Julien, since we last caught up with you in 2011, Expat Blog has grown and has recently become Expat.com. What prompted this change?
After 10 years of services, Expat-blog.com has become Expat.com to better address expats’ needs.
This change will help us become the reference on the worldwide market thus reflecting who we truly are; the largest participative network dedicated to expats. From a directory of expatriates’ blogs, we have evolved into a real social network for those who live or wish to live abroad.It is an important turning point as with Expat.com we are offering the ultimate tool to succeed in your expatriation.
There are now a lot of new sections on the site, as well as the blog directory. Talk us through some of the services and information offered by Expat.com.
We help our members throughout their project, whether you are about to relocate or already living in your host country.
To help them, we offer a range of tools for the country they are interested in:
– discussion forums
– expat guides
– jobs and housing sections
– business directory
– events sections
– classifieds
– photo album
– social network
– blog directory
– expat interviews
What are the most searched-for destinations on Expat.com? Why do you think these are so popular?
On Expat.com, the most popular expat destinations are Vietnam, UAE, Malta, China and Spain or the Dominican Republic. These are also popular expat destinations in general, offering great expat experiences. They offer new career opportunities and are therefore attractive to lots of expatriates.
One of the challenges of hosting a blog directory is that people often start blogging and then give up after a few months. Why do you think this is, and what does Expat.com do to ensure that content is fresh and up to date?
We offer other ways to share information. We are indeed much more than a blog directory and therefore expats can share information in several ways: answering questions on forums, writing an article in the guide, recommending services in the business directory, sharing pictures… Sharing is one of our core values: this interaction between our members is what invites them to keep posting content.
Do you have any advice for expats who are thinking about starting a blog?
If you wish to start an expat blog, you should first have the willing to share your experience abroad. Explain all your discoveries on your blog, how you adjust with your new life and culture of your host country. Try to regularly post articles.
I would also recommend illustrating your articles with a lot of pictures. But above all, be passionate about what you are writing!
Expat.com features forums, blogs, events listings, and properties for sale. Many of these can be found elsewhere online; in your opinion, what is the advantage of having a single portal like Expat.com?
Expat.com is a comprehensive website dedicated to expatriation. It’s a kind of one-stop shop: you can find here all you are looking for.
It also offers the unique opportunity to talk and share information with other expats all over the world. As we are a participative website, you can get in touch with other expats, ask questions, get answers, share your own experience and benefit from the experience of other expats.
Finally, what are your plans for the future? What can we expect to see from Expat.com over the next few months?
We will work on the social side of expat.com, by developing our brand-new Events section with more local events.
We will also surely develop mobile apps dedicated to expats.
Julien Faliu is the Founder of Expat.com, a site and network dedicated to life abroad. You can find out more and keep up to date with expats' blogs here.