Two Fat Expats

A quick chat about having the World Cup on your door step. Who has the longest work hours and is it just a part of Expat Life? Should you put up and shut up? What’s it like to work in Qatar during the World Cup? We answer your questions about our 200th episode: When and how did we meet? What was our favourite holiday as an expat? Where would we.. Read More

Are you ‘randomly selected’ for an extra pat down every time you make your way throught the airport? We think we may know the reason why. Listen in to find out why it’s happening to you. Would you/Could you break up a friendship over conversations about your children going to boarding school? Why does it hurt so much and how to gently discuss. Our recommendations: Kirsty: Fed Up, Liquorice Pizza,.. Read More

Nikki walks us through her covid on holidays experience. Would you/could you send packages to a transit hotel? What are the rules? Do all hotels let you do it or are some hotels going to charge you for the privilege? We discuss. Would you/could you set up a contract with your partner on how many times you’ll be heading to your home country (particularly if you’re both from different countries)... Read More

In would you/could you this week we discuss expat insurance. What do you need? Are you paying too much? Or have you forgotten to pay at all? We also discuss recent activity in the Two Fat Expats Group. Anger management, political commentary and killing the spirit of expats one post at a time. It’s time for us to have a chat.

We begin with a couple of would you/could you questions. Would you / could you leave an apple air tag in your shipment (either air or sea) to track your belongings? Would you / could you take a trip home without your family, if you all hadn’t been ‘home’ for a long time? Our favourite things Kirsty – Shane (Shane Warne documentary), House of Gucci (HBO Max), I’ve always struggled.. Read More

We begin with a couple of would you/could you questions. Would you / could you leave your child in your home country and return to live in your expat location without them? Would you / could you change your June / July holidays this year? Travelling in the European summer is going to be manic. We discuss some of the issues the Fatterati have encountered with flights, travel, unexpected quarantine.. Read More

Would you / could you agree to remote parenting roles while in separate countries? Nikki asks Why am I organising sleepovers from 10,000 miles away? Would you/could you tell me what an ESTA is and if so do you feel up to date with its rules and regulations since covid? Our favourite things Kirsty – WeCrashed (Apple TV+), Smartless (podcast), I refused to switch seats on a plane, was I wrong?.. Read More

Would you / could you (and where) would you swim in your current location? Would you / could you listen to a podcast at more than 1.0 speed? (Are we better at 1.5?) Would you / could you pay for the cost of your job interview if it was in another country? Would you / could you live the same life in two countries if you are splitting your life.. Read More

What happens when expat love turns sour. Two stories of betrayal, young love and then twenty years on, how do you protect yourself from getting burnt? Why is an expat betrayal any different. We decide on the best medical face mask to fly with. Stop overs in a time of covid, if you can’t fly direct what do you do in transit and how does it affect your choice? We’ve.. Read More

This week in would you/could you? Would you/Could you go out without a mask where you live? Would you/Could you call Lunar New Year Chinese New Year? Would you/Could you travel with just a ticket and a passport? We speak to Bridgee a Kiwi in Saudi. If you’re unaware of the situation in New Zealand and what it has been like for their expats and residents you NEED to listen.. Read More

We put a call out to the Fatterati and today we have an absolute gift for you. Sit back and enjoy some beautiful expat love stories. How did you meet? Where did it take you? Have you ever had a ten day first date? From a chance meeting on the dance floor in Guatemala, to running into someone while grabbing a coffee in rural china – in their own voices.. Read More

What did we talk about in 2021, quite a bit! Here’s a recap of the best bit. February Kirsty – It’s a Sin Nikki – Bridgerton March Kirsty – I made an adult (Tracey Crisp) The Adelaide Fringe Nikki – The Test Kitchen April Kirsty – Grace Tame – Press Club Speech Nikki – The One June Kirsty – Motherland Nikki – Mare of Easttown July Kirsty – Physical Nikki – Day X – New York Times.. Read More

Is there such a thing as your best Christmas ever? If so, where was it? We run through some of our favourite locations and moments as well as offering up some advice from the Fatterati on what made their Christmases so special. Nikki and I came to the general consensus that we have failed with Christmas this year – if you haven’t tell us what your secrets are. Our few.. Read More

Omicron has broken the hearts of many expats this week. With some of us being days away from getting on a plane before flights were cancelled and strict quarantine procedures rolled out. This week we talk about making plans in the world of Covid. Is it crazy to make plans? Or do we just need to be ready to pivot at all times? Small talk. Does it disappear in the.. Read More

This week we discuss Austria’s decision to make covid vaccinations compulsory. Who’s next? Can you keep your job while being a vacine hesitant expat? We also take a look at a new app designed to assist families to connect. It’s kind of like Tinder for families, would you do it? Will this narrow our expat world or expand it? Our three favourite things. Kirsty is in love with the story.. Read More

This week we discuss the pros and cons of returning to your “home” country for the festive season. We’re also talking Christmas markets in Europe – will they happen this year? Nikki’s trying to not get her hopes up after last year’s heartbreak of watching the markets in Hamburg appear one day only to be dismantled and taken away the next. Nikki wants to know if magic mushrooms are back.. Read More

How much sh*t do you ship? And what effect is it having on the planet? In the week of COP 26 we look at shipping containers and personal belongings and how we can be better at moving our things from home to home. How does a third culture kid react to a fellow TCK telling them that they’re not really from where they say they are because they’ve “never lived.. Read More

This week we talk about the death of the expat blog. Did Bloggers become influencers? Did Instagram kill the art of storytelling? Do we even want to read expat blogs anymore?? Then Nikki talks about her recent Saturday night and why it might signify that she now feels ‘at home’ in Denmark? This week’s favourite things Helen Garner’s lockdown diaries 2021 (this is the link to the audio) Invisibilia. Poop.. Read More

This week we talk about the things you didn’t know you needed until you got there. Nikki is all over her new phone cover for her bike (something she didn’t need in the US). What have you needed in one country that became irrevelant in another? A portrait of Ghaddafi to show your allegiance? Winterized tyres in the Middle East? What has been your hardest goodbye and why? We talk.. Read More

This week we talk about the best vaccination for international travel. What’s the most widely accepted? And will there be restrictions on where you can go and what you can do depending on your vaccine? We also talk about getting the cold shoulder when you arrive. Are you going to be welcome when you return home? Are you better off staying away until travel is a little more accepted? Here’s.. Read More