One of the good and bad things about living in the Dominican Republic is that there is very little imported fruit and vegetables – at least not where I live, so we can only eat things when they are in season. Now it is the mango season, which everyone looks forward to for weeks. Traditionally … Read more
I spent years cutting the mango in bizarre ways until I met Sam. We sat in plastic lawn chairs on the sunny balcony of a hotel in Tulum, Mexico, drinking coffee and eating mangoes. I gave a clumsy yank on the peel and he burst out laughing. “Man, what are you doing?” “I don’t know, … 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. Many US citizens living abroad have recently been contacted by their US brokerage firms to inform them that their accounts have either been frozen such that they can … Read more
Living in a paradise that many see as a tourist destination does tend to increase the likelihood of visitors. As we have lived in such places for a while now, we’ve perfected the visitor strategy so that we balance the time we play tour guides with the time we must stick to our guns and … Read more
Catastrophe-in-waiting or self-development opportunity? Hi everyone! Since I’ve been away summer has smiled on Ontario and Toronto’s already had its first heat alert; the beaches are open and the festival season is about to kick off. While I apologise for my unscheduled absence, (more on that in a minute) it has given me the opportunity … Read more
Many of you expats will find yourself in the same situation that I am in: living in a country whose language is different from that of your home country. And many of you will be faced with the decision of whether to try to learn that language or not. In my opinion, and in my … Read more
‘Oh how wonderful, think of all the traveling you can do!” It’s one of the first responses expats get when we tell our friends and family we’re packing up and heading overseas. It’s certainly the chorus we heard over and over when we announced we were moving to the Netherlands. Now I know some will … Read more
Sun A Mediterranean climate is characterized by warm to hot dry summers and mild to cool wet winters, although this year the amount of rainfall surpassed the seasonal average. The Mediterranean Sea helps to maintain a narrower range of moderate temperatures between summer highs and winter lows, which actually makes the French Riviera a more … Read more
The Loaded Question Once friends and neighbors got over their shock that we were pulling up the tent stakes and moving 5,000 miles to the south, their next question was often along the lines of “So, what are you going to do down there?” They seemed sincerely mystified that someone could actually step out of … Read more
I have a riddle for you: What do you call a potluck in the UK? Answer: Weird. Actually, the proper answer is more like ‘odd’ or ‘different’ or even to the culturally astute, ‘very American.’ In the US a potluck is something that happens quite a lot in different social gatherings where the budget is … Read more