Nothing to write home about
[The long summer holiday is a time when many expatriates are on the move, in line with the school year. This post originally appeared over at Your Expat Child but I'm re-posting it here ahead of the moving season.] Having successfully moved a family abroad, the idea of the return journey can seem like a… Continue reading Repatriation and the reality of going home
Towards the end of last year I went on a wonderful three-week holiday to Australia. It is one of my favourite places, if it is fair to think of it as one place – in three weeks I saw just a tiny fraction of it on this visit. My parents lived in Melbourne for a… Continue reading Mini-returns and unfamiliar ‘homes’
Earlier this month the British Council launched a report about the value of intercultural skills in the workplace. It concludes that, ‘Employers understand the value of intercultural skills to their businesses. In fact, they value these skills above many technical abilities and formal qualifications.’ So, intercultural skills would be good things to have on your… Continue reading Repatriates and the value of intercultural skills
I've been reminded by a mild spell and the sight of the sunshine that the weather makes a huge difference to how I live and how I feel about it. I do like to see the change in seasons, although I prefer all other changes to when it gets darker and danker. I lived once… Continue reading Home climates: snowdrops and falling leaves
[This post originally appeared over at Move Guides.] In my earlier Blogger's Q&A for Move Guides, I was asked about the three tips I would give to any repatriates before journeying back to their homeland. I said, ‘Be positive, plan (from before you move abroad if you can) and do not expect it to be… Continue reading Tips for successful repatriations
Looking at my globe often makes me think not just of other distant places, or of a well-chosen gift, but of the shopping centre it came from. This was a welcome sanctuary on returning to the UK: a brand new air-conditioned mall with chain stores, a food court and a familiar, inside-outside light filtering onto… Continue reading Shopping malls
I've finally put together a short 'cheat sheet' for people preparing to repatriate to their home country. Repatriations and return migrations are very common but they are not talked about as much as moves abroad, which is why I chose to do my PhD research on the subject. My research was with British households… Continue reading Repatriation cheat sheet
