have become an important member of their local community thanks to their western sty...
Cruising the World Doesn't Cost What You Think
September 11, 2015 18:30 - 41 minutes - 37.8 MBIn March 2014 John and Monika Mundell said goodbye to their 11 pet birds and set sail (literally) on an adventure that so far has taken them to 4 continents and counting. Their journey, often by cruise ship, has seen them visit Papua New Guinea, Japan, Russia, North, Central and South America and across to Europe where we caught up with them housesitting amongst the vines in the beautiful French setting of Pellegrue, a quaint village of around 1000 locals approximately one hour east of Borde...
Live Like a Millionaire for Free
August 03, 2015 05:48 - 35 minutes - 35.2 MBCan you really sustain a lifestyle caring for other people’s houses and never have to go home again? Today’s guests are living proof of the fact. Michael and Yvonne Bauche gave up a comfortable but stress-inducing lifestyle in Vancouver Canada 3 years ago and they haven’t looked back. Their income is lower but so is their living costs giving them the opportunity to live a millionaire’s lifestyle on less than $C3000 per month all without having to eat into their savings.
How To Leave the Cubicle on $1000 per month
August 03, 2015 04:01 - 41 minutes - 41 MBNot many people would be prepared to walk away from a well-paying career job in the prime of their earnings life, but somebody who was is David Dean. The New Zealander left his corporate position in Australia in 2011 to embark on a road trip that looks like lasting for the rest of his life.