traveling vicariously

I don’t travel much. I want to, but I don’t. And I’m bitter about it - which is a story on it's own. Perhaps because my parent's roots are not of this country and I have family overseas - I have always wanted to try living abroad. My infrequent travel leaves me lusting for strange places and exotic excursions - and so I read expatriate blogs.

This is a list of some of my regular haunts and a quick note on what I read them for. If you have a favorite expat I haven’t included, email or comment with a link.

petite anglaise - The now-infamous British expat in Paris is a long time favorite of mine (long before she made headlines for being fired for mentioning work in her blog); clever, funny and lots of daily life mixed with musings about the French, plus she has a little girl who says the most adorable things and her anecdotes regarding raising a multicultural child are interesting, delightful and often surprising (see this post)

la Coquette - An American of French decent, living in Paris; daily life, observations about the French perspective on foreigners, great humor and fashionista fun (she works in fashion and lives in Paris - this obviously makes for good reading)

Bangkok Expat Mama - an American living in Thailand; daily life anecdotes with attention to the details of living in Bankok (food and shopping and the way people behave toward you - also raising a child in a different culture than her own, includes entertaining accounts of that), lots of personality, definitely a good read

Kommissarie F. Curiosa - an American living in Stockholm, Sweden; focus on dating / relationships but also cultural differences with a lot interest in social and economic issues, she's funny, she likes to make lists and she put up the most horrific pic of David hasselhoof which gave me a good chuckle

Cynthia - an American vet student living in Edinburgh, Scotland; actually a close friend of mine who is writing her blog for friends and family back in the states but, unless she objects, I’ll keep this link up. She’s very clever and can show you a side of Scotland so few expats can - getting covered in cow poo (or, rather, working with animals)

NOT an expat blog but Loads of fun from the “other side of the pond”:
My Neighbors Are Hoors - a lovely lady in “Grey Toon”, a.k.a. Glasgow, Scotland, who shares adventures living in a flat just a few floors up from a brothel; incredibly funny, usually fond of the “ladies of negotiable affection” who live downstairs, and often writes Scottish phrases which I just LOVE

I definitely gravitate toward Scotland and France. France probably for my fascination with the style French women are thought to embody and Scotland... Hmm. Probably comes from seeing too many movies that have Gerard Butler in them, reading Outlander novels and too much time spent reciting the "He knows a lot about Sean Connery." scene in Trainspotting.