Being an expat can be very challenging with myriads of obstacles
to overcome, but life may become a little bit easier by downloading some of the
below apps to help out with your daily routine.
Have you seen the fantastic expat apps available for your mobile
devices? Here are some that are
well worth looking at downloading whether you are travelling or trying to
settle into a new city from apps that help you to connect with expat
communities to getting to know your new location.
These are the few really cool apps that I found to help you out…..
Livingsocial.com for Great
Deals
This app helps you to save 50 – 90% at restaurants, spas, gyms and
more for great daily deals. Each day the app gives you a new, cool thing to do
in your city including some great discounts, download it free for iPhone or
iPad.
Viber, for Communication
Measures App, for Unit and Currency Conversions
Does your host city have a different
measurement system to what you are used to back home, or having a conversation
where you have to convert pounds to kilograms, then this is your app. Measures
helps you to convert just about anything you can imagine, name it and it will
convert it. Available for Apple devices only at the moment.
XE Currency, for
Currency Conversions
Another
popular Currency conversion app, available on iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and
Android. It is capable of performing multiple conversions at the same time,
refreshes every 60 seconds so you have the most up to date rate available, and
you can program the app to automatically track the performance of a number of
different currencies over time, great for investments in a variety of
locations.
Google Translate, for Language Challenges
You can use this to translate words and
phrases between more than 50 languages with the ability to speak the phrase you
want translated. Great in helping
you out in those tricky language moments. Available on Apple and Android devices,
though it should work on any device.
This is not
only a useful app, but a fun one to use too. The app steals your lips and
transforms them into a multilingual speaker. You simply take a photograph of
your lips (or someone elses), choose the phrase you would like to say in the
foreign language, hold your phone over your mouth to create the effect that you
are speaking the words. The app is currently available in French, German and
Arabic. What this video to see how helpful and fun this can be.
AllSubway, for Transport Solutions
This is a really handy app that provides metro / tube maps for 126
cities around the world. Each map is scalable with zooming options to help you
find your way around. Available for Apple devices only, but there is another
app aMetro which is available for Android devices.
For a small fee iMetro – USD 1.99 (CHF 2.02, EUR 1.38) provides
metro maps for 28 cities around the world, including Lausanne, Paris and
Berlin. There are quite a few metro apps out there, but I like this one best
because of the large number of available maps for the low cost.
CityMaps
2Go, for City Solutions
This app helps you to find your way around the city itself. Though Google Maps are great,
they do require an Internet connection, if you are wondering outside of where
you have been before. CityMaps 2Go app from Ulmon Offline
Maps enables you to
download offline maps to more than 2900 cities around the world with more being
added each week. Depending on your connectivity it can even find your location
and tell you which way you're facing. CityMaps2Go is available for Apple, while MapDroid is available for Android devices.
GPSmyCity.com, for Walking Tours
Do you need a more visual tour when walking around with a bit
more assistance, then simply install the GPSmyCity.com app onto your iPhone. Then load the virtual map and follow
the onscreen instructions to explore the city and learn more about its history.
Each tour is categorized according to length and distance so you can fit your
tours in around your schedule and explore at your own pace. Available on Apple
devices only.
Tourcaster Walking Tours, for Exploring your Host City
For newly arrived expats this is great to explore your host
country on foot without having to carry around a tourist book, the Tourcaster
audio walking tours offers walking tours in popular
destinations throughout the world. Available on any device that can play MP3s.
Weather
Pro, for your Weather Updates
The Weather Pro app provides
a free 7-day forecast, while their premium offering to get hourly forecast intervals and
precipitation type radar feeds is where the real fun starts if you're into your
weather. Available on Apple,
BlackBerry, Android and Windows Mobile 7 devices
On Foodspotting, you
can upload a picture of your food, say what it is and where you found it,
allowing food-seekers to find good food instead of just restaurants. Such a
great and simple idea!
Foursquare is an
alternative social network that allows you to search for local communities and
interact with friends. You can invite people or add existing users to your
network, as well as finding friends within the local area. The simple badges
reward system for “checking-in” to a venue adds a competitive edge, the more
you check-in, the closer you get to ‘Mayor’ status. A titled envied by many.
The location services
can pinpoint your exact location and suggests local sights and restaurant
listings and you won’t look so much like a tourist in your new home.
This database
identifies free public toilets around the world. Over 65,000 toilets have been
identified by users. To use, enter the nearest address, city, zip code or
intersection and it will generate a list of the nearest toilets. Plus check out
the reviews and comments for each toilet at www.sitorsquat.com to
ensure it doesn’t become a messy business.
Gate Maps, for Airport Terminal layouts
This app provides over 30
international airport terminal layouts. It runs offline, avoiding charges for
uploading data overseas. Travelers can check the map the airport in-flight so
that they can find their destination quickly after landing.
Flight Track Pro, for Airport
Information
Integrating online
travel organizer Tripit, saving your flight itineraries and keeping you
up-to-date on delays, gate changes, cancellations, just to name a few things. The
offline mode allows you to check your most recent flight details without the
use of wi-fi.
Packing Pro, for Packing Advice
A handy little checklist to ensure you are packing the
correct clothing for your trip. Create your own list or work from one of
several custom templates.
Spend, for Daily Cash Transactions
This little baby solves the problem of how to keep track of
all the daily cash transactions that occur on vacation or in everyday life
overseas. This is a top-notch tool for accounting as well as budgeting.
WifiTrak, for Finding WiFi Signals
This handy app locates free wi-fi signals nearby; perfect for
the traveler on the move.
Last but certainly not least, this app provides you with the ultimate Expat Tools and offers the following:
1) View local photos
posted from within 10km of your current location. Share cool local pictures
that you discover with friends via Facebook, twitter and email.
2) View share and comment on Local videos posted from within 10km of your current location. Share interesting local videos via Facebook, Twitter and email.
3) Read constantly updated local news from over 90 countries.
4) Easily access 270+ airline sites directly.
5) Quick access to travel booking and information sites right within the App.
6) A nice collection of Expatriate specific online resources organized into easily navigable categories.
7) View Seating charts for most airlines.
8) View Gate information for many airports worldwide.
9) Request quotes for international relocations.
10) Find international Real estate including apartments.
Share your location and photos via Tweets, and Facebook posts from within the App.
The Expat App is built by Expats for Expats and will be continually enhanced and expanded with new features and content
The Expat App supports both iPhones and iPads.
2) View share and comment on Local videos posted from within 10km of your current location. Share interesting local videos via Facebook, Twitter and email.
3) Read constantly updated local news from over 90 countries.
4) Easily access 270+ airline sites directly.
5) Quick access to travel booking and information sites right within the App.
6) A nice collection of Expatriate specific online resources organized into easily navigable categories.
7) View Seating charts for most airlines.
8) View Gate information for many airports worldwide.
9) Request quotes for international relocations.
10) Find international Real estate including apartments.
Share your location and photos via Tweets, and Facebook posts from within the App.
The Expat App is built by Expats for Expats and will be continually enhanced and expanded with new features and content
The Expat App supports both iPhones and iPads.
Those are just a few of
the apps that we found useful. Have you discovered any great apps that have made your life
overseas more manageable? Please drop us a line and share details of them with
our expat community.
Xpatulator.com brings you all your cost of living information
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