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  • The Atlantic

    The Tight Bonds Among Expats

    “You need your friends abroad. You really need them; you don’t have family.”
    by Julie Beck Jan 28, 2022 5 minutes
    Source: Wenjia Tang

    Each installment of “The Friendship Files” features a conversation between The Atlantic’s Julie Beck and two or more friends, exploring the history and significance of their relationship.

    This week she talks with three friends who met in Mandarin class when they were expats living in Beijing. They discuss the importance of having friends when you live abroad, their hunger for adventure, and why sometimes they’re actually lonelier in their home countries.

    The Friends:

    Nandita Baxi Sheth, 56, a teacher and Ph.D. student who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio
    Charlotte Bovin, 49, a salesperson who lives in Stockholm, Sweden
    Joanna Engelman, 66, a retired teacher who lives in Essen, the Netherlands

    This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

    What brought you each to

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