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About Expatica
Written by internationals for internationals, Expatica is an online global platform that offers resources and information to help with every aspect of settling into a new country.
The Expatica website
Our website includes a wide selection of informative articles and how-to guides, covering everything from relocation and job search to education and human rights.
We also have business directories that help internationals connect to the local services they need the most.
Finally, our online housing and job boards allow expats to browse job openings or rental homes in their area.
To ensure the highest-quality and most up-to-date information available, Expatica provides content written by reputable local experts. Get to know our writers and editorial fact-checkers by visiting the Expatica team page.
Our story
Expatica was founded in the Netherlands by an expat and a local who shared the same idea: an online news portal for internationals.
When Canadian expat Bram Lebo found himself waiting an unusually long time for his tram one morning, he noticed that the stop was almost empty except for internationals like himself. Since none of them could speak Dutch, the group was unaware that public transport workers were on strike in the Netherlands that day. After this experience, Bram resolved to help expats stay connected with local news and events that affected their daily lives in the Netherlands.
At the same time, Mark Welling was busy growing his business building websites in the early days of the internet. While searching for a new target audience, Mark quickly found that internationals living in the Netherlands often lacked the necessary information and resources they needed to acclimate to their new home.
Even though Bram and Mark were working on the same idea, they had yet to meet. Ultimately, they heard about each other, made contact, and founded Expatica together.
Expatica launched in 2000, joined by Mark’s friend and colleague, Antoine van Veldhuizen. The need for expat guidance and support quickly grew beyond the Netherlands, and Mark and Antoine expanded Expatica across 11 more countries. Tragically, Expatica lost Antoine in 2014 in the MH17 plane crash.
Expatica’s mission
Antoine’s memory remains a driving force in upholding the vision he had for Expatica. The website now provides our readers with helpful information about 18 different countries. In addition to bridging cultures, Expatica is also dedicated to promoting environmentally and humanly sustainable ideals and practices.
To learn more, read about Expatica’s mission.
While Expatica has grown and diversified considerably since its launch more than two decades ago, our core missions remain the same: helping internationals settle and thrive in their new country and building a better world together.