“More than 100 years earlier, emigrants were all but cut off from home. Outward journeys lasted weeks or months on sailing ships rather than a few hours aboard a jet plane. Returning home was a rarity and upon departure many emigrants were convinced they would never see their place of birth or extended family again.” Things have certainly changed for the modern expat when it comes to keeping in touch—and more!—as Murray Watson explains.
“I remember not being able to sleep well for days when I arrived in the West Indies. It was not the suffocating heat but the unexpected and scary sight of lizards chasing fireflies across the bedroom ceiling. I was also kept awake by thinking about the tarantula I saw scurrying over the garage floor before I came to bed and there was the incessant noise of frogs, cicadas and packs of barking stray dogs chasing bitches on heat. No guide book had prepared me for that.” Murray Watson reckons that no matter how much research they do, prospective expats are always going to be surprised by something in their new home…
This month: Open for business? The problems and pleasures that a change in working/business hours can bring.
This month: Compound fracture – the pros and cons of living on a private estate.
This month: Upstairs, Downstairs – the story of domestic staff in the UK and overseas over the past century or so.
The Ed talks live to Vanessa Feltz on BBC Radio London – do expats really have such a great life overseas?