Expat Experiences in the USA

When considering a move to a new city, there is nothing more useful than hearing real-life stories from other expats who have had the benefit of living there. If you live or have lived in the USA and would like to share your experience, please contact us.

Moving to the USA from the Netherlands – Read interviews with Dutch expats living in the USA

Conny is a blogging and video content creator from the Netherlands, living in Dallas. She and her husband moved to Dallas nearly two years ago, and they have encountered relatively few low points in their transition – and some quite surprising ones. Conny’s blogs and vlogs cover topics like spirituality, being an expat, and fashion and lifestyle in Dallas. Read more about Conny’s expat experience in Dallas.

Moving to the USA from Peru – Read interviews with Peruvian expats living in the USA

Peruvian expat Gustavo is living in Washington, DC and working as a mortgage loan officer. He has a lot of professional experience helping other newcomers integrate into Chocolate City, with a focus on financial advice, building a credit history and buying a home in DC. Read about his expat experience in Washington, DC.

Moving to the USA from the Philippines – Read interviews with Filipino expats living in the USA

Ruby, currently living in Jacksonville, Florida, hails from the Philippines. She and her husband, Peter, run two blogs about life and travel in and around Florida. Read about her expat experience in Jacksonville.
Marie describes herself as a westernised Filipina living in rural California. After two decades as a corporate writer she is currently reinventing herself, blogging and sharing her considerable expertise of being an expat in the USA via her revealing expat interview on life in California.

Moving to the USA from South Africa – Read interviews with South African expats living in the USA

South African expat Melanie is currently living her best life in Las Vegas. Though she enjoys the lights and excitement of this big city, it’s the nature and hiking trails in the area that she wants to encourage others to explore. Read more about her expat experience in Las Vegas.
Hendrik is a South African expat who moved to England at a relatively young age and later lived in New York before finally making the move to Denver, Colorado a few years ago. He describes what expat life is like in Denver, shares his favourite spots and things to do in the city, and gives his verdict on the city's transport, healthcare and more. Read more about his expat experience in Denver, Colorado.
Quinne is a South African who spent many years in California before returning to Johannesburg with her family. She is a certified birth coach and doula to parents preparing for their transition into parenthood, and is also a known public speaker and actress in television, film and theatre. Read about her expat experience in San Diego.
Andrea arrived in the United States from South Africa in 1987. She lives with her husband in northern California, and has three children. She works as a personal consultant with students and families involved in their higher education search and college application process. Read more about Andrea and her expat experiences of life in the USA.

Moving to the USA from Brazil – Read interviews with Brazilian expats living in the USA

Laura is a Brazilian writer and content creator living in New York City. Here she tells us about what she loves about America and its vibrant, melting-pot culture, and what she still struggles to deal with, like not having access to universal healthcare. Read more in her interview about living in New York.

Moving to the USA from Denmark – Read interviews with Danish expats living in the USA

Peter is a novelist, poet, human being, ex-astrologer, Beatles-fan, spiritual airhead, American resident and a Danish citizen. Living between Copenhagen and Portland since 2005, Peter is now based permanently in the ‘City of Roses’, where he writes full time. Read about his experience living in Portland, Oregon.

Moving to the USA from Italy – Read interviews with Italian expats living in the USA

Italian-born expat Simona has been living in Northern California for the past 25 years. She initially struggled with constantly having to speak English, but now sometimes feels like the US is more home than Italy. Read about her thoughts on living in Northern California.

Moving to the USA from Ireland – Read interviews with Irish expats living in the USA

Las is an Irish expat who lived in Houston for almost eight years. She has since moved back to Northern Ireland but misses the US every day. Las initially struggled with loneliness when she just arrived in the US but advises expats to get mobile to combat this feeling. Read more of her advice on expat life in Houston.

Moving to the USA from France – Read interviews with French expats living in the USA

Emmanuelle is a French expat and mother of two who has lived in eight cities and five countries and speaks four languages. She considers herself a French citizen by birth, but a global citizen by heart. Read more about her expat experiences in Miami.
Veronique is from Lyon, France, but she defines herself as a world citizen and an experienced expatriate woman. She has already been relocated four times around the globe, including a move back ‘home’ from 2005 to 2008. She lived three years in Norway and three years in Sri Lanka. She has been living in Chicago, USA, since July 2008. Read about her take on expat life in the USA.

Moving to the USA from Canada – Read interviews with Canadian expats living in the USA

Janice is a Canadian expat currently living and working as a realtor in Houston, Texas. Having lived as an expat before in both Australia and Indonesia, she uses her first-hand knowledge of the expat experience to advise new arrivals on their options for accommodation in Houston. Read more about her expat life in Houston.

Moving to the USA from the United Kingdom – Read interviews with British expats living in the USA

From a small oil city in Scotland to a sprawling metropolis in America, Victoria made a life-changing decision to move to Houston, Texas two years ago. As a real estate consultant in Houston, her aim is to help others avoid the potential property pitfalls that can be encountered by expats. Read on to find out more about her expat experience of life in Houston.
British-born Molly moved to Toledo, Ohio, in 2013 to be with her American husband. Her blog, Transatlantic Notes, is a collection of tips, musings about American life, and even recipes. Read more about her expat experience in the USA.
Jayne is a British writer currently living in New York. She is currently working simultaneously, and in a way that is driving her a little crazy, on her fourth and fifth books. For light relief, and to stay in touch with the friends, family and dogs she misses so much, she writes a blog based on her experience of living in New York.
Karen is British expat currently living in Bentonville, Arkansas, USA. A blogger about the small positives in life, she also likes to write about the contrasts in life between the UK and the USA. Read on to learn about her experiences as an expat in Arkansas.
Kimberly, a British expat living in New York City, can certainly feign American, but she still feels more comfortable embracing her local roots. The young actress hopped over the pond to make it in Manhattan, and after two years she still stands impressed by all the city has to offer. Read about her expat experience in NYC.
Siobhan was born and raised in Scotland, and decided to give America a shot for six months. Nine years later, she’s still there but with a lot more baggage than she arrived with. Read about her expat experiences here.
Brit Journalist Emma married "The American" and moved herself and her "Meanager" to the even meaner streets of New York City. When not feeding her twitter addiction, she enjoys the dark arts of procrastination, vintage shopping and sniffing things she can’t afford in Manhattan department stores. Read on for a particularly sardonic take on expat life in the Big Apple.
Born and brought up in England, Toni has lived in Chicago since 1991, when she moved there with her husband. Toni is a contributor to Expat Arrivals and the author of Rules Britannia; an Insider’s Guide to Life in the United Kingdom. Read her interview about living in Chicago.
Sara is a fashion stylist and freelance writer from London currently navigating the sticky sidewalks of New York’s fashion district. She shipped out at short notice from the United Kingdom with her husband and three children to bring her fashion-savvy know-how States-side. Follow the link to read her advice on successful expatriation.
Julie lived in Beavercreek, Ohio for two years and has since returned to Dorset, England. She has travelled extensively, including three years living in Germany and is the author of a guide for expats on moving to the USA. Read all about her expat experiences of life in the USA.

Moving to the USA from Australia – Read interviews with Australian expats living in the USA

Josh is a 30-year-old Australian who moved to New York City in January 2017. While everything in his life was going amazingly in Australia he felt that it was time to shake things up. He sold almost everything he owned, packed two suitcases, and arrived in the East Village. Read on to find out about his impressions of expat life in New York City.
Australian-born Katherine moved to San Francisco in mid-2015 to pursue a job opportunity. Now settled in, she reflects on life in the city and shares her expat experience in San Francisco.
Anne-Marie, originally from Australia, moved to New Jersey with her husband and children in 2010. In an interview with Expat Arrivals, Anne-Marie describes the pros and cons of her expat experience in the USA.

Moving to the USA from Switzerland – Read interviews with Swiss expats living in the USA

Swiss-born Sandra moved to Boston in 2016 to be with her husband. Learn more about her expat experience in Boston.

Moving to the USA from Armenia – Read interviews with Armenian expats living in the USA

Emma is an Armenian expat who has been living with her Minnesotan husband in Minneapolis since July 2015. Read her interview about her expat experience in Minneapolis.

Moving to the USA from India – Read interviews with Indian expats living in the USA

Padmaja is an Indian expat living in Seattle. She moved to the USA along with her young daughter when her husband was offered a new job opportunity in Seattle. Read her interview to learn more about Padmaja’s expat experience in Seattle.

Moving to the USA from Germany – Read interviews with German expats living in the USA

Laura moved to New York City in 2010 after completing her degree in Germany. In this interview, we find out more about life in the Big Apple and Laura’s expat experience in New York.

Moving to the USA from New Zealand – Read interviews with New Zealand expats living in the USA

Marie was born in New Zealand and made Australia her home many years ago. Since then she has lived and worked in 26 countries from India to Bogotá to Malaysia. She now lives in Houston, Texas with her husband where she practices as a life coach for expats. Find out more about Marie’s expat experiences.

Returning to the USA – Read interviews with American expats returning home

Originally from New York, Edwina recently moved to Portland from Paris, France where she lived for 6 years. She loves forming community around singing, dancing, rolling skating and laughing! Edwina has loved adjusting to a new life in Portland and finds it to be the perfect balance of nature, good people, good food and the progressive life values that she’s been searching for. Read about her expat experience in Portland.
Jessica is an American national who is now adjusting to life back in New York City after spending three and half years in Hong Kong. In her interview she discusses her experience of repatriation to the USA.
Jennifer was born in New Jersey, moved to Nashville, then Memphis, then Washington DC, and then finally Virginia. She then migrated with her husband to Iceland for three years, before settling in San Ramon, California. She lives here with her husband and three children. Find out more about Jennifer’s expat experience.