Living abroad offers exciting new experiences, but it also comes with unique challenges—especially when it comes to staying connected. Discover how a VPN can be an essential tool for expats, unlocking a world of online freedom and security no matter where you are.
The advantages of getting a VPN for an expat include the following: you will be in touch with your home country, your privacy is protected, and you can roam the internet freely.
So, in this blog, we shall discuss how a VPN will help improve an expat’s experience and why it is important for them.
How Does a VPN Work?
A VPN functions by making your Internet connection pass through a selected server of your preference. Such as, you can connect to US server to access the content. Thus, it hides your real IP address and encodes the data.
Using proxies comes in handy for avoiding certain geographical platforms. They shield your activities on the internet, and establish a steady connection. Finding the best VPN that can serve ex-pats will involve having a good number of servers. Moreover, those should be well-protected by high levels of encryption and excellent performance.
Furthermore, you can unblock the streaming services and can watch famous shows and movies on any platform of your choice!.
Benefits of Using a VPN for Expats?
Here are the advantages of using a VPN for expats:
1. Stay Connected to Home
A VPN allows you to use social networks and messaging apps that are prohibited in the country where you are temporarily living. With a VPN, you can communicate with friends and relatives hassle-free.
2. Protect Your Privacy
Access to public Wi-Fi which is available in most countries, can put your information at the hands of hackers. Privacy is good, a VPN encapsulates your data; and ensures your activities on each site are safe.
3. Access Your Banking Services
Some banks lock accounts accessed from unfamiliar locations. By using a VPN, you can log in from a server in your home country, thereby reducing the chances of having your account locked.
4. Blazing-Fast Speeds
A VPN works to establish internet connection speed. It avoids throttling by ISPs and gives an uninterrupted online experience for work.
5. Find Cheaper Flights and Better Deals
Making your virtual location to another country with the help of VPN allows you to find better offers on flights and other services, which can result in less money.
6. Enjoy Entertainment and Sports
Watch your programs, favorite sports matches, and other content you usually find restricted from home by using a VPN. Using a VPN, you can watch Basketball at the Paris Olympics, and badminton at the Paris Olympics, without missing out on all the fun.
Selecting the Appropriate VPN
When choosing a VPN as an expat, consider the following:
- Server Locations: The VPN must have servers in the country you are from and the country you want to content from.
- Security Features: Must look at encryptions for security, no-log policy, and high levels of security for user protection.
- Speed and Performance: Choose a VPN with several fast servers. It make connection faster as much as possible in a situation where you want to stream, or do a video conference.
- Ease of Use: Select a VPN that can offer a simple interface. That indicates how easy it will be to set up to allow a secure connection.
- Customer Support: Customer support should be efficient and most importantly, should be able to reach at any time.
- Compatibility: Make sure the VPN is compatible with all your devices, not only a computer but also a smartphone, a tablet, or a laptop.
Why Do You Need a VPN as a Digital Nomad?
To the digital nomads, a VPN is a tool that guarantees protection. It enables you to work from any part of the world without having to catch which data of yours is safe. Moreover, to browse another site or service that may be down in your country and even get the best deal when you are searching for flights or hotels.
ExpressVPN and Surfshark: Top Recommendations
ExpressVPN provides fast connection speed, apart from being highly secure, and therefore, it is suitable for use by expats. It has features such as Kill Switch, Split Tunneling, which makes it the best VPN for international travel.
For more details, you can read my ExpressVPN review guide.
Established as one of the most budget-friendly VPNs on the market, Surfshark has recently added one more ‘record’ to its list – the ability to connect an unlimited number of devices at the same time.
Note: We advise you not to use free VPN for travel, as it is not safe and they sell your data to the third parties without your concern.
Bonus Points: These Providers Have the Best Track Record in China
Since China boasts of one of the most proxy firewall systems, one needs a good VPN. These VPNs do not engage in some of these restrictions; instead, they provide reliable connections: ExpressVPN, and Surfshark, among others.
These providers operate from jurisdictions that do not compromise on client privacy, and their platforms are subjected to security checks from time to time. Further, as diskless systems, no data is resident on a server, offering further security safeguards are in place.
- Based in countries not part of any known intelligence alliance, ExpressVPN as well as Surfshark headquarters are in British Virgin Islands to keep your information out of the grasp of intelligence sharing.
- Regular application and server audits: These providers are regularly audited by reputable third parties with the aim of Checking on the reliability of their security measure.
- Diskless infrastructure: Common to many organizations, these VPNs run on diskless servers, which means no data can be stored on that server, thus making it safe.
FAQs
For expats, there is a need for a powerful and safe VPN. The VPN must have high speeds and many servers around the world. Both ExpressVPN and Surfshark will do you well if you decide to subscribe to any of them.
The best country which one can use a VPN has robust privacy laws and has no legal requirements on data retention. Locations for such VPNs should be Panama, The British Virgin Islands, and Switzerland, among others.
Of course, having a VPN is Important while being in a foreign country. Else, you will have no chance to protect your identity. Moreover, you won’t be able to access the content that is unavailable for the country’s citizens.
One cannot use a VPN freely in countries like China, Russia, and North Korea. Nevertheless, there are VPNs that remain active in these locations.
Switzerland as well as the British Virgin Islands are among the more safe countries of the world to use VPN services.
Yes, you can select the country you want to appear to be connecting from, mostly by the VPN service providers.
According to the annual survey of the VPN provider HideMyAss, the countries with the world’s most internet censorship, including China and Iran, use VPNs extensively.
Yes, if you want to keep your data secure, you can use VPN in the own country. You will be able to gain access to some content which the ISP might have blocked.
To the best of my knowledge, there isn’t any country that has a government-sponsored free VPN service, but there are many free VPNs out there. However, free access to VPNs should also be taken with extreme care, as such services are usually limited and often not very safe. However, the best free VPN for expats is Windscribe.
Switching between different VPNs to another country can make one access content that is restricted to that country only, and can also have a different pricing system for online services.
Nevertheless, for certain purposes or functions, some users experience better results in proxy services, or in switch to encrypted DNS. Yet these alternatives do not offer the extensive security and privacy that exactly match the needs of a website.
Conclusion
A VPN for expats is much more to unblock content. It helps the user to communicate, protect the data, and be updated online. Whether you are calling your close ones, dealing with your money matters, or just watching your favorite movies/shows, the best VPN for expats brings you relief.
It is important that a user chooses the right VPN according to what they want it for whether for security, the country it should be based in or even the servers available in the country you live in.