I was intrigued today to see a long list of responses to a question that International Living asked on their Facebook page. "What's the first thing you would like to do when you arrive in the new country you plan to live in?" they asked. Some responses were totally practical. "Go to the rest room" tickled me the most. Other practical answers talked about resting after jet lag, eating, having a beer or other beverage, or eating. One person said he'd exchange his currency. The most pragmatic of …
Plant Your Own Flags
The following was written by Kathleen Peddicord in her Overseas Opportunity newsletter. I'm a big fan of Kathleen's, and am happy to share with you her Top 10 lists, as well as the reasoning behind them. And, in certain cases, why you might be better off doing something completely different. Kathleen writes: I've been inundated recently with e-mails from readers asking, "Why not?" "Why not Honduras?" "Why not Costa Rica?" "Why not Spain?" "Why not the Bahamas?" Etc. Why do I focus in …
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
A review of the book by Paul Allen Paul Allen is a British expat journalist living in Spain. I was fascinated by his book, The Truth About Moving Abroad and Whether It's Right for You: Should I Stay or Should I Go? because it's the first I've read about expatriation from a non-US-centric perspective. Allen provides information and insight to help would-be expats make a decision about whether expatriation is right for them. He asks: "The question is, will you be among the millions of people …
Who’s Your Cheerleader Now?
When making big, life-changing moves, we all need people supporting our decisions, cheering us on, telling us we're okay. Big, life-changing moves are scary, after all, even when based on logic. As children, most of us had people encourage us to take another step even after we fell down, to get back on the bicycle despite the skid marks on our knees, to go ahead and jump into the deep end of the pool. So now we're all grown up, and planning a move to another country. It's like contemplating a …
Are You Running Toward. . . or Running Away?
Recently it seems as though I've been stumbling across all sorts of reasons to expatriate -- or not -- from all sorts of different sources. All the reasons, though, fall into one of two categories: running away from something running toward something In general, the coaches I've been in touch with agree that your move will be more successful if you're running toward something. In an ideal world, I think I'd agree with them. This not being an ideal world, however, I'd hate to think that …
Continue Reading about Are You Running Toward. . . or Running Away?
A Video Look at Some Expat Destinations
For a change of pace today, I thought I'd share with you some YouTube videos about expats and their new homes. A quick YouTube search of "expat" turns up over 4,000 videos. As you'd expect, some are good, some are terrible and most are in between. Some are slick, commercially produced efforts, most are not. The ones I find most interesting are individuals who shares specifics about their new homes. [ad#Google Adsense Double] I've chosen 14 videos worth a look. We'll come back to this from time …
Continue Reading about A Video Look at Some Expat Destinations