GenXpat: The Young Professional's Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad [Paperback]

Margaret Malewski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Are you a young, mobile professional looking to start a life abroad? Then GenXpat, The Young Professional's Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad is the guide for you!Wrapped up in fast-paced careers that increasingly involve travel and frequent international relocation, many young people find themselves bouncing from one exotic assignment to another at the cost of meaningful relationships and a true sense of connection and rootedness. This book is designed to help GenXpats embrace the opportunities and challenges of an overseas assignment while still holding on to the personal fulfillment they need to succeed in their international careers. GenXpat answers questions such as how to optimize contracts, deal with culture shock, build social networks, find romance and prepare to return home smoothly.Margaret Malewski's GenXPat addresses the needs and experiences of the young mobile 'Generation X' individuals and couples (those born between 1964 and 1981), wherever they may come from.-Dr. George Simons, www.dialogin.comMuch of the content of GenXPat runs parallel to common expatriation tools and concepts, with a few notable and important distinctions. The book includes typical relocation information including cost of living calculators, an introduction to culture shock, and things to consider when moving abroad. Drawing on the work of Hall, Hoftstede and Trompenaars, Malewski does a superb job of making cultural differences accessible to those who have yet to experience them by presenting concepts in a clear, concise and jargon-free fashion.-Kate Berardo, www.dialogin.comGenXPat is a guide for young, mobile professionals. It covers many aspects of pursuing a successful overseas career, such as moving, work contracts, relationships, culture shock, social life, and re-entry.-Transitions Abroad MagazineI read The Expert Expat and GenXPat and highly recommend both books. The first was very detailed into how to prepare, plan, move; adjusting, working, culture, language, you name it, it was in there....It's a great book for anyone moving, or thinking of moving abroad. GenXPat was great as well, it focused on people like me, Generation Xers, mostly single, and their own unique experiences, needs and desires. Both books referenced each other a lot, and between the two covered everything. I think these two books are all one needs for a move abroad.-Jennifer Kirk, An American in Hong Kong blog, January 29, 2008ContentsIntroduction1 Making the Decision to Move2 Negotiating Your Contract3 Juggling Work and Logistics on Arrival4 Culture and Culture Shock5 Identifying and Working with Cultural Differences6 Keeping in Touch7 Building Social Networks Abroad8 Dating Across Cultures9 Long-Distance Relationships10 Moving with Your Partner11 Reverse Culture ShockConclusionAppendix A: The Look-See TripAppendix B: Cost-of-Living CalculatorWeb ResourcesReferencesIndex

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The first book to deal specifically with the 'GenXpat' generation - the 25-39 age group that typically sets off for the expatriate life when career is their primary consideration. This is my kind of book - it's informative, practical, and you get a real sense that the author knows what she is talking about." Ian Burns of Blackwell's Business & Law Bookshop, writing in Publishing News; "For young, single professionals just starting out as expats, with laptops instead of knapsacks, GenXpat should indeed help carve out successful lives abroad." Robin Pascoe, author and 'Expat Expert'; "Filled with anecdotes and first-hand experiences, GenXpat cleverly gives the wide-eyed college graduate or young professional good tips on how to get overseas and thrive once they're there. "Diane McGreal, Director of Trainers, Berlitz Cross Cultural; "GenXpat offers real-life scenarios for today's young expatriates, as well as strategies for navigating the transition successfully. I will recommend this book to my clients and their employees as they embark on their overseas assignments." Louis Lima, Director of Training, Prudential Global Workforce Development

About the Author

Margaret Malewski grew up in Montreal speaking English, French and Polish and interacting with many cultures. On leaving Canada, she began a decade of expatriation that led her to work in countries like Poland, Switzerland and Israel. GenXpat combines her personal relocation experience with that of her colleagues and leading research into this modern phenomenon. After several years as brand manager for Procter & Gamble in the Near East division, she returned to Canada to pursue a career as a writer and speaker. Margaret lives in Vancouver, BC. For more information, visit her website at GenXpat.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931930236
• ISBN-13: 978-1931930239
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #906,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Business Travel

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short and simple survival manual for young expats, March 8, 2006

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: GenXpat: The Young Professional's Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad (Paperback)

Author Margaret Malewski has a clear thesis and works hard to prove it. She contends that Generation X (that's Gen X, born between 1964 and 1981) expatriates have distinct needs and concerns that differentiate them from previous generations of expatriates. Malewski provides a fairly comprehensive survey of the issues that most expatriates encounter on their sojourns abroad. She pays particular attention to those affecting younger professionals, especially relationship and romance issues. This is one of the few books about expatriate life that addresses, for example, the problems encountered by co-habiting partners and the sensitive issues of cross-cultural dating. Some of her conclusions may seem a bit obvious to the internationalized Internet generation, but we acknowledge that her warnings about culture shock and career challenges are well informed. This book certainly could be helpful to those sheltered Gen Xers when they go overseas to work. The author proves that they have a distinctive problem - and having defined the issue, she sets out solidly to address it.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good start, February 9, 2006

By 

Dude (nyc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GenXpat: The Young Professional's Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad (Paperback)

This book is quite a good start for anyone preparing for a life overseas. I'm in the middle of such an adventure; this book and "Expert Expatriate" have both been most helpful (supplemented by region-specific titles, of course), specifically in the strategic planning - grasping the multitude of details, professional and personal, associated with such a move. It framed a lot of questions in the proper light for me, starting with my reasons and expectations for moving overseas, down to the details of how to maintain my personal relationships after the move. She starts each chapter with an anecdote or mini-case study to introduce the larger ideas - a really great balance between readability and information. It is geared towards readers younger, or without families to move, and is written by someone who grew up with the internet (avoiding the inevitable and ridiculous phrases one might find elsewhere, such as, "The Internet is a wonderful resource for information. Email is a powerful tool for the traveler.") A good book for planning an overseas move, especially for the younger generation. See "Expert Expat" also.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for any young professional heading abroad for the first time, August 31, 2005

By 

Emma Bird (Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: GenXpat: The Young Professional's Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad (Paperback)

When I moved to Milan several years ago, I thought I had everything under control. It's only now that I'm a relocation consultant I realise I could have secured myself a better expat package. The chapter on negotiating in Malewski's book is a must-read for anyone relocating to a foreign country (and not just for GenXpat either) and the rest of the book contains plenty of food-for-thought, too. This book not only gives a clear idea on the ups and downs on expat life, it also provides solutions.