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Making the Most of Your Expat Life:
Linda Hemerik's Journey through Three Countries
Amanda van Mulligen
Linda Hemerik has been an accompanying partner for over twelve years now, scaling three expat assignments in India, Mexico and now the United States, all the while keeping busy in her host country. She gave up her career when she left the Netherlands, absorbed herself in the culture in India, did volunteer work in Mexico and in the US is now the CEO of her own company, US Unlocked.
Grappling with power cuts and water shortages; being one of a handful of foreigners in a sea of a million locals; living out of a suitcase in a small apartment with four children for three months waiting for visas - these are just a few of the challenges faced by Linda in the course of her expat journey. The latest challenge for the expat entrepreneur is self-inflicted; she wants to expand her business to take on worldwide shipping and personal shopping from her office in New York. Her aim is to make a hundred shipments a day within the next twelve months. Certainly, an ambitious goal for a mother of four living overseas, but one that does not faze this Belgian-born, Dutch-raised expat.
"I live every day with a great passion for achieving my goals in life, motivated by what is best for my family and how I can be a better person," Linda explains.
Linda Hemerik was born in Duffel in Belgium, but she grew up in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. She later studied Communications at the University of Utrecht, before embarking on an expat life that took her in the first instance to India. Linda admits it was the most challenging of the three expat locations.
"But it was the challenge we were after at the time. We were doing 9 to 5 jobs. Everything seemed so monotonous to us while we were still so young," she explains.
Living in Chandigarh, 250 kilometres north of Delhi, the couple lived in a house, similar to those of upper middle class Indians, but their lives differed immensely to the local population. Life in India still threw up many challenges though. At times, the cultural differences threatened to overwhelm them, as well as the daily problems with the water and electricity supply. Even food shopping took some getting used to.
"Getting groceries would take me two hours as there were no supermarkets," says Linda." All in all, we learned to stay very positive: when things look awfully depressing and are not working out they almost always suddenly magically seem to work out."
After three years in India and the birth of their first child, the family moved to Mexico. They lived in Saltillo, an hour from Monterrey and four hours from the US border. Life in Mexico was a world away from life in India.
"Coffee mornings, going out for breakfast, golfing – all the things that my peers did. Although it was fun to live this mellow lifestyle, I got very antsy at times too," Linda recalls.
She started working at an unsubsidised rehabilitation centre for children and adults with cerebral palsy, responsible for fundraising. Using her expat network of automotive industry executives, Linda feels she was able to contribute something to the country she temporarily called home.
"When we first came there, the patients did not even have chairs to sit on. We managed a lot and when we left, we celebrated the inauguration of the second floor to the building that we had helped finance. It was great to give back to this beautiful country and learn more about the raw and real Mexico, since expat life can feel like a bubble at times," she explains.
Linda had two more daughters whilst living in Mexico and after four years the family reluctantly returned to the Netherlands. The move back to Dutch soil was a temporary one, but long enough to welcome another addition to the household, this time a son.
Linda's husband started a new job that eventually required the family to move to the United States, a move they made willingly. In fact, the family have settled so well that they decided to make the US their home for the long-term; they recently received their green cards.
When they started the green card procedure Linda decided it was time to think about her next challenge; she began turning her mind to her career once more.
Whilst living in the Netherlands, prior to the expat adventure, Linda had worked as a recruiter for petro chemical positions. In India, working had not been an option and the fundraising work in Mexico proved to be the highlight of her expat journey, but now she needed something else.
"I was eager to be a part of the working world again and to be able to finally do some planning beyond two years," Linda explains. She set up her own company, US Unlocked. "The mission of US Unlocked is to help customers all over the world to shop online in the USA," Linda reveals.
The idea for a US shopping and shipping service for non-residents of the US stems from Linda's life as an expat, particularly from her time in Mexico when so many items were available for sale in the US but inaccessible to her living south of the border. Without a US residence and credit card, online shopping on many websites was no option. US Unlocked gives customers, wherever they are in the world, the tools to purchase and ship items from the US. The service also includes the calculation of import duties, so there are no surprises when a parcel hits your doormat accompanied by a large bill from the taxman. The service targets American expats and gadget and fashion lovers across the world.
Linda's first step into expat entrepreneurship was to research the issues related to shopping in the US: problems with international shipping and payment solutions for non-US residents. She educated herself on the details and talked to relevant parties to fill gaps in her knowledge.
"Starting up a business in the US is very easy. Everything can be done online. There is no difference in starting up a business for an expat or an American. As soon as you get yourself a tax ID you are in business," she states.
The best advice Linda can give to those planning a move to India, Mexico or the US is this,
"Read a lot about the culture and the country, about what being an expat entails. Think about culture shock and how being an expat is going to affect your children. In Mexico, you cannot live without speaking Spanish. So start learning and immerse yourself in the language. Talk to other expats that re living in the area you will be moving to."
For those thinking about setting up a business as an expat, Linda says,
"Talk to others who have done it and just educate yourself. Don't give up!"
Amanda van Mulligen is a freelance writer, who also proofreads and edits documents for clients. She specialises in expatriate, mobility and career issues, particularly those facing women and writes about life in the Netherlands. She also writes profile pieces and enjoys spreading the word about people who positively influence the world around them. Amanda is a Brit but now lives in the Netherlands, which has been her home since 1999. For more information, see http://www.thewritingwell.eu or her blog A Letter from the Netherlands. You can e-mail Amanda at amanda@thewritingwell.eu |
