(Wikipedia) ‘An Expatriate (often shortened to Expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of their citizenship. The word comes from the Latin terms ex (“out of”) and patria (“country, fatherland”).

This blog aims to discover people who are adventurers like me, venturing out in a new place to call home and creating memories. I have previously lived with my parents and siblings in the Saudi Arabia when I was in high school. I have enjoyed and cherished my memories in the beautiful Sandbox I once called my home. Now, I am in a new adventure with my husband and son here in Singapore.

I am featuring Expats in different countries every two weeks to share their experiences and adventures with you and me. My first featured expat is the beautiful Lucy. Let’s get to know more about her… “

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1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are originally from?

Hi I’m Lucy from Singapore-based Lifestyle Blog Lulabelle Lifestyle. I am a Brit living in Singapore who moved from London two years ago in search of new opportunities and the sun!

 

2. What made you decide to move to Singapore? How long have you been here?

I moved to Singapore with my boyfriend as he had a job opportunity here plus my best friend already lived here so we decided to experiment life as expats for a few years. Having been here for the past two years I feel I have truly settled into life here. I enjoy the mix of cultures, I love the food and the outdoor lifestyle with the pool, beach and sun readily available still hasn’t got old!

3. What do you miss about your home country?

There are lots of things, some I knew I would miss and others that have surprised me. I miss my family and friends greatly, I am very close with both therefore this move was a big decision for me, however facetime and skype make the world seem smaller and I couldn’t live this far away without them!

The things I miss about England that have surprised me are the clothes! I miss wearing coats, boots and scarves. In reality what I really miss are seasons. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy living in a smug reality come the UK winter months when I am still wearing summer dresses and flip flops, however I do miss the transition into seasons like fresh spring days or a crisp blue sky on a cold winters day.

4. What are the wonderful discoveries and things you like about in Singapore?

The opportunity to travel to so many amazing places close by has got to be one of the major perks of living in Singapore. I have been lucky enough to travel to some exotic islands, that I never thought I would visit, purely because I now live a couple of hours away. What I love about Singapore itself is both the small size and the variety of cultures; the island is just the right size for an expat to get to know their surroundings quickly and meet lots of fun and interesting people and the blend of cultures means that each neighbor is so different to the next. For instance Little India to Tanglin seems worlds apart and Sentosa transports you into holiday mode the minute you cross the bridge.

5. What are the 3 advices or tips you can give to fellow expats in Singapore or those you planning to move here?

The best piece of advice for both would be to have an open mind. If you are planning on moving here, take every day as it comes and go with the unexpected and for those who are already living here, be open to new friends, new experiences and new opportunities. I would also advise having Facetime or Skype accounts set up and signing up to a Singapore expat group on Facebook for all those queries google just can’t answer about your new home.

6. The LITTLE MISS HONEY community gets inspired through travel, food and books. Can you tell us your current FAVORITE TRAVEL SPOT, current FAVORITE FOOD/RESTAURANT DISCOVERIES & current FAVORITE BOOK?

Nearly all of my favourite things!!

• Favourite travel spot is Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. Having recently got back from my first trip there I am still daydreaming about everything I experienced.

Portsea, Mornington Peninsula

• Favourite food/restaurant discovery has got to be sushi at the moment. I think I am becoming a little obsessed! My favourite sushi restaurant in Singapore for those special occasions is Tatsuya, however I have recently discovered The Standing Sushi bar in Far East Plaza, which is a delicious and more wallet friendly option.

• Current Favourite book: I am currently re-reading all of the Harry Potter books for the first time in over 10 years and I am reminded how incredibly entertaining they are and how much I enjoyed them. JK Rowling is a genius.

7. Where do you get your inspirations? Who or what inspires you?

I find my inspirations from all around me; whether it is from articles I read to conversations with my family and friends or when I am out and about exploring Singapore. Two people who inspire me the most are my mum and my boyfriend; they are unfailingly supportive of both my blog and me and always come up with fantastic ideas for content or design.

8. Tell us more about your blog, LULABELLE LIFESTYLE.

Lulabelle Lifestyle is a lifestyle blog, which covers fashion, books, travel and food along with a Singapore based Date Guide for inspiration on where to take your special someone. I write about everything that I am passionate about and currently that seems to be a lot of Singapore based businesses, which I think everyone here should know about and then sharing a behind the scenes look with my readers.

9. I love your photos in your blog. Can you share with us what camera you use and your favorite photo-editing app?

Thank you Honey! I use an Olympus EM-5 DSLR to snap all of the photos for my blog and I usually just touch them up with the iphoto app on my iMac or I sometimes use the Snapseed app for more vibrant colours, although I tend to use this just for my instagram photos. I am about to start using the Photoshop Lightroom software, so watch this space.

10. Can you tell us a little bit about #blogmeetsg?

Sure, #blogmeetsg is an event for Singapore based bloggers to come together and network with each other. The purpose of this type of event is to overcome the notion that all bloggers are in competition with each other, and to encourage the support of each other and work together to grow each of our own blogs. #blogmeetsg also brings local brands and bloggers together in order to initiate beneficial working relationships and “grow together” in the Singapore marketplace. The brands contribute samples of their products to either a gift bag or a competition prize with the idea that the bloggers will then photograph and write about the items they have received giving not only their blogs great content but also providing the brand with “free” advertising. Plus only high quality, artisan brands are invited to participate in these events meaning the bloggers take home samples of products that they are more likely to enjoy and want to share with their readers.

11. Lastly, can you share with what is your inspirational mantra in life?

Give it your all, no matter what it is. Don’t do things by half and make yourself proud.

Thanks so much for having me on your lovely blog Honey, it’s been great! If you want to find out more about Lulabelle Lifestyle then head on over to my blog or you can follow me on Instagram to find out what I am up to on a daily basis. I am always happy to hear from my readers so if you have a question or would like to sign up for the next #blogmeetsg event then send me an email at lulabellelifestyle@gmail.com.

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Thank you Lucy for granting us this interview and for sharing your story. For more of Lucy and Lulabelle Lifestyle, head over to her blog. I enjoy reading her blog posts. It makes me think of beaches and the sun. You can feel her sunny positive personality peaking through her lifestyle blog.

More featured stories of expats and adventurers around the world to come in my blog.If you are an expat or know any expats that I can feature, please drop me a line at littlemisshoneyblog@gmail.com”

*All photo credits goes to Lulabelle Lifestyle