When you become an expat you often find that you will have to say emotional goodbyes to a number of dearly beloved things, your friends, your home, your job and British television!
Yes, having to pull the plug on your viewing habits can often be just as hard as saying bye to loved ones, for no one can deny the joy visual entertainment brings us. Sufferers of expat culture shock often cite foreign television as a factor that aggravates the sensation of homesickness.
However help is now at hand with a handy new piece of software that enables you to bypass IP scanners that stop people who don't live in the UK watching UK online television.
The BBC's iPlayer service offers catch up TV of most of its shows online, meaning Brits never have to miss an episode of Eastenders. Unfortunately this service is only available in the UK but now Expat Shield, the software in question, handily tricks sites into thinking you have an English IP address.
Speaking to The Independent, the software creator David Gorodyansky said: Imagine if you are a businessperson travelling abroad, or a student spending a semester in a foreign country. For many people it’s important to have a tie back to home, and we are creating a way to do so. We are not aiming to do anything malicious or dangerous, but rather are creating a way for a British citizen to have an uninterrupted online experience no matter where they are in the world. There are 6 million UK expats around the world. We think that this will have broad appeal for any UK expats wherever they might be in the world, and therefore see if being highly useful.”
Expat Shield is free to download at http://www.expatshield.com.