Expats face particular challenges and risks that the average person does not, which means that your life or education are likely insufficient to help you survive, let alone thrive, cross-culturally. Whether it’s figuring out international banking, learning a language to high levels of fluency, staying safe from kidnappers, enduring 30+ hours of travel with children, saving for retirement while an expat, learning a culture deeply, or keeping your family healthy amidst cross-cultural stresses, The Prepared Expat is your guide to help you not just survive, but thrive as an expat.
I started The Prepared Expat in 2020 because, despite all the incredible resources on the internet, few are dedicated to expats. I found a lot of information was written for a monocultural life and was just plain wrong–often laughably wrong–for an expat’s life. The Prepared Expat is for people like me. People like you.
A bit about me
More than degrees or academic qualifications, my experience (and my mistakes!) are what has formed the basis of The Prepared Expat. Here’s who I am:
- I’m an expat. I grew up in the US but have been an expat for almost all my adult life, moving overseas a few months after I graduated college.
- I love exploring different places and cultures. I’ve gotten stamps in my passport from 13 different countries or territories, and plans to add to that number.1
- My wife grew up in Asia, so our marriage is a cross-cultural and bilingual one. Talk about needing to learn a culture deeply!
- My kids were born in three countries on two different continents and are audiobooks-at-2x-speed bilingual.
- My wife and I have both gained a high degree of fluency in a language other than our native language. I work in multiple languages and across multiple cultures.
- Everything about my life is cross-cultural, from raising bicultural and bilingual kids to a cross-cultural marriage to a bilingual and cross-cultural job.
- I coach people in person and via The Prepared Expat from dozens of countries all over the world.
Academically, I graduated summa cum laude with a Master’s of Education with a specialty in ESL and a thesis comparing the effectiveness of different language learning methodologies. I am ESL certified and have taught ESL for more than ten years. I graduated summa cum laude with my bachelor’s degree in Philosophy.
A few of my personal interests: personal finance, history, second language acquisition, argumentation & debate, philosophy, and more.
Get in touch!
I’d love to hear from you, learn about the challenges you’re facing, and see if I can help solve them for you! Just fill out the form below to get in touch:
My free gift to you!
I’ve compiled some of the most-overlooked and most critical tips and tricks for expat living into a book, written by an expat for expats. I’d love to give you the first chapter absolutely free!
Just sign up for The Prepared Expat’s email newsletter; not only will you get an email every time I publish something, but you’ll also get a free chapter of my book!
Follow The Prepared Expat!
- Ok, so technically I’ve not gotten a stamp from Mexico or Canada, even though I’m including them on this list as a country I’ve been to. ↩︎