Expatriots

It’s called the Laowai Freeze Out, or LFO for short, and it’s one of the most irritating things about being a foreigner in China.

It is too easy to rag on China. This is a country that has the world’s worst air quality, where contaminated food and water scares are common; a country that has an incredible gap between the rich and poor, a totalitarian government, and a heinous human rights record; a country that’s ravishing its own environment [...]

When the term “foreign national” is used in the Chinese media, all expats and travelers in the country tend to cringe.

On May 15th the city of Beijing announced a 100 day crackdown on foreign residents living in the city. Under the banner of smashing the “Three Illegals” of immigration — illegal entry, overstayed visas, and working without a permit — the police began setting up passport checkpoints in areas popular with foreigners, going into Western [...]

Caitlin Evans, Vagabond Journey’s Mexico correspondent and owner of Mexico City blog Chilangish writes about how – realistically – to move to Mexico City. Since moving to Mexico City a year ago, more than a few friends back in Canada have mentioned wanting to follow in my footsteps. Why all the interest? Despite its increasingly [...]

Amidst many new challenges that expats are facing with more restrictive immigration policies in many countries around the world, a new difficulty has reared its head for Americans living abroad — but this one comes from the country they left behind. Part of the HIRE Act, signed into effect by the president in mid-March 2010, [...]

There is a common notion amongst people from third world countries that I can go anywhere in the world and stay for as long as I want because I am an American and rich. Apparently, this is what they see. Rich Americans come into their towns as they please and seemingly stay for as long [...]