Starting a chat with someone new can be a little scarier when you’ve lost that expat hook. You know the chat – so how long have you lived here? Where are you from? Where did you live before you moved here? Nikki talks about her new intro chats as a repat and how she’s coping with conversations that seem to go nowhere.

When were you your most confident as an expat? Was it pre/post expat? Nikki and Kirsty discuss when they were at their most confident and why.

Our favourite things

Kirsty:

Life After Life

The Bear

The Big Swing – Season Two

Angela Hicks on Instagram

Nikki:

The Three Body Problem (Netflix)

Lie to Me

Nikki has given birth to a poet

See you in the first week of August.

The post I’ve lost my hook first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

This week we discuss Expats the television series based in Hong Kong. The series is adapted from the novel The Expatriates written by Janice Y.K. Lee.

Nikki is 6 months in with her repatriation and has a very honest chat about being friendless and miserable.

Our favourite things:

Tiny Beautiful Things

American Fiction

Past Lives

Taylor Swift The Eras Tour

One Day

Expats

The post Expats – The Series first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

What is a good salary in Doha? London? Jakarta? We’ve all seen the questions based on how much money you need to make to survive, today we have a new question. What’s been the biggest cost you didn’t foresee when you moved? What did you forget to factor in?

We also talk about the grieving expat. Going through grief when no-one understands the enormity of your loss. How do we cope with losing expat friends when we’ve moved on to a new location?

Favourite things:

Kirsty:

We talk Robbie Williams, Last Stop Larrimah, and Glen Maxwell’s iconic cricket innings.

Nikki:

Bosch Legacy – Season 2, Hard Fork (podcast), and a little story about lost in translation

What are you watching and listening to? How’s life where you are this week? Link in the comments.

The post How much money will I need? first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

The Trailing Spouse is dead – this week on the podcast we talk about why the “Accompanying Spouse” has arrived. I mean the Accompanying Spouse was always a better term wasn’t it? We all walk side by side don’t we? Sidenote – the term Trailing Spouse will no longer be used in the Two Fat Expats Facebook Group with Accompanying Spouse being the preferred term.

We’re also talking Posh and Becks and how no matter how much money you have or how many football teams you own you’re still going to lay awake at night thinking of schools, finding a hairdresser, finding new friends and feeling like a fish out of water.

We also discuss dealing with strong opinions on your host country from people who’ve never lived there. Has social media made it worse? 

Kirsty’s three favourite things:

Somewhere in Queens (Movie)

Blackberry (Movie – Amazon Prime)

The Morning Wars/The Morning Show – Season 3

Nikki’s three favourite things:

Nikki also loved Beckham

Silo  (television – apple tv)

Getting a giggle from the silent walking trend aka walking

The post The Trailing Spouse is Dead first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

This week on the podcast we answer a question from the Fatterati’s “Should I go home?” We also discuss the complications of re-acquainting yourself with old friends after repatriation.

Kirsty’s three favourite things:

Exposed (podcast)

Deadloch (television)

Travis and Taylor and everything EVERYTHING about them

Ange Postecoglou and The Tottenham Spurs

Nikki’s three favourite things:

Sex Education Season Four (television)

The Newsreader Season Two (television)

Wilderness (television)

What are you watching and listening to? Are Travis and Taylor the content you didn’t know you needed? What do you think of the social media trend “Taylor put Travis on the map”. How’s life where you are? Link in the comments.

The post Should I go home? first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

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Nikki has repatriated and she’s yet to make a new friend BUT it’s not all bad because she’s living in paradise AND she’s discovered her new favourite drink (a gin mule).

This week on the podcast we’re talking repatriation, the good, the bad and the ugly cry.

Kirsty’s three favourite things:

The Girlfriends (Podcast)

What’s love got to do with it (film)

Matidlas (Disney + Doco)

And I know I said three favourite things but I had to mention Wham! (Doco) 

Nikki’s favourite three things:

Scamanda (Podcast)

You (television)

The Summer I turned Pretty (television)

The post Repatriation – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Cry first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

This was Nikki’s very last podcast before she repatriated.

The post When do you spill the beans that you’re moving? Long term postings or always on the move which one are you? first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

It’s been seven hours and sixteen years…yes I know the song doesn’t go like that but it fits with the intro. It’s been a long time since Kirsty and Nikki have hit the maternity ward so we asked the Fatterati what it was like to have a baby away from home. We also did an expat mental health check, Nikki is now down to her last week as an expat before hitting the repatriation trail. Lots to discuss.

We also gave you our three favourite things (which we didn’t agree on) Nikki loves The Diplomat Kirsty not a fan. Come and have a listen and tell us what you think.

See you next week.

The post Given birth away from home lately? Here’s how things have changed. Also, an expat mental health check. first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

What are some of the unique challenges long term expats face? Savings and superannuation, self care and medical issues? Heart breaking friend break ups? Property ownership and all the tax implications that come with it? We ran through a few.

We shared food discoveries from the Fatterati, what can’t you now live without?

Kirsty’s three things: The Fablemans, Chris Rock, Benjamin Law article on Survivor experience

Nikki’s three things: The witch trials of JK Rowling, Pokerface, MH 370 the plane that disappeared.

The post Want to know the truth? Here’s some long term expat challenges you may not have thought about. Food discoveries from the Fatterati. first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

Also, the ageist expat are you a victim or a perpetrator?

Kirsty’s three things:

Shrinking, The Big Swing and while we’re on the subject….golf!

Nikki’s favourite three things:

White Collar, 1923, Robbie Williams live in Copenhagen

And watch out Amsterdam we’re coming for you!

The post I don’t like it here – what to do when you hate your location. first appeared on Two Fat Expats.

Welcome to our first live audience podcast recorded in Singapore – yes yes Kirsty was in Singapore in 2016 but it was a 4 kids, 20 suitcases and a beagle reading whereas this was the full package!

The theme of the evening was friends. Kirsty asked Nikki will she have to change the way she recruits friends upon repatriation. What will be different? Nikki asked Kirsty How will you replenish or change up your friendship group post covid now that you have quite a defined time split between countries?

We then talked all things expat friendships before giving our three favourite things.

Kirsty:

The Kelce brothers and their mother Donna.

Here’s the video of her post game

Bullet Train:

This NYT article about why men find it so hard to make friends

Nikki:

That 90’s show

Offline – Jon Favreau – Interview with Dr Robert Waldinger (the Good Life – Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness)

Pivot – Scott Galloway – Friendship Aside

The post Doing it live in Singapore first appeared on Two Fat Expats.