Sam Beckbessinger has written a book called Moving to the UK. It's perfect for anyone doing just that, and awesome even if you're moving somewhere other than the UK. In my interview with Sam, we talk about: Why and how she wrote "Moving to the UK". How emigrating messes with your head and makes you feel like a helpless baby. Hard choices, and how they are an opportunity to define and redefine yourself. How the British are basically hobbits. Appreciating your South African-ness and learning how to be a bit more British. The Newcomers Club, a community platform for expats in the UK. Be SURE to check this out. Sam's superpower, which is creating meticulous tick-lists and spreadsheets which you can use. Anyway, I can't recommend the book enough, and I want to thank Sam for a super-fun interview. As per my ads, this show is supported by the family business, Luggage Warehouse. If you're thinking about emigrating, I've got a discount code for you for three luggage ranges with lots of space: ⁠BG Berlin Cube⁠ ⁠BG Berlin Zip2⁠ ⁠All Samsonite Ranges⁠, if your budget can handle it. Use the discount code: EXPATS at checkout and you'll get an extra 10% off your already-discounted purchase. These are "Build-a-Set" ranges, which let you build a set of any size and combination, and gives you discounts the more bags you buy. In Moving to the UK, Sam recommends considering taking extra bags on the plane and paying it, as it turns out to be more cost-effective than many kinds of shipping.

NOTE: I will be creating more episodes of this show, but currently my focus is Off the Grid in SA - A practical guide for shedding load-shedding. Here's a brief update on the show and where I'm going with it.  If you don't have a couple of minutes to spare, the short version is that South African Ex-Pats is on hold.  It was a project to help me explore my interest in emigration destinations around the world, as well as level up my podcasting skills, and I consider it a very successful one. However, I believe I'll learn more by moving on to other projects now.   If you want to get in touch with me, you can find me at pingproductions.net, or you can just google Jonathan Warncke and use the appropriate channel.  If you want to hear about future personal projects I'm working on, please stay subscribed, because I'll post short updates here.  Thank you so much for listening. This show garnered over 8000 listens in almost exactly a year, so I hope that I added value to people's lives and the difficult decisions and pitfalls surrounding emigration.  Best regards, Jon You can support this show by supporting Luggage Warehouse, the business my father started in the 80s, and my brother currently helms. Two products of particular interest for emigration-curious South Africans: Build-a-Set and Luggage Glove. If you need luggage, accessories, handbags, leather goods, noise-cancelling headphones and other awesome travel stuff, please check out Luggage Warehouse. We deliver nationwide and are just better than the competition.

Grant Norman was kind enough to join me to chat about his family's emigration to a suburb just outside Vancouver.  Grant and his wife got into Canada via the Express Entry visa, although it was a few years ago.  Grant's journey was not necessarily smooth, though, and the high cost of living in Canada has certainly not made things easier.  One person Grant wanted to recommend was Deanne Acres Lans, who helped him with his visa process. You can find Deanne here: https://canadaabroad.com You can support this show by supporting ⁠Luggage Warehouse⁠, the business my father started in the 80s, and my brother currently helms. Two products of particular interest for emigration-curious South Africans: ⁠Build-a-Set⁠ and ⁠Luggage Glove⁠. If you need luggage, accessories, handbags, leather goods, noise-cancelling headphones and other awesome travel stuff, please check out Luggage Warehouse. We deliver nationwide and are just better than the competition.

Sorry for the long break, but I went away to Ireland and the UK for a month. More on that coming up in future episodes.  Here's a conversation from the Emigration Expo that I hope will prove revealing. I knew Malta existed, but didn't know much beyond that.  I grabbed 10 minutes with Grahame Salt at the expo so he could give me Malta 101.  Grahame is one of the directors of Frank Salt Real Estate. Grahame obviously has a vested interest in you wanting to buy property in Malta, but that doesn't make it sound any less amazing. I'd like to thank Grahame for his time and willingness to be interviewed.  You can support this show by supporting ⁠Luggage Warehouse⁠, the business my father started in the 80s, and my brother currently helms. Two products of particular interest for emigration-curious South Africans: ⁠Build-a-Set⁠ and ⁠Luggage Glove⁠. If you need luggage, accessories, handbags, leather goods, noise-cancelling headphones and other awesome travel stuff, please check out Luggage Warehouse. We deliver nationwide and are just better than the competition.

Continuing my short conversations with the exhibitors at the Emigration Expo, I cornered Vaughn from Animal Travel Services for a quick chat about emigrating your pets.  We cover costs, the procedure from start to finish, and some of those interesting questions like "Do pets get sedated for travel" and "Do you transport snakes?". You can support this show by supporting ⁠Luggage Warehouse⁠, the business my father started in the 80s, and my brother currently helms. Two products of particular interest for emigration-curious South Africans: ⁠Build-a-Set⁠ and ⁠Luggage Glove⁠. If you need luggage, accessories, handbags, leather goods, noise-cancelling headphones and other awesome travel stuff, please check out Luggage Warehouse. We deliver nationwide and are just better than the competition.

Huge thanks to Allen Jones for taking the time to chat to me about shipping your valuables overseas.  I don't fall into the category of people who LOVE their furniture enough to cart it overseas, but I know that there are plenty of people who really do.  I got an amazing sense of integrity and care from Allen and his colleagues (as I got from everyone at the Expo). If you want to chat to them, you can find them at www.biddulphs.co.za. You can support this show by supporting ⁠Luggage Warehouse⁠, the business my father started in the 80s, and my brother currently helms. Two products of particular interest for emigration-curious South Africans: ⁠Build-a-Set⁠ and ⁠Luggage Glove⁠. If you need luggage, accessories, handbags, leather goods, noise-cancelling headphones and other awesome travel stuff, please check out Luggage Warehouse. We deliver nationwide and are just better than the competition.

I attended The Emigration Expo last weekend and recorded some great interviews with the exhibitors. I'll be publishing the interviews as I get them lightly edited so you can catch up if you couldn't make it.  Here's a very short intro with Sarah Howarth, the organiser of the Expo. Sarah give us a little context about The Emigration Expo and tells us where else you can find it if you don't live in Cape Town.  You can support this show by supporting ⁠Luggage Warehouse⁠, the business my father started in the 80s, and my brother currently helms. Two products of particular interest for emigration-curious South Africans: ⁠Build-a-Set⁠ and ⁠Luggage Glove⁠. If you need luggage, accessories, handbags, leather goods, noise-cancelling headphones and other awesome travel stuff, please check out Luggage Warehouse. We deliver nationwide and are just better than the competition.

Don't have an ancestral passport, but DO have a lot of money? Welcome to the world of

Paul Goodwill is an interesting guy. When others moan and groan about how difficult it is to emigrate to first world countries like Canada and Australia, he games the system. These first-world countries don't need marketers and IT managers and so on. They need carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and mechanics.  So Paul spent a few years certifying as a plumber, and that certification was his golden ticket to Ottawa, Calgary, and Western Australia, where he lives now. In this episode Paul tells us how he did it, and what life is like in the three cities he's lived in besides South Africa. Oh, and also the UK, but we don't focus heavily on that.  Paul is also the admin for the "Leaving South Africa" Facebook page. If you have further questions, you can find him and 8000+ other people there.  Paul also kindly supplied us with some fantastic links: This is where Paul lives in Australia.  This is one of the places he goes on holiday. Here is some of his fantastic photography. This is Alberta, Calgary's home state. Pretty nice.  Job site for Canada. Job site for Australia. General information for working in Australia.  The Mader group pays diesel mechanics very well.  Gallant Plumbing in Melbourne is on the lookout for South African plumbers and helps them emigrate.  The HECS programme, which helps to finance loans for tertiary education in Australia.  You can support this show by supporting ⁠Luggage Warehouse⁠, the business my father started in the 80s, and my brother currently helms. Two products of particular interest for emigration-curious South Africans: ⁠Build-a-Set⁠ and ⁠Luggage Glove⁠. If you need luggage, accessories, handbags, leather goods, noise-cancelling headphones and other awesome travel stuff, please check out Luggage Warehouse. We deliver nationwide and are just better than the competition.

Jo Galloway is a professional actress, singer, dancer, writer and international voice artist.  In 2012 she moved to Los Angeles to take her career to the next level.  Ten years and far too many productions to name later, Jo has worked with Hollywood luminaries like Jimmy Fallon and Seth MacFarlane, and is now back in SA, intending to shuttle between LA and Cape Town depending on where the work takes her.  Jo gives us an amazing insight into Los Angeles, California, and the USA in general.  Although there's something here for everyone, I think listeners in the performing arts will find her story particularly valuable.  Enjoy.  You can support this show by supporting ⁠Luggage Warehouse⁠, the business my father started in the 80s, and my brother currently helms. Two products of particular interest for emigration-curious South Africans: ⁠Build-a-Set⁠ and ⁠Luggage Glove⁠. If you need luggage, accessories, handbags, leather goods, noise-cancelling headphones and other awesome travel stuff, please check out Luggage Warehouse. We deliver nationwide and are just better than the competition.