The Expat's Challenge: Finding Good Brands
When you have a cold, you take Nyquil. Your favorite body wash is from The Body Shop. You love The Limited's clothes.
But now that you live in another country, you can't find your favorite brands. What's an expat to do?
The way I see it, we have three options...
Stock Up When We're in the U.S.
I did this for the first couple of years. I bought Day/Nyquil, Excedrin, and even Fruit of the Loom underwear!
While it's comforting to buy products we know will work, it does become cumbersome to fill suitcases! A couple of years ago, I even brought Chex Cereal back from the U.S. to make my favorite holiday snack. (Still haven't found an Italian replacement for it!)
Though I'm trying to cut back on what I bring, I absolutely can't let go of chili powder or Lawry's garlic salt!
Make It
This applies to food (although, since I'm really into making skincare products, I guess it could apply there too...).
For two years, I just dealt with buying crappy store-bought Mexican salsa. It's bland and has zero actual Mexican spices. But then I had a duh moment: I can make my own salsa! I've learned to make tortillas, too. I refuse to be without Mexican food or have bad substitutes!
I've also found that Amazon has a lot of Asian ingredients I can't find locally, like sriracha and gochujang.
Find Substitutes
This is a long journey. When you know that, for example, Excedrin Extra Strength is the only thing that knocks out your headaches, it may take a while to find the local painkiller alternative. I still haven't found a good Dayquil replacement, though I do love that Italian cold products come as powders or dissolvable tablets.
Clothing-wise, I don't have a lot of great choices of shops nearby, so I'm slowly trying European e-commerce shops online. I actually love Instagram ads for this. Once I start shopping for, let's say, cute rain boots, Insta gives me all kinds of European brands to choose from!
The key here is patience. We spend a lifetime relying on certain brands, and moving abroad means that journey starts at zero. Have fun on the way!
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