r/AmericanExpat

Hi All, I’m from the US and have lived abroad in various countries for over 20 years now. I have always had an awareness (which has grown more nuanced over time) of some amount of resentment towards the US government and its policies, and I am a fairly well-informed person that understands that resentment.

Also, I live in a part of the world where there has recently been armed conflict instigated by my own government. I’m horrified by the things that are going on and the ways in which the orange menace and his lackeys are doing so much damage and inflicting so much harm, and so of course I understand that this is going to trickle down into how people see me, even if they logically differentiate between my nationality and me as a person…

My question is, how have you learned to adapt to living in places where you don’t really feel welcome? I’m not only interested in the experiences of Americans here—I’d love to hear from anyone from anywhere who has struggled with this…

I’m going to be here for another several years, so I don’t see this attitude that I’ve picked up on changing in that time. I’m wanting your insights on how to balance wanting to be polite and friendly while acknowledging that other people from the English speaking world don’t really want to have much to do with me right now. And it’s not because I’m an obnoxious, loud person—I promise I’m not. But also, I can’t be other than what I am. Right now, I’m more enjoying the company of people who aren’t from the English-speaking world. And it’s all fine—it’s character building, these types of challenges, but it’s not always easy. Thanks in advance for sharing!

American living in Japan here. Has anyone recently received a call from the embassy? I had a missed call (ignored because I didn't recognize the number) but the message left said it was from the US embassy asking me to call back and hit a specific number for American services or something. Double checking the phone number showed it was indeed from the US embassy in Japan. Calling them back and following the instructions in the message just took to me a repeating recording asking me to sign up for the STEP program.

So presumably pretty innocuous, but I'm curious why they are suddenly reaching out. Has anyone else gotten a similar call from their local embassy? In 20 years of living abroad I've only ever visited the US embassy to renew my passport on a couple of occasions. I know expat acquaintances from other countries will sometimes have to register their location with the embassy and some seem to go for periodic or seasonal events but I'm frankly surprised the embassy even has my phone number.

Again, no interest in enrolling in STEP, but I'm just curious if this something the state department is pushing? Is it just my local JP embassy?

My story is I am a musician with my hands in a lot of different things. Orchestra player, EDM performer, film scoring, and more. My hours are crazy and long. My wife is black and not to be political but being in the States has its issues no matter where you are.

It was TOTALLY different in Panama, mostly Panama City. She felt lot more comfortable and locals were friendly but she keeps talking about the super friendly and helpful expats that we saw and befriended while we were there. If any of you are on here, thank you. How she was received, treated, and the fun she was able to have is the primary reason why we are now looking at real estate and condos.

Of course she is on the shorter side, athletic, and really busty, and you would think that makes her easier to like but that is hardly the case where we live back home. Panama was totally different and after a few weeks even her interactions were changing with people especially expats who warmed up to her. She dressed differently mostly because of her comfort level not the heat, and did a lot more things that she would never do at home. One of those was an afternoon at a pool in a building with a guy and his wife, both expats. She loved the view of the city!

We will be back for sure and my wife is already looking at how soon because she wants a lot more of that kind of treatment.

So depending when I can get this last duck in a row is gonna determine when i actually leave, but whatever month it is next year is gonna determine my route as i avoid rainy season in all the countries.

I plan on traveling SEA for a full year before I comeback to america. Im curious how others have done this or what they did with the stuff they bring while bouncing around countries. I have a pretty large loosly planned itinerary of things to do and how to do them, but i havent figured out the packing part.

Do you pack super light? have a station you stay at like a homebase so you can meneuver better? money isnt really a problem for this trip either. im in my early 30s if that matters in yalls advice.

I am about to complete my HPI UK Visa. I will have access to the NHS. I was wondering if it is worth it to drop my US coverage and just pay for travel insurance when returning. I spend about eight months a year in the UK and Europe currently.

I'm doing my research before planning my move to an EU country in order to get residency based naturalization. For those of you that live in an EU country or Switzerland, how difficult was it for you to open a stock brokerage account?

I got born in the state of New York, none of my parents are US citizens(I have some relatives like cousins and uncle and aunt in the state of New York who I believe to be US citizens(not entirely sure)). There was never a good opportunity to live in the US, so I never did. The only 2 times I was in the USA were a couple months after my birth, and somewhere in 2012(I still was a little baby). Don't really know if my parents or I got registered at some address back then, but it surely would be an apartment they rented.

The only question I have - can I vote? If yes - how and under which conditions?
If I cannot vote - then what do I need to do to get such an ability?(Come to the US and get registered somewhere, etc).

Any help is appreciated! Thanks a lot in advance :]

When I was young I had foreign ESL pen pals. I enjoyed learning about regular people in other parts of the world. I do not participate in the social media platforms common in the West, because of how toxic they are, and how toxic the owners are. This means I am at a loss as to how to meet English speaking people from other parts of the world. I can help them with their English if they would benefit from that.

My goal is to learn about them and their culture and eventually visit them in their country. I have no desire to live sheltered in some enclave of entitled American expats. I don’t think normal tourism with regular guides will really show me what a place is really like. Are there any subreddits or web platforms to meet people this way? I am seeking friends only, not romantic interest.

I wish to make friends online who live in any of the regions that western expats tend to land with SE Asia, central America, and possibly Mexico being high on the list. Unfortunately for me, my ignorant country does not value learning a second language. My greatest handicap is that I only speak English. I am willing to learn to communicate better where ever I end up, but I am far better with STEM subjects than I am with languages.

Apologies if this is not appropriate for this sub. I am an American in my late 40’s hoping to retire early (in 6 to 10 years) somewhere where I can be part of the local community. I have many reasons for wanting to do so. The men in my family tend to die fairly early. My father collected 1 social security check before dieing, even though he had paid into SS since he was 12 years old. Going back 12 generations the Average age of death is 67 and the median is 56.

With the rise of the oligarchs in the states and their market capture of all aspects of modern life, I feel disheartened trying to stay and retire in the USA. I feel like I am giving them my hard earned money every day and getting less and less in return. I understand that the same is more or less an issue in many parts of the world, it just feels like the developing world still has pockets of local economies where the money I spend to by food, to pay rent, and to support local events, helps the local community.

Previously I have traveled to many rural areas in the western US thinking of retiring there. But the rural politics have now become so toxic, I do not wish to be a part of their communities.