United Kingdom > Expat Experiences

Who are you?

I'm Brittney Strange and I blog over at Life of an Expat Parent. I write mostly about parenting and relationships with a dash of expat living. I'm an Ohio girl and an unlikely expat living in England. I'm married to a Briton and have two little dual citizens, The Duchess (2 years old) and The Duke (4 months old). I've worked in youth homelessness prevention and education for nearly four years and am currently on maternity leave.

I started my blog in 2011 a few months after my daughter was born. I thought I had acclimatized to British culture really well until I was introduced to parenting children in a culture that wasn't my own.    more ...

Who are you?

I'm a 49-year-old former RN (Registered Nurse) from the United States. I'm now a writer and sculptor, living and working in Exeter, UK.

Where, when and why did you move abroad?

I had been working as a nurse in California for four years before moving to the UK in 2010 to marry my wife. We had been engaged for the previous 7 years, living together for most of that time as I finished my nursing degree and she her PhD.    more ...

Who are you?

My name is Teodora Totorean and I am a Romanian woman living and working in the UK. I am self-employed, working from home as a freelance writer while trying to establish myself as an artist. I am also a Cultural Champion, occasionally going to schools in Devon, talking about Romanian culture through interactive presentations and other activities.

Where, when and why did you move abroad?

I came to the UK in 2005 in Woking, Surrey. Initially I came here as an au-pair to learn English and get a language certificate needed to continue my studies upon my return to Romania. I decided to stay after I met my future husband and got married in 2007.    more ...

Who are you?

My name is Catarina Bras, I am 26 years old. I was born in Portugal and lived majority of my life in Queluz with my family.

I studied Communication and Technology back in Portugal. When I moved to England, I enrolled on a Web Design course, where I obtained an ABC Level 3 Award in Web Production.

I currently work for a major UK airline, where I have worked for over 8 years. I am part of the Retail and Online team, which I really enjoy working for.    more ...

My name is Ariana, and I am an American expat that is living in England-- but this is not my first overseas rodeo. My parents became missionaries and moved with their seven kids to the Philippines when I was just eight years old. I grew up on the island of Mindanao, speaking the local dialect (Cebuano) fluently, eating dried fish with gusto, and snorkelling every week until I went to boarding school in Manila. When I graduated from high school, I moved back to California for college, but continued to hop on an international flight a couple times a year, both to visit my parents and to discover new places. I always had a hunger to see more of the world, and to get involved in humanitarian projects wherever I could.

Where, when and why did you move abroad?

After growing up overseas, I always imagined that I would probably live in another country at some point in the future. It was hard for me to imagine living in America for the rest of my life, since I didn't feel a particular sense of belonging or ownership for my "home" country.    more ...

I'm Melissa Buckler Smith, from Maryland, US.

I met my husband on-line. After almost 5 years of a long distance relationship, I was granted a Visa to marry him in January 2011. I moved to the North West of England in February and we were married in May. I was able to come for six months the previous year. I used that time to make sure this move was what we both wanted and to insure I could live here. When I returned to the US to start the Visa process I knew there was no where else I wanted to be. I also brought my cats with me from the US.    more ...

I'm a 30-something southern belle expat from the US. I've spent the last year adapting to all things British including Victorian plumbing, the value of wellies and a new found acceptance of full fat dairy products.

After deciding I needed to shake things up a bit in my life, I moved here in May 2009.    more ...

I am a 41yr old Aussie girl from Melbourne who has loved living in the UK for the last 7 (almost) years. I love reading, cooking, eating, music, travelling, watching tv talent shows - oh, and blogging!

I left my settled and comfortable life in Melbourne and arrived at Heathrow Airport in January 2004. The catalyst for the rather sudden decision (a week in November the previous year) was running late so me and my 2 super huge suitcases sat in the grey dawn of Terminal 4 and wondered how all this was going to work out. But I just knew that this was the next 'journey' for me, no matter how it looked right then or turned out in the future.    more ...

I'm CK. That's the initials to my name and after awhile, people around me just call me that. I suspect they've forgotten about what my actual name is and I'm not about to remind them.

Moved to London in the summer of 2007 with my wife. Well, there was an opportunity and it was then or never so here we are. How time flies, come to think of it.


What challenges did you face during the move?

Irony is that both of us have never set foot into London prior to our move. On hindsight, it was pretty foolhardy. I mean, plenty could have gone wrong as we knew no one here to begin with and had to figure everything out from scratch. We spent quite sometime trying to figure out the Tube and finding accommodation.    more ...