Less than two weeks. That's how long we had our dogs with us in Panama before potential disaster struck. Recently I wrote about our ordeals in moving our three small dogs with us to Panama. As I explained, it wasn't so much the paperwork, although you have to carefully dot all your I's and cross all your T's. It was the logistics that caused us to ultimately hire a professional pet mover to help. The dogs arrived, they started settling into their new home, and all was well. Until the …
9 Lessons I’ve Learned about Finding a Rental House in Las Tablas, Panama
When last seen, Future Expat was grumpy. Tired of living in a hotel and having to go out for every meal, tired of not having a place to call her own. . . just tired. There were even a few tearful phones calls with my husband back home, running along the lines of, "I don't think I can do this." Fortunately, I'm happy -- no, ecstatic -- to report that I've found a home! And, naturally, I've learned some lessons about navigating this local rental market that I'm happy to pass along. I'll …
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How Thanksgiving Reminded Me to be Thankful
A lot of blogs featured "things I feel thankful for" types of posts just before Thanksgiving, which was yesterday here in the US. I didn't join them because, frankly, I haven't been feeling I had much to be thankful for recently. However, spending Thanksgiving Day with my husband's family, and a long phone conversation in the evening, put a few things into perspective for me. One Man's Yummy is Another Man's Disgusting Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. While many cultures celebrate …
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What Can I Eat Overseas?
And Stay Healthy? I have some concerns about the food supply in my overseas location. How do I find out whether crops are grown with chemical pesticides or whether the cows are pumped full of antibiotics as they are in the US? I don't want to assume anything. . . [ad#Google Adsense Double] If eating nutritious, healthful, uncontaminated food is important to you, jump over to our Facebook page and join the discussion. …
What Will You Do First?
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 …
The Flip Side of Expat Guilt
Guest Post by Barbara Diggs Lucky is the expat that has no lingering guilt associated with his or her decision to live abroad. But, I think, rare is that expat also. Maybe you feel a bit guilty about how living abroad will affect your children, or you worry about the feelings of loved ones left behind. You might even have conflicted feelings about preferring another country over your own. For me, as excited as I was to move to Paris nine years ago, I felt terribly guilty about leaving my …