Same goes for gifts being shipped by boat, the sea can get pretty rough at times and although the cargo is generally strapped in well there is no guarantee that it wont fall. I think all gifts for expats should be a mix of practical and something the receiver wouldnt buy for themselves. One tip is to never send perfumes via mail. Depending on where you are in the world Netflix has a huge array of movies, tv shows and documentaries for everyone. They are also perfect for travelling as they are lightweight, fast drying and roll up really small to save luggage space. This Anker portable charger will add 123 hours of battery life to your phone or tablet. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); So how do you choose a gift for someone going overseas or already living abroad? And thats my expat gift guide! As useful as a crock pot is, I didnt exactly have room in my suitcase for a huge kitchen appliance. A USB portable charger is essential to keep your batteries fully charged on your devices. You can also buy a gift card like above and tell your loved one its for them to buy books with! Its something they may be paying for anyway and so it will be a pleasant surprise to have the cost covered for a year or it could be something they want but just cant justify the cost of as theyve been saving to make the big move. You will also be supporting a local business which is a great thing to do. They can hang up the pictures you give them, and postcards and pictures of their travels to decorate their new home. They did immediately bring it back but we were stuck at the airport waiting for them for a whole hour. I used Rosetta Stone to learn French before travelling to France and it was really useful! perfect tropical Caribbean island paradise, 12 Ways to Stay Connected with Friends and Family, Island Fever: The 4 Stages and How to Cure Them. Google local classes in their country and sign them up for one. We personally use iDrive which is cheap and reliable. The only exception to this is if I want to send something hyper-local and its not possible to find it online. So lets jump into the list of present ideas!. Here are some useful travel gifts for people abroad who are still getting to know their new area, or travelling often. My goal is to share my type A, organized travel tips so that everyone can explore like a local in a new place. For loved ones that work remotely or if they travel a lot or even if they want to start a blog then a lightweight laptop for travelling if the perfect splurge gift for expats. You can gift your loved one on a subscription for however long theyre away from one month up to a year, click here to read more about it. Its also waterproof, so they can read carefree on the beach or poolside! All Rights Reserved.As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you want to make it more personal, then include a suggestion for what they can use it on specifically. You can also access thousands of books and audiobooks for free every month. Your friend most likely already has a camera so get them one of these accessories to help them capture the best photos. After much deliberation, Ive pulled together some ideas to get you started! Give your fellow wino friend this wine tasting journal or your caffeine addict friend this coffee journal to keep up with all of their sips abroad. Youre also not supposed to send jewellery through the post either! Offer to pay the subscription for your travelling or expat loved one to have somewhere to store all those photo memories theyre making overseas!, A VPN allows access to websites overseas if theyre in a country that blocks them, and in some cases access to their own subscriptions when theyre travelling (like video streaming sites etc). It might seem cliche but trust me, as an expat I definitely appreciate food from home as a gift! About me | privacy policy | Work With Me | contact, Do you have any particular questions about your upcoming trip or move to Argentina? All of my cards, my passport, my phone and my tickets all fit. The cheapest way to send a gift abroad is to have it shipped by boat. The best gift ever for book lovers going abroad. I use Flytographer here in Buenos Aires and get amazing shots (of myself for my blog or family portraits with my husband and kids). The best policy when buying gifts for friends and family overseas is to ask them what they need or want. In this case, youll want to buy lightweight gifts to send overseas or the postage can get very expensive! So dig out those old photos and get them printed! Another boring but super useful gift especially for travellers who dont enjoy packing light *cough* STEPH *cough*. Expats tend to travel quite a bit, it comes with the territory of living abroad, so treating them to a nice lightweight luggage set is a great way to show you careand get them to visit you! Sometimes you can find these foods in online shops and have them sent direct which is an ideal option, otherwise, you can put together a package and send the gift overseas to your friend or relative yourself. get through the holidays away from friends and family, 9 Reasons Why You Should Gift Experiences Instead of Stuff, Click for more info - Disclaimer & Privacy Policy, A useful travel gift for their initial trip or frequent travels, Something nostalgic to remind them of home, A gift experience for wherever they are overseas, Gift card for a local-to-them clothing store, place to eat, or experience. We have this one by Anker for charging our devices, we even take it in the car on beach days so friends can charge up too. Bonus points if you can buy a gift card for a local shop/restaurant. Happy shopping for your friends and relatives moving or living overseas! Lightroom is the end all be all of photo editing. Lots of companies do cargo shipments every month and many will collect items from you to send. So your friend is moving abroad and leaving you behind, and you want to give them a little something to remember you by. Bonus points for adding birthdays etc of family and friends at home! Of course, this is may be well out of your budget so camera or computer accessories that help with capturing memories can be a more cost-effective option as a gift for someone overseas and hugely appreciated. If your friend is a reader, you should definitely get them a Kindle Unlimited Membership, its been a game-changer for me since there arent many English language books available in Argentina! Your loved one is likely the same!. Especially if they may not have access to a laundry for a little while or be moving around while they look for accommodation. Look for a PADI dive centre here and check out our post on how to choose a great dive centre. Here are some practical moving abroad gifts to choose from, things that will actually fit into that suitcase. This portable hard drive is 4TB which should be plenty of space. If in doubt dont send it. But none of them quite seem to fit. The final thing to think about when sending gifts abroad is packaging. It opens up a whole new world when travelling and you get to see cool things no-one else can, like wrecks, sharks, wild dolphins, turtles, rays and so much more. It could be a spa treatment, a restaurant dinner, or a weekend away. If sending fragile items, then they must be adequately packaged with bubble wrap or suitable padding. Another consideration that may impact your expat friend or relative is customs duty and taxes that may need paying on items when they arrive. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It is the latest offering in the GoPro range and for basic underwater photography and videos it is perfect. Send a few of your favorite shots over to your nearest pharmacy to be printed to give with a hanging photo display. Give your future expat family member or friend something to take with them that will remind them of home when they miss it most. The obvious choice for a waterproof camera is the GoPro Hero 9. Another good idea for storage is cloud storage. This could be a local tour, event or a spa day. Similar to Netflix, amazon prime video has some awesome original shows and movies. You can also get ones with built-in fairy lights like this! If youre looking for a lightweight gift to post then this is a winner, especially if you include some printed photos already. Long term travellers and expats are more likely to appreciate something useful than just tat that will take up unnecessary space. Yes, medication exists everywhere but getting it can be a hassle or intimidating with language barriers. There are always going to be shipping costs involved too so do some research and find out the best method of transit for your packages before committing to send it. A good quality camera can make all the difference when looking back or sharing memories. Many online stores now offer gift wrapping or the option to add a personal message and over the years Ive leaned more towards this method. We have all seen boxes and bags getting thrown around in airports right? Your email address will not be published. I hesitate to pull the trigger on a $15 book that I know Ill blow through in a weekend. They either zoom in too close to your face, missing the beautiful location entirely or they manage to make you look like you have four chins. She was smart enough to set up a wish list on Amazon for her kids (how would I know what a 4 and a 1 year old would enjoy, when I havent seen them since March?!). Also, it does wonders for your eyes since Kindles dont have the damaging blue light your phone does. It doesnt take up space, its a lightweight gift so its easy to send overseas or simple to buy online and then they can choose exactly what they want or need. It makes me fussy and ruins my travel day. It also lets you watch Netflix or amazon prime shows that you may not have access to by changing your demographic area. Check out this cute desk calendar or this photo-heavy calendar with 3 different looks. We often feel more nostalgic about our home country when we dont live there. Colorful luggage tags matter, yall! If you dont know what to get them do some low key stalking and look on their amazon wish list at things they have saved. Similar to gifting an experience or a gift card, vouchers can be used for intangible goods, or for things your expat friend really needs. Help your friends suffer through long, international flights with entertaining audiobooks. Its a catch 22! Not only does it support local businesses in their new town, it also helps them get to see places they might not have visited. If you have loved ones that have moved overseas or are about to and you really want to surprise them with a gift then this gift guide should help you decide what is the right thing to get for them. There are a couple of different ways to send items abroad, airmail or freight is the most common. For expats who want to make it on the gram, selfie sticks are great for taking pictures of themselves in their new country. Its a handy small gift than can go their backpack!. Give your friend the tools and subscriptions he or she needs to stay connected wherever they are. I used to have 3 vintage style New Zealand travel posters on my wall in the UK, and Ill soon be moving them back over to put them up again! Im from Texas and were not exactly known for our humility. Useful gifts doesnt have to mean socks, there are exciting gifts that are useful too, especially for travellers. One of the exciting parts about basing yourself overseas is being able to explore the area around your new home. These things are amazing and an awesome gift for someone moving overseas or going on a long trip. Read more:9 Reasons Why You Should Gift Experiences Instead of Stuff. You can never go wrong with practical gifts and your friend or relative will think of you every time they use it. Ok, there may exist worse things but I hate getting wet. Most countries will charge some sort of import taxes on new items whether they are a gift or not and the amount is usually worked out on the value of the items sent. A universal travel adapter means you only need to take one with you no matter what countries you are visiting. If your friend has complained about not being able to find their favorite snack in their new country, pack it up and send it. Learn more here. Not every expat friend or relative overseas is travelling all the time. If an online store has different locations, use the one where your friend is living rather than your own. This one is a little riskier but can be very appreciated when you dont have time to put together something yourself! The good thing about buying a physical gift is that you can choose the exact thing you want and then add some little extra touches like fancy wrapping paper, bows and gift tags with a personalised message. This is the time it takes for the item to arrive in the intended country. With spotify you can create playlists of all your favourite songs and download them to listen to offline too. Ive made 6 different countries my home and travelled to over 40. This string display is cute and also tiny enough that it wont take up much room in their luggage. I'm a Texan expat based in Buenos Aires for over ten years. A Virtual Private Network or VPN allows travellers to do important things like online banking without the risk of someone stealing their private data. Buying a gift online and shipping it directly to the recipient should reduce the costs slightly but the downside of this is that you cant personalise the gift as easily. While finding a going away gift for a friend moving to another country can be tough and I definitely cover that in this list, I wanted to come up with some extra ideas on what you can get your friends and family who are living overseas already, or who are about to become long-term expats! Sonja is from New Zealand but now lives in Scotland with her husband and little boy, after having lived in 5 other countries along the way including the USA, Australia, Canada, and Spain. Here is some advice from me (a regular recipient) to you (the generous giver): Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a65d5ab47ae3f934a8d59b837b57cae2" );document.getElementById("f437ed791d").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.