About
He is a Canadian known simply as Alex, a former corporate employee at Netflix who traded a stable career for a life of perpetual travel. His YouTube channel, “Living abroad,” began in 2021 as a straightforward travelogue, promising to guide viewers through the logistics of an expatriate life. But a deeper analysis reveals a significant strategic pivot. The channel has since evolved from a personal diary into a vital news and commentary hub for the English-speaking foreign community in Southeast Asia, leveraging high-stakes, regional incidents to build a dedicated audience of over 164,000 subscribers.
Living abroad: History and Growth
Alex, a Canadian citizen, launched the “Living abroad” YouTube channel on March 17, 2021. His motivation, as stated in interviews, was a desire to escape Canada’s cold and pursue adventure. At the time of a November 13, 2022, interview, he was 35 years old, placing his year of birth circa 1987. Before committing to the life of a full-time content creator, he held a corporate position at the global streaming giant Netflix, a fact he uses to frame his narrative of leaving the conventional career path for digital nomadism.
The channel’s growth has been steady. As of late 2024, it has amassed approximately 50 million total views across nearly 900 videos. This growth is a direct result of a calculated evolution in content strategy, moving beyond personal experience to address the broader informational needs of its target demographic. The channel is definitively identified by its unique handle, @Livingabroadalex, and the consistent business email, [email protected], distinguishing it from a crowded field of similarly named creators like Alex Kosh, Alex Tat, and Alex Kreissl, each with their own distinct geographic focuses and platforms.
Living abroad: Content and Style
The channel’s public description still reflects its original mission: “Follow me as I travel the world and share my experiences, while trying to live like a local… Everything from renting an apartment, transportation, food, and language.” While this foundation remains, an audit of recent content reveals a clear pivot to a news-aggregator model. Alex now frequently acts as a curator and commentator on events impacting foreigners in the Philippines and Thailand.
This shift is evident in video titles that prioritize third-party incidents over personal anecdotes. Content like “3 Tourists Call Police When Realizing Bar Girl Has Small Chest” and “Homeless foreigner in the Philippines passes away” leverages the high engagement potential of conflict and human-interest stories. The channel also serves as a platform to amplify community concerns, reporting on stories like that of a Black American mother detailing unsettling daily experiences of being singled out, filmed, and treated differently with her children in the Philippines. By packaging and presenting these narratives, Alex has transformed “Living abroad” from a simple travel vlog into an essential information source for Western expatriates and tourists navigating the complexities of life in the region.
How Living abroad Makes Money
The “Living abroad” channel is a diversified business venture. The primary revenue stream is the YouTube Partner Program, supplemented by a multi-pronged monetization network. Direct financial support is channeled through YouTube’s native Channel Memberships feature, which offers tiered perks to paying subscribers. This represents a strategic maturation from the channel’s early days, when it relied on now-defunct third-party links to platforms like Buy Me a Coffee and Linktree. By centralizing transactions within the YouTube network, the creator reduces audience friction and streamlines financial management.
Further revenue is generated through carefully selected affiliate partnerships and sponsorships. Alex is an affiliate for SafetyWing, a travel insurance provider popular with digital nomads, and has integrated paid promotions from brands such as the language-learning app HelloTalk and the Philippines-based mobile payment service Moreta. This combination of advertising, direct support, and brand partnerships creates a resilient and well-integrated business model built around its niche audience.
Living abroad's Collaborations
Alex is an established and active participant in the expat vlogging community centered in Southeast Asia. He has deliberately pursued a strategy of cross-promotion by appearing as a guest on numerous other channels within his niche. These documented collaborations serve to enhance his credibility and tap into pre-qualified audiences.
He has been featured in interviews on the “Thairish Times” channel, where he discussed his transition from Netflix to full-time travel. He has also made multiple appearances on “Aaron Around” to discuss topics like dating in the Philippines and has been a guest on “Paul in the Philippines Old Dog New Tricks” to break down the financial realities of the digital nomad lifestyle. This network of collaborations reinforces his status as a recognized voice and builds a communal network that benefits all participating creators.
Living abroad: Public Reception
The channel itself has not been the subject of any documented personal controversies involving its creator. Instead, it has gained prominence by reporting on controversies and critical incidents involving other foreigners. The most significant example of this is the channel’s coverage of the theft of P500,000 worth of jewelry from an airline passenger named Kimberly Nakamura at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
The incident, which occurred between June 28 and July 14, 2025, involved the disappearance of a jewelry box containing wedding rings, a diamond necklace, and earrings from Gate 104 in NAIA’s Terminal 3. Nakamura’s subsequent investigation, which she documented and shared publicly, revealed that over ten different personnel from Cebu Pacific, Jetstar, and Quickstar Security had handled the box without turning it over to Lost & Found. The items were only recovered in stages—the box on July 8, her husband’s ring on July 13, and her own ring on July 14—after she relentlessly pursued the matter with airport police and threatened legal action. The final ring was recovered after an anonymous text message revealed it had been hidden under a table at the same gate where it went missing.
By covering this high-profile case in detail, Alex’s channel performed a key journalistic function for its audience, providing a stark warning about airport security and amplifying a story of significant public interest within the traveler community. This example perfectly illustrates the channel’s evolved role: not as the subject of news, but as a critical conduit for it.
Living abroad: Philanthropy
No verifiable information regarding philanthropic activities or formal initiatives was found in the research dossier.
Living abroad Today
Alex of “Living abroad” has successfully navigated a difficult transition that many creators fail to manage: the evolution from a personal brand into a sustainable media platform. By shifting from a conventional travelogue to a focused news and commentary source, he has carved out a defensible niche as an essential voice for expatriates and travelers in Southeast Asia. His channel is no longer just about his journey; it is about the collective experience of the foreign community he serves, offering practical warnings, amplifying social concerns, and curating the stories that define life abroad. Through a savvy combination of content strategy, network building, and diversified monetization, he has proven that the most compelling travel content is not always about the destination, but about the critical information you need to survive it.