Q&A - How am I doing what i'm doing??

A few months ago i was reading about 10 expat blogs a day,

wishing, hoping and dreaming that i could join them on their adventures.

Thinking to myself how cool it was for those lucky few

to have such an amazing opportunity to live 

in another country as an expat.

So you can imagine how i was feeling

once Tom and I secured our plans to have 

me living in England for 5 months.

I'm now an Expat, Hollaaa!!

Dreams really to come true.

I've been asked a few questions

over the past few weeks about how i'm doing all of this.

and a comment i got yesterday reminded me that what i'm doing

is a bit different and well, to put it simply, kind of amazing.

Let me just explain HOW i'm doing this...for 5 months.

First of all it doesn't hurt that i'm dating a British guy.
That's pretty self explanatory.

Now, every country has different rules for staying in said country.

For example; you can stay in most european countries for up to 90 days.

You need some kind of VISA to stay longer than that.

The UK's rules are a bit different.

You can stay up to 6 months as a general visitor.

You are staying as a tourist.
No Visa required.

And that is 6 months within a year.

Once you've stayed the maximum of 6 months

you can't stay in the UK again without a VISA

until the following year.

*So that means after i leave in June I can only

spend one more month in England until next January.
Unless I got a visa.

womp womp

You also need a permanent address

if you plan on staying for an extended period of time.

Which brings me to my next point.

Where I'm living during my stay.

I'm pretty lucky because Tom's family is hosting me

while i stay here in Liverpool.

I live, eat and sleep in their house.

They've basically taken me in as one of their own.

I lucked out on this one because if i didn't have a place to call home

and was having to pay for a hotel or hostel on a nightly basis

then i would not be here for as long as I am.

I'd be here for like a week ;)

So that being said...

I wouldn't have been able to do this

without Tom's family letting me stay with them.

Next question...

Do I work?

Negative.

If i worked i would have to have a visa.

I am just a tourist.

I have no job, no income.

How am i able to survive?

Well the free place to stay isn't bad ;)

And they feed me too which is really nice.

I saved about $2,200 before I came.

Yes i know, that's really not that much.

I also have a boyfriend who likes to go halfsies

with me on things like going to the movies

or out to dinner etc.

My parents are also keeping tabs on me

and making sure i have enough to last me.

They give me a little allowance every two weeks

to keep things moving along :)

They are really nice ;)

So I have a free place to stay, i'm fed and i don't have a job.

So what exactly do i do with my time?

Well it changes on a daily basis.

When Tom isn't working we normally will go 

out and do something.

We might go to town,

go bowling, go out for lunch

or to a movie.

Or we might just stay home 

and just hangout.

We try to make the most of his days off

so we will normally go somewhere.

For example, next week Tom has a few days off in a row.

We're planning a little trip to Edinburgh, Scotland.

On the days that Tom is working

I am either baby sitting his Niece while her

parents are working or i'm just hanging out with Toms family

or i'm in town beebopping around on my own until he gets off.

That's basically it.

We're actually pretty boring

unless Tom gets a few days off

and then we go on adventures ;)

So i'll wrap this up with the final question.

Do i have friends over here?

Well the only people i personally know that live here in England

would be Tom and his family and a family of three,

Lauren, Tyler and Viola Knight.

Lauren was my french teacher/study abroad coordinator

back in the spring of 2012.

She lives with her little family in Notting Hill.

I didn't come here with loads of friends

or many connections.

I just came here for this guy named Tom

and for the adventures that we're destined to take together ;)

That's all there is to know

until more questions come up.

I love acting like a know it all about

things like being an expat...mostly because i know i'm not

anywhere close to knowing it all ;)

I hope that gave you all a little more insight

into what i'm doing over here.

Basically being lazy...and eating ;)

yikes that was a long post...

Have a wonderful weekend.

Tom is off so there will be some 

adventuring taking place!!

Be sure to follow me on Instagram

@emily_hopefulwandering

-Em