Modern technology has made becoming an expat so much easier, and few fresh expats would feel at home without a smartphone in their pocket. With the expat lifestyle so popular, there are plenty of great apps that you can download to help ensure you enjoy the experience as much as possible.
Here are just five of our top picks.
- Nearify
It can be hard to make new friends when you first settle down in your new country – getting that first foot in the door can be quite stressful, especially when you’re already overloaded by a different culture. Nearify can help. Covering over 200 cities across the world, including popular expat destinations, it lets you explore a wide range of events in your local area.
- Doctoralia
You should have your expat health insurance sorted before you leave the UK, but that doesn’t mean you can skip learning about the local healthcare system. If you do need to find the nearest pharmacy or medical facility when you’re new to the country and don’t know the language, you can have a pretty hard time. Doctoralia lets you search nearby health facilities and browse recent reviews – it currently works in more than 20 countries.
- SitORSquat
It can be a little embarrassing to ask where the nearest toilet is at the best of times, but when you’re unfamiliar with city, culture, and language, it can turn into an uphill struggle right when you really need things to move ahead quickly. SitORSquat will show you nearby restrooms; even better, people can rate them as ‘sit’ for good or ‘squat’ for bad, so you’ll be less likely to stumble into an unsavoury location.
- XE Currency
Even when you’ve been living in your new country for some time, it can be tough to work out currency exchange rates, especially if the currency in question tends to alter in value quite frequently. Just download XE Currency – you’ll be able to quickly track conversion rates between the Great British Pound and the currency of your host country, and an inbuilt calculator will tell you exactly what you’re spending.
- World Customs & Cultures
You’ve read that giving a thumbs up is considered rude in your new country. Actually, wait … was it showing the soles of your feet? Such things matter when you head abroad, so make sure you download World Customs & Cultures to have a convenient compendium of cultural customs to hand.
