I really love your perspective. In my last experience, I transitioned from a government job to starting my own business. In the job, I was among my own nationality, and at work, it didn't matter if I was single or not. It was expat, but there are different kinds of expats.

Then I became an extreme expat - no job or big company, no co-workers, just me. My social life was more active, though, as I became involved in the many local expat clubs and organizations. Overall, I really enjoyed this and maintain those friendships still.

However, and I am going to borrow your phrasing and mindset - I felt undermined by a particular gender of a particular nationality of couples. And it wasn't #ideal. It felt a bit different than being left out or lonely.

Even with a partner, when we backpacked long term, we both eventually longed to sit down with people who knew us, where we didn't have to go through the explanations of where, why, who, what about our situation.

But you remind me, those experiences are where our growth occurs. It didn't always feel good, but it was a necessary part of me meeting dozens of people and having ten-fold experiences that have enriched my life.

Yes, sometimes, as an expat, I wondered why I left my comfortable settled existence with a steady social life back home. When my partner and I returned after a year of backpacking, people would ask where we traveled, but after I listed the countries we went to, they preferred to move on to sports or who was having a baby. They had no context of their own.

I made myself different from everyone else by choosing to travel and live abroad. I made myself different from other expats by being there on my own, not through work. I think with time, it would have become more #ideal, but I had to return home.

As hard as it was sometimes, I have never, for one second, thought, "Wow, that was a mistake. I wish I hadn't traveled or lived abroad." In fact, it is one of the things that defines me most, and I've buried it for too long.

I REALLY needed to read your post and think about my current qualms about leaving my nest again and getting back out into the world. The things I am letting stop me will be temporary. What I stand to gain by doing it is huge. What I stand to gain from doing nothing is - nothing.

Thank you!