internations interview
InterNations Get Connected InterNations, one of the largest global communities for expats, helps make your move abroad that much more comfortable in every sense of the word. FACT speaks to founder, Malte Zeeck and Manama’s ambassador, Burak Aydin about the benefits of InterNations and how it’s the go-to for expats in Bahrain…
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hen you move abroad, you’ve got an endless checklist of things to sort out. The logistics of uprooting and heading to the unknown are tough enough as it is. Add to that finding your feet and immersing yourself into a culture far removed from your own. Enter InterNations. “The main focus for us are people who live abroad and to make their lives easier. Through our network they can find relevant information and exchange with others, make friends,” says founder Malte Zeeck. “It’s funny, today I met some members who said they met their partner or found a job through InterNations.” The concept is simple. InterNations operates in 390 cities with over two million members, and all you need is to join or receive an invitation from a fellow member and then you have access to heaps of information, forums and likeminded people. This can help you
navigate job and social opportunities. Malte’s back-story serves as one of the main reasons InterNations was formed. Having been a journalist for German TV stations where he was posted for extended periods of time in places like Dehli, India, he felt displaced and out of touch. “One of the biggest challenges expats have is not to be alone. So that’s what we offer as the main thing, to provide internationally thinking people,” Malte adds. We had to interject with one very true observation about Bahrain as an expat destination: it’s very open and expatfriendly. For a small island, the amount of nationalities that exist and mix is phenomenal and always puts newcomers at ease. “Bahrain is a unique country, it’s a gem,” says Burak, the ambassador of Manama’s InterNations community.
There are around 7,500 members of the Manama community. “Around 30 per cent of our members are consistent and 70 per cent are constantly new.” Proving that Bahrain’s expat community is very lively and there’s a high turnover. The community seeks to help newcomers and established expats with a range of services – events are set up for business and social opportunities and of course the online platforms and forums are great tools for questions and answers. Being or becoming an expat can throw up a host of challenges and issues but InterNations is a fantastic platform to make your transition easier and to continually find opportunities where you least expect them. ✤ GO: Visit www.internations.org/bahrain-expats for more information. fact magazine
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