Choosing Emigration Over Expat Living
Nomad Profile
I met Dr. Adeline while in Abidjan, the largest city in Côte d'Ivoire. She is an academic and consultant with international NGOs focusing on the integration of science and education. She taught me about the Sahel, a region I hadn’t previously known about.
The Sahel, which means “shore” in Arabic, refers to the desert’s edge and defines the area in Africa that separates the drier Sahara desert to the north from the savanna zone in the south. The region includes 10 countries: Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria. I love it when I learn something new!
9 Fun Facts
First Name: Adeline
Age Range: 30s
Nationality: French
Nomadic Stance: Part-time
Last Corporate Job: Institutional Learning (Monitoring & Evaluation) Specialist for West Africa
Current Job: Independent Consultant
Favorite Country: Depends so much on what for, but in the end, where I spend time with loved ones, and that in my life can be anywhere
Next Stop: Mauritania
What do you like best about the nomadic life? Beautiful random conversations with strangers
2 Questions
1) You refer to yourself as a migrant, not an expat. What is the difference?
Expatriation is often used for people abroad for work, who have access to numerous resources and are not necessarily attached to their current location. In contrast, migration is dominantly negatively charged, referring to people facing difficult conditions.
I do have many privileges from being born and raised in Europe, but no organisation or marital role sent me to another continent. Not only do I not have an expatriate economic or legal status, but when I look at these terms, one of the things I want to convey is that I chose to displace myself (emigrate), specifically to where I currently am.
2) How are you trying to create community in your chosen home of Abidjan?
What I see is a human need for belonging and the possibility to transcend differences, stereotypes, or assumptions when we identify and accept the common interests, values, or goals we might have.
So, I try to build connections and expansion from what is, from existing initiatives, whether it is about women’s rights, neurodiversity, or the environment.
Have you ever lived an expat life? Or purposely displaced yourself? What was your motivation for moving to your new home?
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Christened “Wander Woman” by National Geographic, Erin Michelson is a professional speaker and author of the Nomad Life™ series of curated trips and travel guides, including the #1-ranked “Explore the World with Nomads.”