Expatriate and Work Abroad Writing Contest (Annual)

Professionals and freelancers are encouraged to write non-fiction inspirational and practical articles that describe their experience living, moving, and working abroad. Often your experience is extended and transformed by activities in the host country, so living, working, studying, and traveling abroad are often inextricable — and we are interested in exploring all such organic interconnections.

Making the move to live abroad is for many the ultimate transition — often the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, in other cases the result of chance and circumstance. For many, living abroad is decision about where you wish to enjoy a year or more in one or more locations overseas, spend the rest of your life, and even retire. We are seeking practical and inspiring mini-guides that also provide in-depth descriptions of your experience moving, living, and working abroad (including any form of work such as teaching English, internships, volunteering, short-term jobs, etc.). When applicable, please also include resources, a discussion, and revealing anecdotes about your social interactions with locals, food and markets, culture, housing, immigration and visas, personal and family life abroad, and other issues of note, etc.

Apart from practical considerations, what were the most important physical, psychological, and social adjustments necessary to integrate into the local communities? Feel free to include anecdotes about locals who may have aided in your adjustment to the physical conditions and social rituals of the host community, as well as the role of expats in providing information and support.

Given the ever-changing nature of the global economy, more people are moving abroad to find or explore various forms of work in addition to seeking spiritual fulfillment, so stories that also describe how you work to support yourself while living abroad are of great interest to our us and our audience. We start with our editorial supposition that most people "work to live" and do not "live to work" except when there is a perfect marriage, such as writers who make their living and travel as part of a lifelong dream, others who are doing exactly what they always wished to do where they wish to do it, or those who have chosen to retire to a location where they have decided they feel most at home.

We welcome a well-crafted essay or ideally a mini-guide. Boxouts with references to the most important websites, publications, and other practical resources that have aided you in the cultural adjustment process or enhanced your life abroad are strongly encouraged to help others who may find themselves in similar situations or even similar locations. High-definition photos also are very important to make your submission stand out in this visual medium and age.

We seek your perspective, in which the host country remains the primary focus, such that the color and taste of the people and land remain solidly in the foreground. Our preference is for essays or mini-guides about your adaptation to the culture and people in whose country you have chosen to make your home.Try to write with the discipline of an engaged journalist using your observations to provide an in-depth feature or mini-guide. Assume an educated and empathetic audience.

Browse the Living Abroad section of our site for some examples of the types of articles we are seeking, as well as reading past winners of the contest, check that you are not duplicating older articles unless you have another or more thorough angle, and see our writers' guidelines for a sense of our editorial preferences.

TransitionsAbroad.com will publish the winners' entries and will provide links to the authors' website or blog, and a head-shot, if so desired, as part of your bio.

Please contact expatriatewritingcontest @ transitionsabroad.com should you have any questions. We except one entry per participant.

Sharing your participation or interest in the contest via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or your other preferred social networking sites would be very much appreciated.