Gathering information about living abroad can be extraordinarily challenging and time-consuming. Finding the right sources for the myriad of questions we have can easily be overwhelming. Now we don’t promise you the moon, but we thought of coming as close as possible, by providing you with the list below ;)
The beauty of books is that if they don’t provide us with the answers we were looking for in the first place, they help us shoot improved questions.
Here is the list of are favourite books that turned upside down the way we see our daily life and long-term objectives as expats and more broadly as individuals.
1. Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette
This is a whole series of books written by various authors and for different countries across the world. I have personally read the one on Germany and found it very insightful and extremely funny.
2. Atomic Habits by James Clear
No other book in this list has had such a tremendous impact in my daily routines as this one. James Clear has a marvellous way of writing and gets you on board to enormous improvements in your life, starting with tiny, atomic changes.
3. A Field Guide to Getting Lost, by Rebecca Solnit
Being or becoming an expat is a roller coaster, no questions. And countless times along the way, we have felt and feel again out of place, vulnerable and lost. Rebecca Solnit knows a thing or two about it and teaches us how to embrace the downs of the journey and make the most out of it.
4. Think Again, by Adam Grant
Moving abroad comes with a stream of needed updates in our beliefs and habits. There can’t be a better time to read a book about giving our long-dated ideas and beliefs a refresh. We as expats are trained for being at the edge of change and this book has a huge potential in granting us the examples and most of all the structure, to make it a success.
5. Beginners, by Tom Vanderbilt
Never stop learning. Never. No one more than expats is up for the task of challenging your status quo, challenge your certainties and give it a shot! Then if we have taken the decision to leave our homes and live abroad, anything else we want to start from scratch will be a walk in the park! Not quite right? Then this book is for you!
6. The psychology of money, by Morgan Housel
Living abroad for most of us comes with some income advantage. Suddenly you get a higher purchasing power than before and ask yourself the question: what should I do with my money? If personal finance was not part of your education, it’s never too late to read about it now. This book is a great chance to get into the topic, covering investing, personal finance, and business decisions. I fell in love with the book and its many down-to-earth examples. Can only recommend it!
7. Third Culture Kids, by David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken
If the journey is challenging for us, for our kids it will be just as challenging, but in very different ways. Third Culture Kids is a great way to dive into the thoughts, joys and fears of kids raised in countries far from their parents’.
8. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
A bit of old school here. Expats weren’t invented yesterday, and tematics dear to us were part of Hemingway’s very first novel. Set between France and Spain the novel narrates the stories of a group of young American expatriates.
9. Let’s move abroad, by Charlotte Rijkenberg
When the title says it all! Charlotte Rijkenberg brings us along on her path abroad keeping no secrets and sharing very practical and extremely useful advice on how to best live the expat experience.
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