Category Archives: Expat Living

Thanksgiving in Ireland: The Importance of Sharing Old Traditions and Making New Ones

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Glenn Kaufmann

Each year around Thanksgiving I’m amazed at how many of the Irish I meet are familiar with American Thanksgiving traditions. I know that’s not a typical immigrant experience. Ireland and the U.S. are unnaturally close. But I am heartened to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dublin Attractions, Dublin Life, Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living, Home & A Sense of Place, Irish History, Irish Life & Society, Pubs, Things to See in Ireland | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Immigrant Dreams: Fantasies of Prosperity, Happiness, and a Sense of Place

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Glenn Kaufmann

In light of the recent refugee crisis, many of us have had the migrant’s pursuit of happiness and a better life on our minds. But those of us privileged enough to choose emigration, rather than having it forced on us, … Continue reading →

Posted in Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living, Irish Life & Society, Modern Life, Things to See in Ireland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Expat Or Immigrant: What’s In a Name

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Glenn Kaufmann

Recent articles in The Guardian the Wall Street Journal’s “Expat” blog have discussed the racial implications of certain migrants being called “expats”, while others are labeled “immigrants”. That got me thinking. And that’s always a dangerous thing….   Yes, “expat” … Continue reading →

Posted in Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Learning the Language: Social Context Clues For Expats

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Glenn Kaufmann

One of the first things my wife and I noticed when we arrived in Dublin was that being American (or presumably from anywhere else) was kind of a mixed bag of good and bad. On the one hand, as long … Continue reading →

Posted in Dublin Life, Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living, Irish Life & Society | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

InterNations: A Useful Resource For Expats, Emigrants, & Immigrants

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Glenn Kaufmann

Apologies in advance for the shameless self-promotion, but for those of you who didn’t see it on the Facebook page, I wanted to let y’all know that An American in Dublin was recently profiled on InterNations, a terrific web-based resource … Continue reading →

Posted in Dublin Life, Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Land Of All Things: For Expats There Is No “Perfect” Place

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Glenn Kaufmann

For those of us who like to travel, and have long wanted to live overseas, we often imagine that there’s some country/place out there, some golden, shining bastion of goodness that will cure everything, and be our “perfect” place. Sadly … Continue reading →

Posted in Dublin Life, Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living, Friends & Family | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Expat Ambassadors: How Migrants Answer For Their Home Countries

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Glenn Kaufmann

Given recent events, I’ve found myself watching from afar and wondering if we migrants (immigrants and emigrants) will ever be free of national accountability. Will there come a time when we won’t be called on to explain the actions (“right”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living, Home & A Sense of Place, Immigration & Emigration | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Vagabondage: Moving Abroad & Travel Lust

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Glenn Kaufmann

We like to joke that, “The best part of living in Europe is: you’re close to the rest of Europe.” That’s our cute little, hopelessly self-absorbed, First World privilege way of saying “we love to travel. Ask us where we’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Dublin Life, Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Love You From Afar: An Expat’s View Of Change At Home

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Glenn Kaufmann

For expats knowing where (and what) “home” is can be difficult. For many of us, we’re not really “locals” yet, but we aren’t really part of that place we came from anymore either. We’ve moved on. It/they have moved on. … Continue reading →

Posted in Dublin Life, Emigrant/Immigrant Life, Expat Living, Home & A Sense of Place, Immigration & Emigration, International Moving | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment