Moving to a new country is not always as glamorous as travel bloggers make it seem. Often, even those small tasks that require little to zero effort in your country need extra attention once you start living in a new place. And that’s because you have to deal with other laws and social rules than you were never used to.
Using a VPN as an expat in your adoptive country can be among the best decisions you’ll ever make. In this article, we’ll talk about how a VPN can make your experience in another country safe and enjoyable!
What is a VPN?
A VPN (short for Virtual Private Network) is an online app that will encrypt your internet traffic so you can disguise your online identity.
Wait, isn’t using Incognito mode enough to hide you on the internet?
Well, not really. Your ISP, browsers (Chrome, Opera), and even other websites (Netflix, Reddit, Facebook) can still see your IP. But when you connect to a VPN, your internet traffic will be re-routed through a VPN server. Since you’ve chosen what VPN server you want to connect to, you’re basically choosing your IP.
For example, let’s say you moved to China so you have a Chinese IP. If you connect to a VPN server from France, you’ll get assigned a French IP. So anywhere you log in (Chrome, Netflix, Instagram, Slack), the apps will think your internet traffic comes from France not China.
But here are a few more in-depth examples of how a VPN can help you in a foreign country!
Using a VPN for Streaming
Just because you move to another country doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite shows. With a VPN, you can watch them anywhere in the world.
Let’s say you want to watch The Big Bang Theory but you just moved to China and found out that the government banned TV shows that are too entertaining.
All you have to do is log into your VPN app and choose the country where The Big Bang Theory is available – Japan, for example. Once you connect to a Japanese server, you can access your Netflix account and unblock the Japanese library.
Top VPN providers grant you access to the most popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, and Peacock. You can buy the best IPVanish VPN Black Friday Sale with lots of useful benefits.
Using a VPN for Security
Connecting to public WiFi can expose you to multiple threats. Hackers can use unsecured WiFi to spread malware, or to inspect your traffic.
Wait – what do you mean by packet sniffing? It’s a technique called WiFi sniffing where hackers use special software tools to get access to everything you do on the internet. Cybercriminals will have access to login credentials, private information, or your location.
A VPN will encrypt your data and add a layer of extra protection so no one knows what you’re doing online. If hackers were to spy on your activity, they’d see nothing more than gibberish. Instead of the webpage you visit, they’ll see random numbers, special characters, and letters.
Using a VPN to Save Money
Using a VPN can also help you save money while you’re shopping online.
For example, a Netflix monthly subscription in Turkey or Argentina costs less than $4, but in Switzerland or Denmark, you’ll have to pay up to $14!
And air travel companies might have different prices for the same flight. For example, if you were to buy plane tickets from Germany to France, the airlines might display a smaller price to someone with IP from India compared to someone with IP from Finland.
Still, keep in mind that this is not a general rule as airlines have different pricing policies. You can’t still give it a try though!
Using a VPN to Stop Bandwidth Throttling
Bandwidth throttling is when your ISP limits your internet usage without telling you. This happens when you use more data than your internet plan allows.
Let’s say your plan gives you 1000GB/month. If you watch Netflix in 4K, you can use up to 7GB per hour. Do that 3 times per day and you consume more than 150GB per week! So, your ISP will restrict your traffic so you won’t consume even more data.
Since a VPN encrypts your data, your ISP can’t see what you’re doing on the internet, so they can’t selectively slow down your speeds!
Using a VPN to Bypass Censorship
Just like you bypass geo-location restrictions to watch your favorite TV shows on Netflix, you can use a VPN to bypass government censorship.
If you travel to a restrictive country like China, you’ll see that you can’t use:
- Gmail
- Microsoft OneDrive
- Hootsuite
- Slack
- Google Apps (Docs, Calendar, Maps)
Instead, China has its version of these popular apps, but it’s too stressful to learn how to use them. Besides, if you use them for work-related tasks, you can’t convince the entire company to use the Chinese apps just because it’s more convenient for you.
A VPN bypasses these restrictions and you’ll access the same apps as your family, friends, and work colleagues.
Conclusion
Using a VPN as an expat is going to change your life. Not in a glamorous way, but more in an I-feel-safe-because-no-one-can-spy-on-my-private-data kind of way. You protect yourself from phishing attacks and you get to enjoy your favorite shows anywhere you go in the world.
Well, you can also use work-related apps like Slack, Google Drive, and DocuSign that can be blocked in your adoptive country if it has a restrictive government.
What are the most frequent apps or websites you can’t take a break from even while you’re traveling? Let us know in the comments! For us it’s Netflix – nothing compares to a good, relaxing show after a stressful day in a foreign country!
