20 Interesting Expats To Follow On Twitter

06/11/09  Print This Post Print This Post    27 Comments   Popular   Written by Nick Rowlands
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Feature photo: Sashawolff Photo: respres

From Hong Kong to Puerto Rico to Brazil, these expats are twittering away about the thrills, practicalities and daily realities of life overseas.

Not a day goes by without an expert of some sort telling you who you must follow on Twitter. We even did it ourselves in 23 of the Most Relevant Travel Twitterers.

But we figured you must know at least as much as us, so we asked our Twitter followers which expats on Twitter they recommend.

The response was fantastic! Thanks to everyone who reached out with a suggestion: this article belongs to you.

So here’s a list – not the list – of 20 interesting expats to follow on Twitter.

1. Ladyexpat – South Korea

“A transplanted Canadian (Halifax Nova Scotia), working, traveling and taking photos in Asia.”

Mixture of tweets, mainly travel / expat focused. Some great photos.

2. Thandelike – Istanbul, Turkey

“Expat Harem cultural author/editor/producer/salonista, Berkeley expat. Spark Summit cofounder.”

A mine of information, especially on Turkey.

3. tokyotopia – Tokyo, Japan

“A self professed UK Tokyoite with a goal – Tokyo Made Simple.”

All things Japan.

4. ExpatCoachMegan – Rome, Italy

“Help expats and international development pros worldwide build personal brands w/ social media for career and biz success AND a better world ♥ travel, espresso.”

Very engaging twitterer; author of “career by choice” blog.

5. barmadu – Caceres, Spain

“TEFL hack by day, writer when I can, gardener, drinker, walker, cyclist, traveler, reader, twanger and many more –ers.”

Colourful snippets of life in Spain.

6. emmanuelle_a – Vancouver, BC

“French expat living in Canada, helping fellow wanderers enjoy their lives abroad to the fullest. Lover of visual arts, tea drinker, cat person and language geek.”

Very interactive twittterer, with lots of general expat advice.

7. MissExpatria – Montpellier, France / Rome, Italy

“The Internet’s leading enabler of travel addiction splits her time between Italy and France.”

Prolific twitterer and blogger.

8. MyMarrakesh – Marrakech, Morocco

“A girl building a boutique hotel in a Marrakech olive grove, while penning a book on Moroccan interior design for a US publisher.”

Exotic Morocco in 140 character chunks.

9. vickybaker – Buenos Aires, Argentina

“I’m a travel writer from London, living in Argentina. I specialise in South America and travel networking. Working for the Guardian, Time Out and others.”

Author of “Going local” blog, for “travellers looking to break off track”.

10. KyleHepp– Santiago, Chile

“Kick Ass Photographer in Chile :)

Housewife and blogger … as well as kick ass photographer!

11. cburell – Seoul, South Korea

“Humanities/writing teacher. Education editor/writer. Radio newswriter/announcer. Apple Distinguished Educator. www.beyond-school.org . Geek.”

Passionate advocate of educational reform.

12. expatsguide – Israel

“Over the past 12 years I’ve moved with my family between 5 houses across three continents. You could say I’m a veteran expat.”

Tweets great advice and links for expats.

13. lori1329 – Southern Brazil

“Writer, Nutritionist, wellness advocate, traveler, dog lover, US expat living in Brazil.”

Author of “Fake Food Free” nutrition and wellness blog.

14. michellefabio – Calabria, Italy

“American freelance writer & attorney in southern Italy. Proud doggie and kid (baby goat) mamma. About.com Guide to Law School.”

Tweets about her life in Italy with a dog and a goat.

15. thewritingwell – The Netherlands

“A Brit living in the Netherlands, an expat writer, mother of a toddler, WAHM, amateur photographer.”

Mix of informative and personal tweets about the Netherlands.

16. coqui2008 – Puerto Rico

“Travel Blogger – Spreading the word about the beautiful island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.”

Author of informative blog on Puerto Rico.

17. emilyinchile – Santiago, Chile

“20-something Californian Brit living in Santiago.”

A personal take on living in Santiago.

18. jeffcaylor – Hong Kong

“[singer-songwriter] When I dream of flying I try to imagine what I might learn from what birds dream.”

Life of a musician in Hong Kong.

19. pittkethley – Cartagena, Spain

“Author of 21 books.I live with my chess GM husband and son in Spain. My hobbies: snorkelling, minerals, karate, music, cycling, fishing, hill-walks, food, film, cats.”

Personable, family oriented tweets about life in Spain.

20. AmiExpat – Regensburg, Germany

“American, expatriate, half-Asian, statistician, wife, mom, and blogger, living it up in Germany.”

Food and photography.

We’re bound to have missed out some of your favourites, so please help this list to grow by leaving a comment below!

Community Connection

Thinking of becoming an expat yourself sometime soon? Check out some of our picks for the best places to live overseas. Have expat fantasies about hammering away at a spy novel or whittling away the days drinking tea overseas? Have a glimpse at these potential expat paradises. If you’re already overseas and thinking of starting a family, Niamh Griffin has some great advice on how to raise successful kids while living overseas.


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About the Author

Matador ID: nickrowlands

After two years as a tour leader in Egypt and Jordan, Nick decided to carve himself a base amongst the delicious chaos of Cairo. He works as an English teacher and freelance writer, but often wishes he’d been born a Bedouin. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/pharaonick.

27 Comments... join the discussion!

  • Catherine Abherve replied on June 11, 2009

    French expat in los Angeles, wrting about women and travel (in French!)!
    http://twitter.com/vagabondes

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  • Zeva Bellel replied on June 11, 2009

    I’m a New Yorker living in Paris for 10 years. I write a blog about Paris’ best “by appointment” addresses. Would love to be added to your list. Check it out.

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  • glyn replied on June 11, 2009

    Adding to this list brilliant Ms @danicar International web activist – living in Rome, Italy and working for UN.
    http://twitter.com/DanicaR

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  • Dee replied on June 11, 2009

    How lovely to be joining such a fabulous list, how can I resist?
    I’ve been an expat for over a decade and now support assignees and their families before, during, and after international relocation.
    Clients who hire me want to get to know themselves, which in turn facilitates greater awareness of home and host culture differences and positively influences their relationships as a result.
    You’re invited to visit my blog.buildingthelifeyouwant.com and follow me on twitter.com/deesbtlyw. Let me know what you think! :-)
    Thank you for this post,
    Dee

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  • Jeff replied on June 11, 2009

    Hey, thanks for including me on the list, Nick!

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  • Kyle replied on June 11, 2009

    Thanks, I was wondering where all these new Tweeps came from, now I know :)

    I should clarify though. I’m not actually a housewife, at all. I am married yes. I do work from home yes. But I have a full time job at a blogger/photographer. And a maid, and very little time to do any housewiving at all.

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  • Honor replied on June 11, 2009

    Woot! Thank you so much for including me on this list! The Matador Network is an amazing resource and I’m stoked to be included on any list you compile. Arigato gozaimashita and a deep bow to everyone concerned! I’m @tokyotopia by the way : )

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  • Colin Wright replied on June 11, 2009

    Great list! Looks like I have some new tweeps to follow!

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  • Michelle | Bleeding Espresso replied on June 11, 2009

    Hey thanks so much for the mention–what an honor! To be clear, I actually have two dogs (Luna and Stella) and two goats (Pasqualina and Margherita) :)

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  • joshywashington replied on June 11, 2009

    sweet list, thanks for the heads up Nick.

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  • Miss Expatria replied on June 11, 2009

    Why, Mr. Rowlands, I do declare.

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  • KerryInHolland replied on June 11, 2009

    Great list!! I’ll be adding!

    Me…American expat in Holland (2.5 years) and earlier expat of England (5 years).
    I run an American Expat In The UK website which helps people assimilate to UK (immigration, settling, homesickness), etc. Links are in my twitter profile. @KerryInHolland

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  • Diana replied on June 11, 2009

    My friends Michelle from Bleeding Espresso and Maryam from Morocco are fabulous choices. There are lots of us out there, but I personally think these are two of the best.

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  • Emmanuelle Archer replied on June 12, 2009

    Thank you for including me on the list, I am honoured to be in such great company!

    I just wanted to mention that the link under my name (#6 emmanuelle_a) points to the wrong Twitter profile.

    You can find my profile here: http://twitter.com/emmanuelle_a

    And now, to follow more people on the list! It looks like I missed a lot of fantastic expats on Twitter.

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  • Nick Rowlands replied on June 12, 2009

    Thanks for all the comments and new expats to follow. Don’t thank me for the mention, though – thank your fellow Twitterers who nominated you! All I did was collate your thoughts.

    Apologies to Kyle for lumbering you with housework, and to Michelle for inadvertently robbing you of a dog and a goat!

    Take care, Nick

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  • Michelle | Bleeding Espresso replied on June 12, 2009

    Hah, no apologies necessary…just so long as you’re not literally taking my kids (well, one kid and a dog) ;)

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  • Ladyexpat replied on June 12, 2009

    Thank you for including me in your list!

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  • Bill replied on June 12, 2009

    Hey there

    That’s a fun list, and a wide-ranging one, but I see no mention of China! My girlfriend’s a published travel writer based in eastern China and a frequent twitterer – check it out @megoizzy

    Cheers

    Bill.

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  • Dave and Deb replied on June 13, 2009

    We have been following Sherry Ott @ottsworld An American living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Really enjoy her motorcycle diaries and learning how to navigate Vietnam’s crazy traffic. Check it out.

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  • Birgit replied on June 15, 2009

    Great list. Always interesting to read what other expats doing in the world, how it works out for them. Im an Dutch expat in Turkey, on twitter too (@_Birgit_) but I dont blog, I just tweet about the sense and nonsense in my life. very very very subjective but always in for a good laugh:-)))

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  • Vera replied on June 16, 2009

    Nice list, good to read how other expats adjust to life in a different country. I’m a Portuguese expat currently living in New Zealand – also on twitter as @paudecanela_nz.

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  • Megan replied on June 20, 2009

    @lehaneb is an Irish journalist living in China and teaching English. Great twitterer to follow!

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  • Alison McGowan replied on June 21, 2009

    Hi there- so many interesting expats out there. Would love to be added to your list. Me? 40 years+ of travel: VSO/Peace corps in Lebanon; hippy trail to Afghanistan/Latin America; Baackpacking round the world; English teaching in France and Venezuela; publishing /marketing director for S Europe and Eastern Med; long time Brazil passionate. Now running hiddenpousadasbrazil.com – on-line guide and booking service to the most amazing places to stay off the beaten track in Brazil- all of which of course I have to visit before they get added to the site.. Hmmm… I can see another 20 years travel ahead! #hiddenpousadas

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  • Jon Wick replied on July 3, 2009

    This is a great list! I’ve been blogging, and trying to stave off yet another social phenomenon, but I’m only one person. Beside, what the hell, eh? I’m on twitter as of this week… twitter.com/jonwick04
    I’m currently teaching in S.Korea, traveling Asia, writing, and doing all I am able! Thanks for the list to give me a good headstart! Tweedle Ee Deet!

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  • expat calling cards replied on September 22, 2009

    Great twitter list to expat tweet the world. We have 6 to 8 guest expat bloggers that share there story at http://www.affordablecallingcards.net. Looking for additional expat guest bloggers to post or have us write a guest post on your blog.

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