My husband and I moved into our apartment shortly after we got married in 2019. In Chinese culture it is quite common for parents to purchase a home for their adult children when they get married. My generous and thoughtful in-laws gifted us this place and it has been a huge blessing for us as newlyweds.
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When the lockdown kept him from his everyday work … My husband turned our patio into a beautiful aquaponics garden! Most homes in the city are flats, with different families on every floor. We moved almost two years ago from a ground floor flat and were SO excited to have a first floor with a balcony that we could make our own (that and to be able to get some sunshine into our home!). Right outside our door we have a big fish tank, herbs and vegetables, grapevines and bunches of other plants. Our neighbors all come by to see what we’re up to (us weird foreigners putting fish tanks on our balconies) and sometimes sit for tea in the shade of the grapevines. It’s become one of our favorite places to have our tea and our meals.
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In our tan and grey concrete city, yards and grass are nearly nonexistent. Since most people live in apartment buildings, balconies are a family's only hope of an outdoor haven, and we are lucky enough to claim a large one as our own. Apartments with outdoor space are hard to find because, if they don’t already belong to the owner or their family, they are usually snatched up by a current tenant of the building as soon as they become available.
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My family live in an apartment on the 15th floor of building in downtown Izmir. Our view is amazing, but comes with a price tag of “no balcony.”
There is, however, a shared terrace for the residents to use. We’ve spent time there reading and playing in the late afternoon when the city begins to cool off, but ironically, it has been closed off for the last few weeks because a café is being added. This is picture looking down at the terrace from our living room window
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The final stop in our series, “This Global Pandemic,” is in South Korea to visit Oklahoma native, Kara. She, her husband, and their four kids experienced the world of coronavirus, quarantines, and face masks before many of us in other parts of the world knew what was coming. In this episode, she shares the benefits of living in a very communal culture during a pandemic and how she and her husband made the decision to stay put for 2020, even though they had long-awaited travel plans to go to the States. Kara shares about some of the humorous moments of 2020, as well as how she finally gave herself permission to grieve the things that are hard about expat life.
Read MoreWhen we first got here we were overly ambitious and attempted laundry by hand. 2 years in and we realized it wasn't getting easier and we weren't getting better at it. I guess growing up with a washer and dryer all your life makes such chores difficult to relearn. We were blessed this year to be able to get a washing machine! Most washing machines/washing stations are close to the kitchen in Nepal. Ours is on it's own little patio right outside of our kitchen!
Read MoreHi everyone! My name is Kara, and I live in South Korea with my husband and four young kids. We’ve lived here, in this apartment, for almost 8 years now. Our kids are 7, 5, 3, and 1 — so we are all about convenience and functionality in the kitchen. There are several design elements I would change (all the brown, the fluorescent lights, the storage cabinet doors...), but overall, this kitchen gets a solid A+.
Read MoreWhen we first got here we were overly ambitious and attempted laundry by hand. 2 years in and we realized it wasn't getting easier and we weren't getting better at it. I guess growing up with a washer and dryer all your life makes such chores difficult to relearn. We were blessed this year to be able to get a washing machine! Most washing machines/washing stations are close to the kitchen in Nepal. Ours is on it's own little patio right outside of our kitchen!
Read MoreNamaste! I'm Rachel. Former elementary teacher from Kansas City, now language learning expat living in a villagish-town in India. Life here is usually a little crazy.... Whether at home, trying to figure out how to get a flea covered animal out of our attic, or driving along curvy mountain roads trying not to hit a cow. My husband and I lived overseas as singles, but are now facing the challenges and joys of our first year overseas as a married couple.
Read MoreMy husband and I live in a country in West Asia. We moved into this house 6 months ago, but it’s been a part of our lives for over two years—we had the privilege (burden?) of designing and building it ourselves. This isn’t what expats here normally do, but then, I am not a normal expat—I am married to a local and we plan to live here until we die, God willing. We haven’t finished installing all we hope to in the kitchen (wooden blinds for windows, a range hood, etc.), but here is a tour ‘as is’.
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