expat life

Once you’ve decided on moving to the US, it’s time to start planning and getting organised. However, there are a million questions to ask and things to consider.

Frankly, it can be more than a ...Read More

One of the more confusing bits about moving away from Australia for a bit, is working out if you're still eligible to be voting in Australian elections while living overseas. There are ways to eithe...Read More

The prospect of getting a California Real ID over at the infamous Department of Motor Vehicles sent chills down my spine. Mostly because my expat experience of moving to California from Australia and ...Read More

It's no secret that I've lived in the US for a good while now (just over three years). And for the most part, the questions about Australia have slowed to a trickle. But every now and then I'll meet s...Read More

Anyone looking to relocate in the US, or move here at all, wants the best chance of success. So you'll want to pick a city, town or suburb that offers the best chance of success. But how do you guage ...Read More

If there's one thing that might break your expat child's heart (or yours), it's leaving a cherished pet behind. But what should you consider before starting the process of bringing family pets into th...Read More

The prospect of moving abroad alone is enough to make you really consider every single thing that could possibly go wrong. It's a leap of faith and if you think you went through making the decision wi...Read More

We've talked about getting your children Australian Citizenship by descent and now it's time to get into the mechanics of how to apply for an Australian passport in the USA.

But first, a little cau...Read More

As the date of your E3 visa interview looms, there's no need to get nervous or worried about what's in store. Lots of Australian expats looking for work in the US have been there before you and have a...Read More

Completing your E3 visa renewal doesn't have to be a difficult task. Some of the steps (especially pre-interview) can be a little difficult to understand though.

I'm setting out all of the steps for ...Read More

You’re new to a country (or state) and need to buy cheap furniture, or kitchen gadgets. Which US stores do you visit to get them?

Maybe these examples are a little too simple in the era of globalis...Read More

It's not just being on the right side of the road while driving in the US that will be tricky, whether you're moving here or just on holiday.

Although, you'll be surprised how often you get slightly ...Read More

There's a bit of a panic around US green cards at the moment. If the proposal to slash the number of green cards offered each year in half comes to fruition, it'll make them even more difficult to obt...Read More

Now that you've decided to look for a US job the more difficult part begins. Sure you know what the most popular job posting websites are in your own country, but how do you find the good ones in the ...Read More

My two year "America-versary" crept up and slinked by quickly. I had an inkling that moving abroad would change my outlook on life and the world, but you never really know how you're going to react to...Read More

One of the first things you should consider before accepting a job and moving to the US, is the cost of living. It will vary greatly depending on which state and city you chose to live in. There reall...Read More

One of the first things a new expat in the United States needs is a Social Security Number (SSN). It is the key to everything from building a credit history to working and reporting income to the gove...Read More

You've just been outside of the US on an exciting holiday (vacation) but now it's time to dig out your visa and line up in the US Customs queue. Maybe you're on a H-1B, a J or an E2 or E3 visa and it'...Read More

 Let's get one thing straight: I am NOT a good person to live with. I'm a neat freak but only in certain situations, I like my alone time and if you eat my food or finish the milk without replacing i...Read More

Netflix and Amazon TV are fantastic, and I refuse to spend money on cable television here in the US, but sometimes you just want to hear your own accent coming out of the magical picture box.

I'm no...Read More

If you're going to celebrate Australia day in the USA, you may as well do it with a bunch of Aussies who you can reminisce with, or at least feel like you can be yourself. We've got a round up of the ...Read More

The devastating bush fires that are ravaging Australia have been burning for months now.

At the time of writing this post, 23 people have been killed in fires across Australia since September...Read More

Despite a lack of snow, San Francisco knows how to turn on the holiday charm and organise Christmas activities that will knock your socks off. From Christmas fairs to holiday high teas, we've rounded ...Read More

If you're looking for Australian TV shows to watch in the US you've come to the right place. We'll be updating this post as regularly as possible, including the Australian TV shows that have been pick...Read More

The Australian New Zealand Army Corps, also known as ANZACs, refers to the combined forces of the two countries, first deployed for major military action during World War I. To this day, Australians...Read More

Whether you have spent years or just months living in another country as an expat, if you’ve decided it’s time to go back home, you may be experiencing some mixed feelings. Returning home after li...Read More

Living the life of an Aussie nomad seems to be pretty high on the bucket list for lots of young'uns these days. And some of the older generation too, not to discriminate there. But there's a genuine l...Read More

When you're travelling for Christmas, or just living in a new country, Christmas can feel a little foreign (pun intended). You might be in a completely different hemisphere than you're used to. Which ...Read More

What happens when you pack up your life, including three children in Australia, and take them on a year long US road trip? I'd like to say magic. But I'm thinking that it'd be more like 365 days worth...Read More

It's no secret that I've lived in the US for a good while now (just over three years). And for the most part, the questions about Australia have slowed to a trickle. But every now and then I'll meet s...Read More

Moving overseas is almost easy nowadays - from the bunch of expat groups and businesses ready to give you advice, to organisations ready to help with the visa process. But that's mostly if you're usin...Read More

Americans have a special talent for making cuisines from other country their own. Usually by employing the use of a deep fryer and various condiments. It's all about catering to the American tastebud,...Read More

When it comes to preparing for natural disasters, expats can be excused for feeling lost. They might not have grown up in a country or city prone to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tropical storms, w...Read More

Doing maths in the morning is never a signal that the day will go well (for me). But when it means working out exactly how long I've been hopping on planes to the other side of the world, there's a sl...Read More

I went home to Sydney last week for a few days, which meant a big chunk of flying in a small amount of time. It gave me the chance to experience some pretty awful behaviour on the part of some travell...Read More

While the Australian government truly begins the job of convincing people that its online health record plan will ultimately benefit them, Australian expats might be left scratching their heads. Will ...Read More

Confession time: I am a World Cup fan and the 2018 World Cup tournament will be the first where I won't be setting alarms for 1.40AM to watch my favourite teams take to the field. Instead I'm in the ...Read More

Bringing pets to Australia is a much more nuanced and prolonged process than taking them out of the same country. Australia's stringent quarantine laws are well-known throughout the world. And they ca...Read More

There's a ring on my left hand that wasn't there a couple of weeks ago and it's sparkling at me as I sit at my laptop (eating Cheetos). I'm trying to figure what to say about finally being engaged to ...Read More

Every time I think that I've scraped the very bottom of the 'Only in America' barrel, I come across more delightfully US-centric things that leave me laughing or shaking my head.

I'd promise that t...Read More

If you’re new to the US, you have your hands full adjusting to your new life. It’s temptingly easy to ignore your credit. But that would be a mistake, and here’s why.

In the US, your credit s...Read More

It's great when your family can all stop, take a little time off, and explore a new place together. But if you've got school-aged children, you're hemmed in by school holidays (or summer vacation he...Read More

As I waded through last year's Australian Budget papers and sat down to write about it all from an expat point of view, I began by saying that it was a typical election budget. Having done the same ...Read More

Never underestimate the unbridled joy involved in navigating the US tax system. It seems like a foregone conclusion if you were to judge solely on the sheer number of US tax-related threads starte...Read More

The Australian market is a small one in the grand scheme of things. Aussies know that if they really want to make it big, setting up a company in the US is the way to go. But where do you begin with w...Read More

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[et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text"]If you're not up-to-date on election cycles, all you had to do was list...Read More

Opening a US bank account can be a little tricky for expats who don’t have a Social Security Number, but it’s not impossible.

If you know what you’re doing, and what banks need from you, it can...Read More

Transferring money overseas can sometimes be heart breaking. You've worked hard for that $20,000, for example, only to receive $13,882 at the other end. And let's be honest, most of the time it's not ...Read More

One of the first things you should consider before accepting a job and moving to the US, is the cost of living. It will vary greatly depending on which state and city you chose to live in. There reall...Read More

If you had a relatively simple tax return to complete each year in Australia (before moving to the USA), you may have muddled your way through the ATO’s tax pack or online tax return forms or used a...Read More

Aussie expats who still have student debt in the form of HECS, HELP or TSL bills may have to begin paying it back based on their worldwide income.

If you've managed to miss this piece of ne...Read More

Aussies across the country settled in for the annual drinking game that is "The Budget", last Tuesday (May 9). While Treasurer Scott Morrison (aka ScoMo) swayed and leant on the lecturn, we waited wit...Read More

One of the first things a new expat in the United States needs is a Social Security Number (SSN). It is the key to everything from building a credit history to working and reporting income to the gove...Read More

America: where capitalism came to buy more stuff. You can purchase literally ANYTHING in this country, which throws up some very weird conundrums between what you want and what you actually need.

I w...Read More

You've wracked up a healthy HELP, HECS or TSL debt getting that fancy-pants degree or trade that helped you move overseas to work in the first place. And we all know that the delightful Australian Tax...Read More

 Regardless of how great you've been at managing your credit in Australia, once you move you're going to have to start from the very beginning building your US credit history.
It can be a little depr...Read More

Guest Article by Craig Joslin, Founder of The Australian Expat Investor – A website with a treasure trove of informative articles to help Australian Expats Build Their Wealth While Living Abroad. Ge...Read More

  Tipping is my nightmare. I don't know who expects to be given a bit of extra cash on top of the bill, how much says "you're lovely" and how little means "this is ridiculous", or when to offer the ...Read More

The Australian market is a small one in the grand scheme of things. Aussies know that if they really want to make it big, setting up a company in the US is the way to go. But where do you begin with w...Read More

Working in Silicon Valley can be fun. It just sounds cool doesn't it? That's a rhetorical question for people who don't live here and never have.

It's the Tech World's Mecca, and has a huge concentra...Read More

Now that you've decided to look for a US job the more difficult part begins. Sure you know what the most popular job posting websites are in your own country, but how do you find the good ones in the ...Read More

One of the most daunting parts of moving to the US is jumping into the market for expat jobs. It's competitive because not only are you competing with those who already live in the US, and are cheaper...Read More

You may have caught me talking about this before, when I did a roundup of etiquette in the US workplace. But it's come up again, specifically in my quest to get back to Australia for a couple of wee...Read More

It's funny because it's not a thing, right? Right? WRONG! (or maybe right)

Today a thoughtful colleague passed on a recently posted job ad that totally blew my mind. Mapbox, a US map design compan...Read More

This is going to be a short one, but it will detail just another time where I crammed my gigantic foot inside my equally-large mouth. I guess you could put it down to a case of words bypassing the bra...Read More

Moving to the US was about more than just experiencing a new country – it was also going to be my first insight into the corporate office world.

My previous work life was spent mucking around in n...Read More

As expats, many of us from Australia and further away from the US, it can be difficult to find enough time to take your child out of school to travel home. Skipping school to travel home from th...Read More

Deciding whether to send your child to an American international schools can be difficult. Especially if you don't have any previous experience with international schools.

Firstly, it's a good idea t...Read More

Moving overseas with toddlers in tow is difficult enough, but add finding a suitable preschool in your new home country to the mix and it can be a truly challenging time.

If you missed our Guide to...Read More

Your child’s first experience with preschool is always going to be a step into the unknown for them, but it doesn’t have to be for you, especially if you’ve just moved to the US from another ...Read More

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[et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text"]One of the biggest headaches for expat parents would have to be navigat...Read More