The 6 Characters You’ll Meet At Every Expat Bar

Ha! Good stuff!

this article reads like it was written by a shallow, closed minded, idealist, wanna be travel writer. Definetly not the kidna guy you want to bump into at an expat bar. At least thats the way he comes off from writing this article.

I think that's the tongue-in-cheek aspect…

Haha, yes

hahhaha oh man these are hilarious!

[...] a comment » The 6 Characters You’ll Meet At Every Expat Bar . This is a link to a great post on Gadling about the characters found at expat [...]

Yep … I've met 'em all at some stage or another …

how about a few more …

The local gigolo who speaks with an Aussie/English/American accent (depending on where the majority of expats are from) and who makes a move on any available western woman in the bar.

The sent by his company, I've been everywhere, cynical expat with the local bar lass (just as cynical but not showing an ounce of it) hanging off his every word.

Meh. Slightly funny.

And those precise 6 people are some of the reasons I don't go to expat bars.

thanks for the smile

Oh chuckle, chuckle…nice and cynical, just the way I like it! Absolutely fabulous entertaining read. I think you missed a few types, but that's for another article…!

The in-your-face cynicism of this article could be mitigated by acknowledging that whatever the stereotypes of ex-pats you run into abroad, they are each bound by a common denominator: a desire to break out of the mold and see the world, learn other cultures, and translate that knowledge into action either internally or on the world stage. Which is better than sitting in a cubicle all day then coming home and watching Fox news on TV, right?

The article was entertaining, but ending as it did, it makes me wonder which holier-than-thou stereotype the author would ascribe to? My bets are on “idealist.”

I thought this was pretty funny.

Great concept for an article, and the writing pulled me through the whole thing, but the author seems to disdain every single one of these character types. So why does he go to expat bars in the first place?

I agree, terrible closed minded article – when I travel I don't judge people, were all in the same boat. If someone is willing to sit down and chat to me than thats cool – no matter how some shallow article tries define them.

To the people who are calling this piece cruel, mean-spirited, narrow-minded, etc: Haven't we all not only MET these people, but BEEN these people at one time or another? So really, we're not laughing at others – we're laughing at ourselves. Y'all might want to try it some time.

And speaking as a diplomat's daughter… "The Diplomat's Wife" is SCARILY accurate. Scarily!

hilarious but i've never met the dipolmats wife!

I really agree

Ha ha, the ones on the diplomat wife and the new ager..are really hillarious..sounded almost real except you are making the diplomat wife sounds like the local newly rich elitist women and the new agers sounded like they've never read any book on ways to travel smart in 3rd World country. A good read though…thanks

[...] Whether you are one of those Aid workers or foreign english teachers you see in an expat bar. [...]

Thank you for that…

Hmm! never go to expat bars, so wouldn't know an expat if it poured a drink over my head!

Spot on characterizations! I got a good laugh reading this one. I especially love the Overpaid Aid Worker and Idealist – is this how so many Peace Corps volunteers end up working for USAID?!

I'd add the business expat and business expat's wife (plus the gaggle of friends) to the mix. Hope this is just one article of a series.

"Has she heard that the wood of the bar top was specially crafted by a local medicine man out of a tree bark which cleanses the kidneys? No, but she’ll give it a lick to find out." I HAVE been and still am all of these people. even the diplomats wife. for real. and after going through every stage of the travel process I am now a full fledged … gentleman loafer. we should create a leveling hierarchy based loosely on World of Warcraft …

lemme see:

we need overseas rock star, petty hustler (always doin biz, never done any), company man (similar to overpaid aid worker but w/local wife and kids), rowdy angry self loathing drunkard … umm … involved lifer (young and ambitious, forever starting clubs and sports teams), and perhaps the true pimp, who has it all figured out, big money, cool, everybody knows him/her and his home life is not dysfunctional and he speaks the language but dont flaunt it. this person often appears out of the ashes of all the other characters above.

i agree stan. it could have been a very funny article because yes, all of the above is true in essence.. but it was so negative and such a rant… it just gave me a yucky feeling.

[...] New Traveler, part of the Matador Network, publish an article about “The 6 characters you meet in every Expat Bar” I am so glad I’m not one of them! I was worried for a second there… But i have meet [...]

Shallow, yes. Maybe, Matt has been through the ex-pat bar scence so much he's reverted to stereotypes?

[...] AdventurousHow to travel with your dogThe 6 Characters You’ll Meet At Every Expat Bar [...]

close-minded AND angry. who looks at the world through those kind of eyes….and then calls themselves a travel writer? It's amazing how our inner world reflects what we see in the outer world.

Yeah, must say I found the cynicism more sad than humorous. My opinion improved when I saw that Matthew is the English Teacher – the piece needed that self-deprication.

As a 25+ year traveller, I find I enjoy everyone's story, and I can relate to the various stages of learning and experiencing adventure, travel and culture. And Matthew, you missed me – I always find geo-types in these places – geologists, geophysicists, explorers. The so-called developing world is our playground.

The responses to this post — which was light hearted and fun — make me want to stay at home, especially if I'm going to run into this sort of overearnestness at bars abroad. I'm all for appreciating diversity and people for their own sake, but seriously, lighten up. Typcasting for laughs has been around since Theophrastus, 2,350 years ago. Enjoy it.

Ha ha ha! The "New Ager" is the most annoying kind. Coming from a tourist ridden city like Benares, I see them everywhere! At times they are so caught up in their own mystical charms they forget to see the logic in some simple rituals.
The "Idealist" is a territory you don't want to go into either…I personally once got into a conversation which ended up lasting for 3hrs which consisted of utter crap about what was wrong with the system and how we can change it! Hello, we like out system…leave it alone!
Damn good article…You forgot the "Wannabe yoga teacher" and the "Religious Chameleon".

What about the sex-pat? The expat who has slept with every member of the same/opposite (or both) sex in his/her community?

Or was that just me?

who are these people?
I have lived all over the world and seem to unfortunately gravitate to the expat hang outs. Why – because those of us who always travel for work seem to like the same people – doesn't matter where we orginated

That said – these are the usual suspects to me:
- PhD students
- Investment bankers, portfolio managers, other money-business types
- The wives and husbands of the above (usually formally some kind of designer, writer, or artist, see below)
- Artists, writers, photographers and other creative freelancers
- Occasional creative professionals working for big multinationals: ie graphic and fashion designers, music & film exec's
- NGO professionals, much like the bankers, but with more "idealistic" goals.
- once in a blue blue blue moon I meet someone doing absolutely nothing but living abroad – ie: they qualify as something as described in initial article. such as: english teacher, spiritual seeker, ideal thinker, etc. These people as described in the article above only seem to exist in the great travel imagination. Or maybe they tend to integrate more and NOT hang out at the expat bar.

Just a thought.

i guess you are right about certain facets of certain expats roaming bars in countries all over the world, but you forgot to mention that this is not all they are. which makes this article a little hurtful and cynical.

as for the overpaid aid worker could just as well be working somewhere in his homecountry as midscale manager of an advertisement firm, or a lawyer or whatever other job comes to your mind. get his pay and build up a family and maybe donate some money at christmas to the ngo the overpaid aid worker works for. this would be perfectly fine. but instead he is the aid worker (argueably being overpaid, but than you might have to define what a decent salary should look like).

i dont know if you meant what you said in this article, but taking you seriously i think you might be a little too idealistic. no jugdement. i myself am very idealistic at times, but reading your article i realized that this might be hurtful to people who have no harm in mind.

So very true! I've long since compiled the very same list in my head. I'd add, unfortunately, the pedophiles who sit alone or with one of their creepy mates talking to the street kids who come in to sell things. And also people (like me) who are actual teachers with experience, higher degrees in applied linguistics and/ or education, and an actual interest in education but still have to compete with backpacker "teachers" for jobs until we can get into the local universities.

I thought this post was hysterically funny. At one point or another I think I've been every character in there, except for the new-ager. Add "Blackberry" to "Macbook" and I'm currently a dead-ringer for the "overpaid Aid-Worker."

Silkroad – dude, it's all good. Don't take yourself so seriously.

You will find these 6, plus many more at Kampala Backpackers or Bubbles O’leary, in Uganda. So true!

Love it!

Here are some more:

- The Student/Intern: manged to scam a school/fund into investing in a “study” which inexplicably revolves around getting drunk every night

- The Missionary: no matter how drunk you get, you do *not* want to talk with him/her

- The Tourists: all the other expats look at them scornfully, having moved up the expat status ladder a whole two months earlier

Very funny and nail-on-the-head accurate. And I say this as an ‘Overpaid Aid Worker’, but really, I promise, I AM making a differance! (Sarcasm is hard to communicate in text). Anyway, one possible addition is ‘The Presidents Nephew’ – hiding from the shame of having property appropriated on his behalf, by drinking it up with all the aforementioned expats, before hoping into his untaxed mercedes to calculate how big a donation will be neccessary to get him into Oxford.

Number 5 is a close relative, if not the present-day version, of the Remittance Man, that figure from Maugham and Conrad. His distinguished family is paying him handsomely to stay out of England (never Scotland or Wales, for some reason). He resigned his commission in a well-known regiment after a bit of bother – a dud cheque, perhaps, or cheating at cards, or fooling with the mistress of Royalty….

So I guess that makes the author a Wanna-Be Travel Writer? I was looking forward to this article, and towards the end, I was at least expecting some sort of all-around compliment to travelers or something to tie them all together in a positive light. The author seems to loathe anyone in an ex-pat bar. This article was merely mildly funny at times, negative, and cynical. Negativity and cynicism have their place, but don’t any of these folks have redeeming qualities? My aura now feels gray, and I don’t feel so good about my TEFL certificate or my Indie Band T’s.

Hahaha.

You got me pegged as the English Teacher and Wannabe Travel Writer. I had to laugh out loud.

I want the diplomats wife gig ….. but without being a whiner ………

The Short-Timer: often a lawyer or consultant on a 6 month to 1 year (temporary) assignment. S/he didn’t want to be here in the first place, and every statement seems to be a comparison of the locals vs. “how we did it back home.” Always dressed in business clothes, and always with a story about how stupid it is that you can’t get _____ like you did back home. Often counting the days until their return back to the good ol’ USA.

After 5 years living in Europe, a lot of these seem vaguely familiar.

awesome! Great article.

dont forget the former colonists that are always complaining about how worse it is now…yet usually found with a young local “friend” off his arm.

Brilliant writing. But let’s not forget the whore monger who lets his best friend, Benjamin Franklin, buy the girls attention long enough for him to pretend that he actually has some semblance of charm.

In Costa Rica the locals use to say that the Xpats were either the “Wanted” or the unwanted.

Sorry, kids, it’ll be hard to find the new-ager in a bar…they’ll be busy drumming up support for the indigenous-dancing-meditation-ayurvedic-om-to-amma ritual happening down the street.

Thought you might like this fun quiz.

http://www.humanitarianiq.com

Brilliant piece of analysis. I can think of several bars like that off the top of my head. But the #1s, #2s and #5s I know are all WOMEN! And I don’t know any #6. But here are a few others — #7 — embassy/consulate staff looking to get laid, #8 — shady businessman, everyone thinks they’re a weapons dealer, #9 entry-level, low-paid development worker, on internship, or short-term consultancy, trying to get a foot in the door to #1….

Pat : Agreed! I saw the same thing in Costa Rica! Lol.

Annette: That is funny how they phrase #1,#2, and #6 as male characters.

How does one become an overpaid aide worker anyway ? That sounds like a sweet gig. ~Amanda B.

I thought that this was great and not mean spirited. Having just returned from several years in the Middle East, I have met my share of aging spirit chanelers, sprout heads, trust fund babies and out and New Age nut jobs. While I rarely go to ‘expat’ bars and such, having reached a certain age, I am sad that the true spirit of travel has all but disappeared, that being curiosity and adventure. Sadly, the world has become more homogenized, as it has become virtually impossible to find places where there are not recent grads traveling on their parents dime, or gaggles of recently discharged Israeli soldiers doing the grand tour at staying at Israeli sanctioned B&B while haggling with impoverished families to to make an honest dollar, and staying with other obnoxious Israelis. I am glad that began to travel before mass tourism. computers, and American consumerism were exported and embraced around the world.
Great article, as I had a good laugh. All too true, as the overpaid NGO/AID worker and New Ager hit home, as the ‘Princes of Poverty’ should truly be ashamed. having met Peace Corps people who are perpetually stoned while polishing up their resumes for government jobs back home. Thanks.

Intresting information for the expats here.
Thanks for sharing

Sandra
asian expat.

yes I was thinking of this one as well! The expats who glare at the tourists and give off a negative vibe to all those who dare enter their territory!

the thing is…that’s sadly not always true. people a bit like #5 crop up often in big cities, and many of them are there for sex, drugs, and rock n roll. ive had some pretty miserable conversations with expats who not only could care less about the locals and their culture, but use the people purely for their own pleasure.

that, to me, is the number one depressing thing about expat bars. and why i try to steer clear of them.

True!
I used to bartend and can verify that there are lifers ( #5 ) EVERYWHERE . I’ve worked at a high end club and a dive and there were lifers at each one.

Ha! Very funny. I have lived abroad a couple of times (you didn’t include “the exchange student who is trying to get laid” on your list!) and currently work at an international school in my hometown and work with mostly ex-pats. The other one I can think of, is the “socially awkward ex-pat” who left his/her home because they didn’t have any friends or relationships, and think their situation will change if they move to another continent.

P.S. Some people took this article WAY too seriously! Lighten up folks!

I think he’s an expat kid. You are not going to this things unless you are one of them, your parents are one of them, so cut the crap!

For those of you that took offense to Matt’s writing – please don’t be offended, he was just being silly! Read what he wrote about himself (about the author). You’ll see he even pokes fun at himself.

Of course, its all in fun and not really a good representation. Its important that these Stereotypes are more about 1 percent of the people you will meet rather then the majority. Just look at the ESL teacher Statistically 90 percent of them come for only a year or 2 because they can`t afford to travel without a job because of school debt and they don’t learn the language because they wont use it ever again. It is the very fact that you don’t need job specific skills (meaning you can study something for your future job instead which seems the better option) that ESL work is the key tool for kids from no so rich families who have 40k in debt. That 90 percent COULD have gotten a job or gone straight to grad school to get a degree that would get them the job but they wanted to travel while still paying their bills.

On the other hand, the ones there longer tend to learn the language (usually) and contribute.

But of course, the part about allot of them hooking up with locals does seem to be more then stereotype.

I’m from Seattle and usually look for an Irish Pub. There’s one in Ptuij, Slovenia that’s a spittin’ image of the one in San Sebastian, Spain. Ever notice that people who come to the US from some country usually end up in the same neighborhood? Polish, German, Thai, Mexican. Why? It’s familiar. Perhaps people go to an expat bar just to have a moment of familiarity, to speak in English and not s-l-o-w-l-y. And then they move on. I prefer going to local bars, cafés, etc. The ones down the block, around the corner, where all the locals stop talking and look at you when you walk in.

The enamoured NGO worker who has mastered the language in 6 months, dresses more conservatively than the natives ‘to respect local culture’, fallen in love with a local guy and is ready to be exchanged for a camel and buys all their food from grotty markets to get down with the locals.

I saw a thing then I wrote about a thing.

Smug, weak, trite.

Hit a bit too close to home for some, huh? This isn’t about all expats everywhere, just a few of the types you’ll find hanging in certain bars.

@Teri: “(you didn’t include “the exchange student who is trying to get laid” on your list!) and currently work at an international school in my hometown and work with mostly ex-pats. The other one I can think of, is the “socially awkward ex-pat” who left his/her home because they didn’t have any friends or relationships, and think their situation will change if they move to another continent.”

This is all spot on! There’s even the great hybrid– socially awkward guy who can’t get a girlfriend at home (often blaming this on American women being spoiled/too independent/ruined by feminism) so decides to move, sure he’ll be in great demand because he speaks English (and, likely, is white).

Hahahaha,

I love that 50% of the entries have said, “Yada yad yada,,, But I don’t go to expat bars.” Yeah, sure you don’t, you’re all slumming it in the shabeens in Jo’burg or hitting it up in the Rio flavelas.

Great article – good for a laugh or two (even if I am an annoying amalgamation two or three of the annoying people listed). And yes, alas, I do go to expat bars…

for all of you that were “offended” by the stereotypes, get a life!

Good insights. You only missed two, as far as I’m concerned: The addict (which could be any one or combination of sex/drugs/rocknroll/religion) and the meager student.

And of course, not every single person would fit neatly into those categories, there is tremendous overlap.

There are levels, of course. But most professionals who are “really” working won’t be at the expat bar, they’ll be off enjoying being treated, by the local businessmen (yes, treated by men, normally to women).

Then, there are the two broadly over-arching categories: the asshole and the non-asshole.