Why We Live Out & Abroad

Hi there. Rica here and I’m the Chief Story Collector for Out & Abroad — a blog collective of stories depicting the journey one goes through when they move and live overseas.

I first moved to Singapore in 2012 after graduating from college. I was fresh faced, idealistic and hungry to explore the world and live on my own. During this exciting yet extremely challenging and confusing time (still is!), I relentlessly hunted for advice and stories online about young people like me who have also taken the leap, packed up their life and moved abroad.

But the thing is… I couldn’t really relate to the majority of expat blogs I saw online. I realised it was because they were often written from the POV of an older, conventional expat, whose mindset and approach to life is different from mine, and as I realized later on, those of my generation too.

Instead, I was looking for stories about people learning how to be an adult in a foreign country, making a life away from the safety net and comfort zone of home. Those who possessed the spirit of travel, but didn’t want to quit their jobs to travel the world. Autobiographies about adapting to a foreign workplace and paying the rent instead of partying every weekend. Comedies of living with foreign housemates and dramas of dealing with work permits. Culture shocks of an Asian upbringing adapting to a Western world. Are there people like me who also realised that independence is synonymous to doing the laundry? I wanted to find them.

Eventually, I met people during my life overseas who imparted their knowledge and wisdom about living abroad to me. But what a shame, I thought. Why should these priceless insights only be heard once you move and by chance happen to meet a kindred spirit in a foreign country!

That’s why Out & Abroad was born. I want to create and curate stories for people who don’t see geographical borders as boundaries to experience personal and professional growth.

Out & Abroad is not a travel blog (in the conventional sense at least) or an expat guide to the city, but a chronicle of real stories from curious individuals living all over the world who are learning more about themselves in the people they meet, and in the places they might come to love.

By collecting and sharing these stories, my hope is that Out & Abroad will serve as your realistic looking glass into the successes and failures, hopes and disappointments, challenges and opportunities of life abroad.

But I can’t do it alone. There’s a world full of globally minded individuals who need your stories to inspire and support their own journey, so that they may survive and thrive overseas too. After all, isn’t there something you wished someone told you before moving abroad?

So, why not let Out & Abroad become the platform to chronicle one of the most enriching times of your life, whether through a guest post or profile on our blog or a blurb on our Facebook and Instagram page. Write to me @ outandabroad@gmail.comor click here. I’d love to hear from you and help you share your story.

xx Rica