We recently got a whole new perspective on selling stuff in preparation for our move. In the past, between eBay, Craigslist and other such venues, as well as the traditional garage or yard sale, you could move pretty much anything you owned in good condition. That's changed. With the US economy still a mess, more and more foreclosures, bankruptcies, job losses, job cutbacks and generally bad stuff happening, it's getting tougher to move used goods. Decorations, art, collectibles, items that …
Top Quality of Living Cities for 2010
Every year, Mercer conducts a Quality of Living survey. Results for 2010 were announced a couple of days ago. Vienna, Austria, keeps its #1 spot for another year. Top 10 cities worldwide for quality of living are: Vienna, Austria Zurich, Switzerland Geneva, Switzerland Vancouver, Canada Auckland, New Zealand Dusseldorf, Germany Frankfurt, Germany Munich, Germany Bern, Switzerland Sydney, Australia The first US city on the list is Honolulu, at #31. Singapore, at #28, tops the list …
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It’s Official: US Health Care IS Driving Americans to Move Abroad
Last October I asked the question, "Is US health care driving Americans to move abroad?" You can read the original post here. I followed up the question and post with a poll. When the poll closed, 19% of respondents listed health care as the "most important" reason for their move and a whopping 69% rated is as "very important." Not a single respondent indicated health care was not a consideration. [ad#Google Adsense-1] The prestigious magazine for expats and would-be expats International …
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Totally Unprepared for the French
Guest Post by Catherine Perkins When I left the United States in February for a two month stay in France, I was very prepared. I had a bag loaded with French language resources (a dictionary, a phrase book, a traveler's guide), and some new cold-weather clothing. Living in Florida my entire life, I'd never had much need for a heavy coat before, but I purchased a lovely blue parka just before I left. I never once used the language books, and I ditched the parka my first week there (too …
Is France Affordable?
Recently, the Live and Invest Overseas e-letter has been talking about France in the run-up to their upcoming conference about living and investing there. France is not one of the countries we've been considering as a retirement destination because of the expense. But with headlines like, "Your Second Home In France (Could Cost As Little As 45,000 Euro)," is it worth reconsidering, I wonder? Correspondent Lucy Culpepper writes with enthusiasm about the Languedoc and Bearn regions of the country …
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
I don't think the songwriter was referring to houses, but I'm finding that "breaking up" a home is also extremely hard to do. Gradually over the last year, we've been preparing to move. For a move to another country, this means getting rid of things. A lot of things. I've never really had to whittle down so much before. In previous moves, even cross-country, we've been able to move everything. Not the case this time. The first battle was emotional. Everything comes with memories attached. …