Having relocated back to Los Angeles after a year in the Pacific Northwest – where the coffee REALLY is better – I can finally understand why my expat British friends always complain about how difficult it is to find a good and “proper” cuppa in LA. Yes, you can find plenty of floral and fruity herbal brews and even quite a few good green teas throughout the US, but to a Brit, such drinks are merely scented hot water and not at all what a good cup of the Queen’s finest is all about.

Alas, whether vacationing at the Grand Canyon, partying in Las Vegas or taking up residence in Hollywood or New York, a good and proper cup of tea need no longer be the stuff of nostalgia for Brits living and traveling in the United States. The good folks at Yorkshire Tea have heeded the anguish of their countrymen and women abroad.

Yorkshire Tea's Little Urn at the Grand Canyon

Complete with Facebook fan page, daily blog updates and regular Tweets, “The Little Urn,” a tea-brewing, mini SUV, is in the process of circumnavigating the United States and serving up a “Proper” brew to thousands of expats desiring a sip of their home country, and anyone else who might want a cup of English tea while overlooking the Grand Canyon or gazing up at the Empire State Building.

To our expatriate audience: what food or drink do you most miss from home? If you could order up a food or beverage cart from your home city, what would it serve?

Adam

RW3 CultureWizard

The HSBC Expat Explorer Survey for 2009 was released last week. The survey is now in its second year and gathered information from over 3,100 expats in over 50 countries. What were the general results?

* Canada is #1 overall place to live as an expatriate
* Australia comes in at #2 and Thailand at #3
* China, UK, Russia and India scored poorly for quality of life
* In terms of making local friends, UAE was at the top and Brazil at the bottom
* Expats joined the most local community groups in Singapore, and the least in Bahrain

* In general, expats experience a higher quality of life
* Large salaries and a high standard of living aren’t mutually exclusive

Most interestingly, “…the luckiest expats for finding love were found in Thailand – some 47% admit finding love since moving to the country. This is in stark contrast to the worldwide average of just 20%.” Since the experience is different for everyone, it would be interesting to see a detailed breakdown of responses according to respondents’ country of origin. This could help readers understand how the results would match their own national and cultural background.

Where have you had the best and/or worst expatriate experience? How has culture played a role in your experience?

Paul

RW-3.com