The Internet and Living Overseas

While most people realize that location often does not matter with the internet, those who have experienced living overseas both pre-internet days and now can appreciate this fact the most. From work and play to keeping in touch with friends and family, the changes in lifestyle made possible by the internet for expatriates is much greater than for most other people. These effects may eventually have a wider impact on were people live in the world and how they interact with those around them.

Before the internet, those moving overseas had to make much greater changes to their lifestyles than they do at present, and a good example of this is keeping up with family and friends.

Someone living in another country no longer has to rely on expensive international telephone calls or on letters that could take a week or more. Now, with the internet, calls cost little to nothing, mail is instant and it is even easy to have free video conversations. Loved ones living on different continents can easily update each other about events in their lives with homepages, videos and pictures posted online that can be accessed anywhere in the world.

Living overseas once forced a huge change in what papers, magazines, books and other information one could access. Now, with most printed information available online and books available for easy download onto book readers, it is possible to live overseas and read what was available back home just as timely and cheaply overseas.

The internet has made many forms of entertainment easily accessible worldwide. For example, online video, podcasts and radio know no boundaries. Songs can be downloaded wherever there is an internet connection. One can play online games with the same friends from any location.

Even when things like movies and TV are not legally available, they are often easily accessible through file sharing services for those willing to skirt the law.

Increasingly, the same business and education options are available while abroad. While obvious limitations remain, internet-based business and courses can often be carried out from just as well from Tahiti as they can from Butte, Montana.

Of course, in spite of the internet and an increasingly integrated world, there still are significant differences between cultures and lifestyles of countries. Also, shipping costs, government regulations, and other factors still mean moving overseas brings a big change in what one can access. However, the internet has certainly decreased the number of lifestyle changes that once came with moving to another country.

What will this mean for society at large? While nobody can say for sure, it is pretty safe to say that the conveniences the internet brings to those living outside their home countries are likely to increase the number of people doing so.

What exactly this will entail for the world at large is more difficult to say. Hopefully, it will lead to more cross-cultural contact; but there is the danger people will remain isolated in their own cultural bubbles even when abroad. People sometimes need to be pushed to really learn new cultures and languages. There is much less incentive to do this when they can keep the same social contacts as well as entertainment and other options while living abroad.

Only time will what the end result will be. However, the internet clearly has made living overseas a very different experience from what it once was.

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Expatriate Living - Have You Thought About Moving Overseas For Work Or Retirement?

Over the last two generations or so, the population of the United States has become more and more mobile. Corporate transfers from state to state or even from one side of the country to the other have become quite common. Some individuals have even been transferred overseas. More than in the past, career advancement today frequently involves geographically relocating or at least considering the possibility of relocation.

When I was teaching in the university during my academic career, I found that in order to get a promotion or even an increase in pay, I most frequently had to change locations. It was much easier to progress in my career by relocating than it was to simply wait on a promotion within the university in which I was teaching at the time. I was able to progress in my career faster by making these moves. The working environment and the need to have more mobility today includes a larger geographical area.

Today the world has gotten smaller, largely due to advanced means of communication like the internet. Where I would have moved from state to state within the United States; others are now moving from country to country. Some have even become perpetual expatriate travelers, constantly moving from country to country.

The two major reasons for moving abroad are: (1) to work abroad, or (2) to retire abroad.

Working Abroad. With the expanding interdependence of world economics, it has become easier and easier to find international business opportunities. Developing nations are looking for skills that either are not yet available among their own population, or due to cultural reasons, are not considered desirable positions. For example, right now in 2010, the country of Panama needs contractors who are willing to build housing for lower socio-economic citizens. Even though the government is pushing programs to build this type of housing, few local contractors are taking advantage of this market. Those who are building for the expatriate population in the upper price ranges consider it beneath their dignity to build the less expensive houses. It might effect their image. So, the housing shortage continues.

Retiring Abroad. Retirees from the U.S. and many European nations are now looking at retiring to a location less expensive than their home country. Couple this motivation with those individuals who move for a new lifestyle, adventure, better weather, and a perpetual vacation (good goal; harder to accomplish), and you have a large developing number of prospective expatriates. Countries like Belize and Panama have recognized this opportunity and have designed specific retiree programs with a multitude of benefits for expatriates. If you are interested in retiring abroad, such programs can not be beaten. Check them out.
If you have a personality that craves change, living abroad is definitely for you. If you want a shorter change of environment, living abroad is also a good choice. Whether it is a new job, job transfer, long term vacation, or permanent residency you desire, living abroad has much to offer you.

Dr. Lamar Ross, a cultural anthropologist by training, has a special interest in training individuals for expatriate living and providing information on unique travel destinations. He is an author, educator, photographer, internet entrepreneur, and international traveler. He has lived in the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and India and has traveled extensively in 29 different countries. He speaks both English and Spanish fluently and has a basic ability in several other languages. For more information on expatriate living, check out the blog Expatriate Traveler Notes