7. Get a no fee credit card
For American expats, this is a must. No fee credit cards charge no foreign fees, and while the actual exchange rate is not the spot rate, it is pretty close. Going back to Point 3, you may wonder well if I don’t earn dollars, why do I want to continue using a dollar based credit card? Well, you’ve likely not saved up much of the local currency and if you want to make any large purchases like a TV or a vacation, those dollar based savings accounts will have to be tapped. There’s no point to pay foreign transaction fees when there are many cards that don’t charge them!
Update Jan 2015: There are now numerous cards that don’t charge international fees like the Chase Sapphire and the Barclays Arrival! They charge annual fees though which might not be worth it for expats only using said cards for travel purposes.
8. Explore and travel like a fiend.
A big part of the reason I wanted to move to South Africa was for the opportunity to travel to countries I’d likely never see unless I lived here. It’s not easy to travel to Africa from the US and perhaps a visit or two would have been it before I “checked Africa” off my list. Now, I’ve been to Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia, and a long road trip through the Garden Route of SA. I have trips planned to Uganda, Madagascar, Vic Falls, the Okavango, and Mozambique this year.
For me, there’s nothing cooler than exploring the world and seeing what I don’t know. There’s so much to see that one lifetime is likely not enough but it’s all the lifetime I’ll get so best to see something than to see nothing at all. My time spent in Johannesburg lends to the perfect launching spot for traveling to all these other amazing places within Africa. If I was an expat in Singapore however, I’d be using that as a launchpad to travel all throughout South East Asia or if I was an expat in London, I’d be seeing all of Europe. You just have to make the most of your time and place. Mine just happens to Africa at the moment and I have zero qualms with that. Plus the rand is worthless at the moment so it’s better I stay in the developing world!
9. Start a blog
When all else fails, start a blog like me :). It’ll keep you busy and is a good way to not blow all your money at the club and save it for point #8.
10. Have a connection to home that visits
You’re going to miss what you’re used to having at home no matter where you live. There’s a load of things I miss about home, which I’ll likely write about in another post. South Africa is developed but some things like electronics and clothing are more expensive here (and get released much later). In addition, you just know where to get certain things back home and sometimes you just don’t’ want the hassle of trying to find it in your new home. I keep a list of when people are visiting me so I can have them bring me whatever I’m missing. Want the new iPhone? It’s going to be much more expensive in South Africa and it won’t be released until months after it is released in the US. Want Banana Republic clothing? It’ll cost about 3x as much in South Africa. An American Football? Forget about it. How about ANYTHING from Amazon.com? Well unless you’re willing to fork over 40$ for international shipping, best find someone in the US willing to bring over shipments for ya.
11. Take videos as well as pictures
While pictures may make cool Facebook or Instagram posts, videos are really where I open time and time again to look at to remind myself of what I’ve done. Everyone has fancy smartphones nowadays and the difference between taking a picture and a video is two buttons next to each other.
12. Expect Frustrations to Arise
Anywhere you go in the world, it’s going to be different than home and things that may get done quickly and painlessly at home, may be the complete opposite abroad. South Africa is a quintessential example of this. When I first moved here, there was just so much random shit I had to do but the customer service that would allow me to do said random shit was so sub-par that it left me extremely frustrated most of the time.
Nevertheless, as time has passed, I find myself becoming more like the locals, nonchalant and carefree when it comes to customer service mishaps. I know I’m not in NYC anymore where anything I want to get done can be done within a square km of me and done quickly. I’ve begun to walk slower, talk slower, and I can expect absolutely nothing to get done when I visit the bank. In fact, I actually go into a bank with the expectation that I will likely have to come back again because they’ll fuck something up. I just say to myself, “Well? TIA. I’ll come back now now. ”
13. Home will always be there, embrace the now.
Unless the company is paying to fly you back home regularly or your parents are dying, there’s no reason to fly home so often. Home is NYC for me and that place isn’t going anywhere. It’s a great place for sure but it’ll be there waiting for me when I do return. It’s all about focusing on where I am now because my time here is an opportunity and a privilege. Use that time to explore as much of your surrounding as you can. Not only will this help ease the transition into living in another country, but ultimately makes it a more gratifying experience.
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