A little landlocked nation of less than 634,000 people that also happens to be the most wealthy nation in the EU attracts thousands of expats per year making almost 50% of its population from elsewhere – welcome to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Most commonly when telling anyone I had been living in Luxembourg the response was ‘Oh In Germany?’ to which the answer was No, more often than not they would then assume it was in France and as a last resort Belgium. Only a surprising few realised Luxembourg was its own country where they speak their own language, aptly named Luxembourgish…go figure.
As you might imagine a little rich country with four official languages a huge population of foreigners and much bigger countries right on its doorstep has its own set of peculiarities, the thing is if you wouldn’t know them until you got there.
One of Luxembourg’s many incoming expats might want to weigh up their options and hear firsthand about the dearth of Kale salads or the surplus of plastic ducks. Strange facts to anyone who hasn’t spent time as a resident of ‘the bourg’ as its affectionately known (by me only).
Despite its size, Luxembourg is an economic heavy weight, boasts the highest minimum wage in the EU and is a leader in Fintech and financial services. Any quick google search will tell you all of that, along with the tax advantages and the opportunity to raise multilingual children – admittedly all good information to know.
However, if you are someone who wants to know what it’s really like from an insider perspective, then Girl in Luxembourg is the podcast for you. On this first episode we talk about life in Luxembourg for English speakers, the art of making friends, roller-skating cashiers and of course the duck racing – we will hear from an American and an Australian who made Luxembourg their home at one time or another along with my own insights.
Now pour yourself a glass of cremant and listen up.
