Summary: For expats, the shift in living space often is also accompanied with a change in internet policies.
Many countries at least monitor internet activity, and often there are restrictions on the content you can access. With a VPN, you can take back your privacy, and get access to any content you want.
By blocking your IP address and giving you an encrypted internet tunnel, a VPN lifts regional internet restrictions and blocks government surveillance attempts.
For the most comprehensive VPN service on any continent, get Express VPN now.
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Why Is My Access Limited?
Expats have quite the life experience, growing up in one country, and moving their lives to an entirely different one.
Whatever your reasons may be for moving to a new place, drink in the culture, surround yourself with the local atmosphere, and don’t fall into the trap of losing internet accessibility.
Unfortunately, countries around the world are making the infamous lists of the OpenNet Initiative for their rampant censorship and surveillance of the internet.
Even if the country doesn’t have restrictive internet usage laws in place, many have telecommunications companies that hold a monopoly over the industry there.
These companies restrict access to services that may compete with their own, like Skype and VoIP services.
Don’t let these things influence your decision to explore.
A VPN is a simple and highly effective solution to all of these problems, and will give you access to any content you want, no matter where in the world you are.
What is a VPN?
For those that may be unfamiliar with the term, a VPN is a Virtual Private Network.
Basically it provides you with a secret tunnel in the internet that is protected with military grade encryption to keep hackers and government out of your business.
In addition, by routing your connection through a server location of your choosing and blocking you IP address, you get access to any content you want, and totally anonymously.
Top 3 VPNs for Expats
I’ll go through a few of the most popular ones out there, and give you an idea of what you can expect from each.
#1 Choice: Express VPN – 9/10 – Servers all over the world
No matter where you are or which VPN you choose, you’ll want to make sure it’s one with enough servers to support their customer base – preferably at least 50.
Express VPN has servers in 78 countries, so there’s bound to be one in your neck of the woods.
On top of that, they have a great connection – always fast, and you never get booted from a server.
Their software is compatible with all major operating systems, and is incredibly user-friendly, so anyone can figure it out.
If you do run into trouble though, Express VPN isn’t one to leave their customers high and dry.
They have 24/7 customer support that you can get in touch with by e-mail or live chat, and their average e-mail turn-around time is less than 20 minutes.
They also back their service with a 30-day money back guarantee, and a referral program that gives customers a month of free service when they send new business their way!
With all of these features, plus low monthly rates and military grade encryption to keep your connection private, Express VPN is absolutely the industry standard in VPNs.
For the most reliable and speedy connection, get Express VPN now.
#2: IPVanish – 8/10 – Secure connection, but a bit slower
While IPVanish doesn’t have quite as fast of a connection as Express VPN does, they do have a good amount of servers, so you should be able to access their service from just about anywhere.
Like Express VPN, IPVanish also boasts 24/7 support, and you can reach them through live chat and e-mail.
The main difference you’ll notice here is that the wait time will be longer for responses.
In addition, IPVanish only allows their customers to claim a refund within 7 days of purchase. And there also isn’t a referral program like with Express VPN.
Though it’s not compatible with iOS systems, you can use IPVanish on Mac, Windows, Android, and Linux devices.
Unless you’re using a mobile Apple device, IPVanish is worth a second look if you can’t connect with Express VPN.
IPVanish can be found at this link.
#3: HideMyAss– 6/10 – Unreliable connection, slow support
Okay, so HideMyAss is definitely more of a last ditch resort than anything else.
They have a network, but for some reason their connections are notoriously unreliable, with many users complaining of being suddenly disconnected for no apparent reason.
Though they offer military grade encryption with their VPN software, the connection isn’t nearly as fast as what you get with Express VPN.
Their support is painfully slow, despite their claims of being available 24/7. Sure, you can reach them three different ways, but it’s amazing how long you’ll wait for a response.
At times their service is downright unprofessional, and I’ve gotten FAQ copy and paste responses more than once.
Overall, HideMyAss can just be pretty sluggish and unprofessional, and the difference in price isn’t substantial enough for that to not matter.
I wouldn’t even waste my time with these guys – stick with Express VPN to save yourself some trouble.
HideMyAss is here.
Conclusion: Use Express VPN for Fast, Unlimited Access
If you’re an expat in a place like China or the UAE, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the major differences in internet accessibility.
A large portion of the content is censored in these areas, and government surveillance is very prominent.
Just because you’re living in another country doesn’t mean you have to live with it though.
You’ll also get great customer service and a large enough network to keep you connected anywhere you might be.
For the best all-around service and support anywhere in the world, check out Express VPN.
