Columnists Archives - Page 54 of 86

“Why Don’t You Just Go Home?”

No one likes a whiny expat. There are books upon books written for expats relocating to yet another new country, and one of the most common themes is “Don’t criticize”. Australians even coined the term “Whinging Poms”* for the legions

How the US Shutdown Affects Currency Exchange Rates for Expats

by Simon Hilton, senior foreign exchange consultant at World First and official Expat Focus foreign exchange partner In the past few months, we’ve seen the strength of the US dollar take a bit of a tumble. At the start of

It’s The Mosquito Season In The Dominican Republic

I have absolutely no idea why God invented mosquitoes. I cannot see they do anything useful at all apart from being a tasty snack for lizards and tarantulas. However, living in the tropics they are all over the place and

Tales From A Spanish Village – Two Old Fools And Spots

Nobody likes being covered from head to toe in big red blotches, and I’m no exception. Unfortunately, that is what happened to me this month. Some kind of allergy maybe? I felt fine but looked like I’d been stung by

A Tale of Two Countries, One House, And No Documents

Before we moved to Panama in the spring of 2012, we sold off pretty much everything we owned. Some went through ads on Craigslist or eBay, but most of our worldly goods went to others in the course of a

Get Deported From Spain And Go To Mexico Instead

After years of working at UPS and, more recently, studying evenings at the local community college, Sam finally took a vacation. He got two weeks off. He bought round-trip tickets to Spain, with an arrival in Madrid and departure in

A Month In The Life Of An English Writer in Tuscany

The continuing adventures of June Finnigan, her Man, and Farty Barty the cat. I am really excited to be able to share my wonderful life in Tuscany with you and this is the perfect time of year to begin this

Moving To Hong Kong? 10 Things You Can’t Leave Home Without!

When you get the call to uproot your life and relocate to a new, foreign country, the shellshock of packing up your ‘life as you know it’ and heading into the unknown abyss, is more often than not followed by

Anatomy Of A Decision

I suppose I should have seen it coming, and perhaps in subconscious ways I did. Still, every time we took stock of the situation, we continued to come down on the side of ‘we’re staying’. That is, until late spring.

Education In France – Shoes vs. Hats

I recently read the following quote: “In France, once you have chosen a pair of shoes, you must wear them for life.” Well now, anyone who knows me is aware that I LOVE shoes, but the thought of only one