How to Live Abroad (Where to Start & A Shameless Plug)

Chilling at the famous pebble beaches of Nice in April 2009

If you've been reading me for a while (bless you! :D), you probably know that
living abroad completely changed my life.  It's something I'm very enthusiastic about and something that I wholeheartedly recommend.  I've written quite a bit about my stints in France and Spain and I also have some videos on my YouTube channel about living in a foreign country.

As a result, a large percentage of my reader/viewer mail is from people who aspire to live abroad and want advice.  I do my best to answer everyone but I've noticed that A) some questions get asked a lot and B) maybe what I tell certain individuals that others don't ask about can be helpful to a lot of people, so I've decided to start a whole new column/blog about the subject.

I've been planning Fishbowl2Ocean.com for a while now and I finally launched it a couple weeks ago.  It's a weekly blog geared towards young people (I'd say ages 15-35) where I will be posting every Monday.  I've started it in September because I want to sort of follow the timeline of an academic year, given the ages of my target audience: in first semester I'll be talking about the different options there are for living abroad; in the beginning of second semester I'll be talking about preparing for your stay; towards the end of second semester, I'll be talking about how to survive when you're there, so that my readers will have all the information to draw on while they plan and get ready in the summer.

I really hope that it will be helpful to those who are thinking of living in a different country, and that it will inspire people to get down to business and actually start planning, because it's a tremendous eperience that I think everyone should have.  Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to be rich to live abroad.  All you need is determination and a willingness to work for it, to make it happen.

Now, because most of my readers are Canadian, I also want to mention a national event that can be very useful and informative to you if you'd like to explore the idea of living in a different country.  The Go Global Expo begins today in Vancouver, will be moving to Toronto next weekend and then will be ending in Montreal the weekend after.  This event features a wide variety of exhibitors who represent companies that offer opportunities for people to work, study, and volunteer abroad.  There are seminars, photo exhibits, and (at the Toronto and Montreal events) keynote speakers.  It's a free event and the information is as follows:

Vancouver Expo
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Fairmont Vancouver Hotel
11am-5pm

Toronto Expo
Saturday, September 24, 2011-Sunday, September 25, 2011
Westin Harbour Castle Conference Centre
Saturday: 11am-5pm
Sunday: 11am-4pm

Montreal Expo
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Palais des Congrès
11am-5pm

Pre-registration for the event is available on their website.  I've never been to this expo before but I will be going this year so that I will be able to bring back useful information to my readers.  If you decide to go, I hope to see you there; don't be afraid to say hi, because I'm very approachable!  Meanwhile, if you're interested in the topic, I hope you will have a look at my new blog, Fishbowl2Ocean.

Thanks for reading me and please keep sending in your e-mails!

Love,
Me
XOXOXO

Inside the Puerta del Sol Christmas tree in Madrid in December 2010