In my meetings with expats and travellers I’m always amazed at the stories we all have to share. Stories of love, life, challenge and happiness. Our common quest to find our own path in a world that’s always changing, and at the same time mostly repeating itself. I’ve spoken to many expat women of all … Read more
As I sit here on my new writing table, out in the patio hiding under a shelter with an inflatable swimming pool next to me to dip in now and then and cool down as it’s 40 degrees outside, I think back to last year when I was cooped up in a flat in the … Read more
This month, the deadline to write my Expat Focus blog has crept up on me so stealthily that I can’t believe I really need to get this post written so soon. We returned from a much-needed holiday in Florida just three weeks ago. Since then, I have been playing catch-up with both work and blogging … Read more
Long before Monty Python’s lumberjacks leapt from tree to tree as they floated down the mighty rivers of British Columbia, les flotteurs de bois were active in the Morvan. By 1550 the population of Paris had tripled over just 50 years. Demand for wood for fuel increased accordingly, and Paris looked longingly at the 47,000 … Read more
Over the last few months I have had occasion to drive between St Louis, Chicago and Northern Illinois quite regularly, and interstate travelling makes it easy to do these fairly long distances, much easier than equivalent distances back in the UK. One thing that is noticeable as you travel, not just on these routes, but … Read more
One thing that I won’t miss about Switzerland when we return to the UK is the cost of, well, everything. Before we moved out here we knew that it was one of the most expensive places to live, with the highest cost of living in the world, but I don’t think it really sank in … Read more
Contact Tom for a free, no-obligation discussion of your financial situation if you are a US citizen living abroad or a foreign national living in the USA. Dealing with financial matters has become increasingly difficult for US citizens living outside the USA over the last few years as a result of what is called FATCA … Read more
The continuing adventures of June Finnigan, her Man, and Farty Barty the cat. Benvenuti to all my lovely Loyal and New Followers There is no other way to say it, but the first week in May was awful. For me that is, I’m sure the rest for Tuscany was having a very nice time. You … Read more
I’m not sure I expected to learn much, nor change much, when I came to live in the USA. I just wanted to have a new experience. Suffice to say that experience has definitely changed me and I have learned a great deal about others, cultures, myself and about life in general. These are my … Read more
WE ARRIVE IN ROME. NO taxi is available, so we walk to the bus stop and soon discover that cobblestone is no longer charming when one has to wheel enormous heavy suitcases over it. We miss our bus to Abruzzo and must wait three hours for the next one. Regardless, we put on our new … Read more