My Expat Network

expat network

Website: www.my-expat-network.com

When British expat Tim Fleming was living in Shanghai he found it was easy enough to find the latest blockbuster movie on DVD or online, but it was completely impossible to get access to UK TV online.

The problem was that when you try to access BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub from overseas you are denied access if you don’t have a UK IP address.

An IP address identifies your location and without a UK IP, you can’t watch UK TV online.

This was a problem Tim and his long time friend Noel Greaves-Lord were determined to fix.

They soon realised that there was an existing solution to the problem, that had until then not been used for accessing online TV, but had been developed purely to offer secure encrypted access to the internet.

The good news was that this VPN (Virtual Private Network) technology also gave you an IP address located in the country where the VPN servers were hosted.

The solution was the get a VPN server based in the UK for Tim and his family to connect through.

With the help of developers and server providers in the UK Tim quickly had a UK IP, and therefore access to all his favourite television online in the UK.

The demand from friends and colleagues was so great that in 2009 My Expat Network was born

My Expat Network provides a piece of software that you can quickly and easily download onto your PC Mac or Laptop, that sits on you desktop, allowing you to turn on and off the VPN. It utilises your existing internet connection, but once connected the VPN routes through the My Expat Network servers in the UK .

The subsequent huge growth in sales of mobile phones and tablets led to the development of Apps such as BBC iPlayer , ITV Hub. 4OD and FIVE, and this new pattern persuaded My Expat Network to develop their own mobile App for iOS and Android.

You can now download the My Expat Network Pro App from the App Store and Google play. The App pre configures the VPN on your device without any need to change settings or add information. It is a fantastic solution to UK TV on the go.

It is now possible to have the My Expat Network VPN on all of your devices, PC, Mac, laptop, mobile and tablet with up to 5 simultaneous connections.

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.