I had so much fun talking to Amanda Bates, founder and editor of The Black Expat. Amanda launched The Black Expat to provide voices from the Black perspective of traveling and living internationally. It is both an informative resource as well as a source of inspiration for those considering an international move. She says, “and by Black, we mean in the most inclusive sense, from the Bajan who goes to the US to study to the Nigerian entrepreneur who moves to Jamaica, and everyone else who may find themselves in Japan or Tokyo or Amsterdam.”

 She laughs when people ask “Where do you find all these black expats?” To which she replies, “…they’re literally all around you.”

Amanda talks about her own international upbringing. She discusses her current life in Qatar as well as the work that brought her there. In addition to The Black Expat, Amanda is on the board of Families in Global Transition and is a higher education counsellor and advocate.