Expat Interviews: Fiona Henry, A Brit Living in Katy, TX

In December of 2024, Dwellworks proudly acquired CORT's Destination Services business, expanding our commitment to delivering industry-leading relocation solutions. Read the full press release here. To ensure a seamless transition, we are making the materials previously available on the CORT Destination Services website accessible as valuable resources for our clients and partners.

For more information on Dwellworks Destination Services, please click here.

Ex·pa·tri·ate: (n) a person who lives outside their native country. Each year, our Destination Services supports thousands of individuals and families through the challenges inherent in relocating for work. Our Destination Services Consultants help assignees discover great neighborhoods, find the right home, choose the best school, and get settled into their new community with less stress and more confidence. In the spirit of helping that our consultants bring to their work every day, we occasionally invite an expatriate to share their thoughts about the experience of moving to, and living in, the United States. Our latest Expat Interview is from Fiona Henry a British national living in Katy, Texas. We hope you find Fiona’s remarks to be both fun and informative. We would love to hear from you.  Please share your insights on the expatriate experience in the comments section. Thank you.

Name: Fiona Henry

Nationality: British

Industry that brought you to the U.S.: Recruitment – related to Oil & Gas

Are you alone on this assignment? I came to join hubby and brought our 2 children.

Is this your first international assignment? Yes.

Was the decision to move to the U.S. easy or difficult for you and your family? Difficult due to our age, family circumstances and financial situation.

What is one American tourist attraction that you have visited? Hoping to visit Grand Canyon.

What word or saying from your native language do you find yourself using often because it just doesn't translate well to American English? Mithering

Is there anything that you really miss and can't find in U.S. stores? Deodorant that does not stain, plus pies and pasties!

What is your favorite American food? Ribs Fill in the blank. Americans are: Not what the rest of the world thinks they are. They are actually pretty nice.

Sometimes I wish Americans: Would use another word other than ""awesome"", especially when it’s just plain OK.

What has surprised you (good or bad) about life in the U.S.? That they are actually still very old fashioned in various things, most being clothes. Also, the gun culture.

The best thing about being an expatriate is: Getting to live and experience another country beyond holidays and meeting people from all over the world and then ultimately becoming friends.

The worst thing about being an expatriate is: Missing family friends and our own food!

If you could relocate anywhere in the world, where would you go? Canada/Australia

Imagine that a good friend just called to tell you that he/she has accepted an assignment in the U.S. What advice might you have for them as they prepare to relocate? Take the time to visit (we didn’t), prepare yourself for a change in lifestyle that maybe difficult at first, and do not make any rash decisions to move quickly.

About Dwellworks 

Dwellworks is the world’s largest provider of destination-related services and temporary living solutions for the globally mobile workforce and business travelers. We provide business-to-business solutions for Fortune 1000 and emerging companies directly and through their relocation management partners. Whether a company needs to relocate its employees across the country or around the world, we provide a range of support services to help employees and their families transition successfully from their home location to a new destination.   

Dwellworks supports the diversity of our clients’ globally mobile workforce with personalized destination solutions in 16 countries, covering hundreds of major relocation markets. Dwellworks Living, our global furnished temporary living solution, offers corporate housing accommodations for relocation and business travel customers in 125 countries. Our full-service real estate brokerage, Station Cities, supports home rentals, sales, and purchases in the Tri-State New York area and Chicago. Visit our homepage, learn about our services, and read our blogs to learn how we can help with your relocation and business travel needs.