The first time I moved abroad I simply drove across the border from southern California on down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was exciting, life changing, and it turns out … a really bad idea as a single, young 20 year old girl. From there it was Barcelona, then Bangalore,…
I’ve lived in 9 countries and have rented apartments in all of them, including in Pakistan. But nothing prepared me for what I would experience when I moved from my apartment at One Constitution Avenue in Islamabad to Emaar in Karachi. It was ROUGH! The patriarchy didn’t touch my life…
I’m currently planning a fun road trip with my sweet Mommy for when I visit next, so I have USA on my brain. It’s making me think of “what ifs”, like what if I never divorced, never left the U.S., chose a different career, etc. Being able to work from…
While trying to secure funding for a project that was approved by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) last year, I was almost raped by a man pretending to be Balochistan Chief Minister Bugti’s coordinator, a secretary to the Chief Minister tried to extort me for sex, a female politician victim-blamed…
VIEW GUILTY DECISION HERE Since 9/11, I’m the foreigner to explore Balochistan, Pakistan the longest, 50+ days across 10 districts in 2021 (+ 20 days in 2024 = 72 days total). Travelling there was the most fun I’d had in decades and the closest I felt to a proper explorer…
You might think the biggest cultural difference a liberal Californian in Pakistan would experience is around religion but that’s not the case (this is the 3rd Muslim-majority country I’ve lived in, I love them). Where I struggle is around dealing with men. Western women are accustomed to having close relationships…
I was deported & blacklisted from a country once. I had relocated for a chief marketing officer job but ended up striking out on my own, exactly like what I’m doing here in Pakistan. I set up my own company, hired staff, and landed Samsung as my first client. The…
It wasn’t long after my daughter left the nest (and I was deep in empty nest syndrome) that I genuinely – HONESTLY – put thought into a Zombie Apocalypse Plan. Well, for comedic effect, that’s what I called it anyway. It was more like: if the world falls apart, how…
I moved out of Pakistan months ago but still – even TODAY – I’ve had to ban and block 3 men on social media 😡 If you follow my channel, you know I LOVE Pakistan. Pakistan was my favourite adventure I’ve lived in decades. I have only good things to…
It’s 6pm and yes those are pyjamas – the official uniform of many working from home! That’s also a vodka soda with a splash of some yummy Malaysian berry something or other, not tea. I’ve been packing up my temporary condo ‘cuz tomorrow’s a big day. Well, I suppose today…
Wandering. Adventuring. Exploring. That’s the aspirational way I’d categorise the nomadic lifestyle that I’ve just left behind. On paper (or I guess on Instagram) it looks tempting to live it. Seems like it’s full of mostly highs, which like any life it is not. But that life is addictive and…
SHUT UP & GO BACK HOME 😡 Go back to the U.S. Go back to your loved ones Go back to your homeland where you belong This post isn’t about racism yet I am receiving comments like these daily since deciding to share (confess?) more honestly on social media again.…
I left home the first time at 20 to travel solo and live in Mexico. From there life has been about exploration, discovery, and living in a way that drove my parents crazy and is far from conventional. Well, now my nomadic lifestyle is in true danger. I’m currently living…
The Attack: 6 April 2020 at 3:45am Today’s #lockdown video is not a fun one. I was woken up this morning at 3:45am by a man in my room wearing a hoodie, mask, and gloves and wielding a machete. Screaming HELP at the top of my lungs woke my neighbours…
I’ve started writing this blog post 10 times, 15 maybe. I’ve even finished it. But that was when I didn’t feel much positivity and those posts were DEPRESSING AS HELL. But that’s changed now so I’m going to try again. The reason I never launched the blog posts I wrote…
I’m not proud of it, necessarily. It is what it is and I can’t change it. But the fact is that the life I lead today began with me living as an illegal immigrant, or at least illegally. Not in one country or two … but three! Most of the…
I don’t want to wake up one day and regret not taking this chance so the security of my parachute aside, I won’t let fear stop me from living life as an adventure. Who says Gypsies didn’t it right when they embraced a culture of constant change and uncertainty? I’m…
I’ve been an expat, an immigrant, a digital nomad, and location independent. The first time I moved abroad was 28 years ago. The year was 1991 and I dropped out of the University of Irvine in California and drove my Jeep Wrangler down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I had a…
I didn’t realise it at the time that I wasn’t really free in India. During the (almost) three years I lived there, I truly thought I was happy. It was a wild time, with a life full of contrasts and amazing opportunities. Yet it was simultaneously the only time when…
It seems blissfully fitting that today is now officially the first day of the rest of my life because today is the day that the greatest joy in my life arrived 19 years ago when my daughter was born. While she has been enjoying her very first house party in…
If you are a regular reader of my blog I’m sure you will be happy to learn that in January – after about 18 months – I finally met a SINGLE smart, handsome Indian power guy (ahhhh the best kind!) who I basically fell head-over-heels coo coo for ‘at first…
I continue to feel humbled to have been chosen to handle social media for Guns N Roses Live India Tour. I grew up in southern California in the 80s so needless to say I was a huge fan from the first day I heard them on the radio (or saw…
So it’s been just over a year since I’ve been writing Angela’s Adventure In Bangalore. I started it just for my friends and family so when the blog started growing, it came as a surprise to me. Growing it also meant opening myself up publicly and engaging with many, many…
I had been living in Spain for 7+ years when the recession hit and I was laid off with half our company. My daughter and I make decisions together so we turned on the computer, opened up Google Maps and started systematically working our way across the globe, short-listing a…
I still remember my first day at work in Bangalore like it was yesterday. My new job started – as they should for some reason – on a Monday and I had moved to the country with three suitcases and into a hotel only the day before. I spent that Sunday…
Until now, the only hate mail I have received has come from angry brides-to-be who find my first Indian wedding experience blog post. Unfortunately these gals had typed in “Sanskruti Silks” or “wedding shoes” or any other combination of words like that and ended up reading my blog post. They were…
Is cheating an accepted practice in India? Do Indian women just turn their back on when they know their husband is cheating on them?
Anyone who has ever lived abroad or traveled outside your home country knows that sometimes it is simply impossible to avoid standing out. India is not the first foreign country I have lived in. I was born in L.A. and raised in Southern California … and over the past 19…
Less than a week has passed since I wrote the post “Are Women Safe In Bangalore?” and I have an update! Honestly, I have pretty much stayed on my high-horse and continued breaking the rules that every single one of my friends, colleagues, and wonderful people who have commented on…
First, let’s talk about dating. I find it so interesting that there are still chaperones to accompany young people on dates today. The first time I saw this “live” was at the park here in front of my flat.