Columnists Archives - Page 61 of 86

Has Your Expat Life Inspired You To Write A Book?

With the rise of reputable self-publishing systems we have also seen a rise in expat publications: novels, autobiographies, and how-to books are filling the virtual shelves. Our expat lives are often so full of adventure and unique experiences that I

Dongles and Deductibles

A recent column I wrote at the BBC America web site, touched on “going native” and switching over to the habits or pronunciations of your host country. A commenter noted that a couple of the words I’d been talking about

Two Old Fools And Spanish Water

In our part of Andalucia, we’re lucky. We’ve never suffered from a water shortage as natural springs abound. Just outside El Hoyo is a place where locals fill their water containers, and in the next village is a spring, still

Motorbike Mash-up – The Do’s and Don’ts of Riding a Motorbike on an Island and Living to Tell the Tale

We’ve seen the amazingly glorious results on Glee (well, I have anyways) when two different songs of totally unrelated genres are combined in a ‘mash-up’ of vocal styling and creative manipulations of music scores. It’s not so pretty when the

Don’t Blame The Country!

Years ago, wallowing in the despair of an unexpected divorce, I remember complaining to a friend. My son (five years old at the time) was not behaving well. So, naturally, I blamed the divorce. My friend tolerated my ranting for

It’s All Work And No Play For Children In Hong Kong

“How did the interview go?” It’s a question that peppers conversations daily across the island and beyond, here in The Kong. You probably think I’m talking about a job interview – for a grown-up right? Wrong! I’m talking about interviewing

When Gross Salary Equalled Net Salary In The Caymans

For the first 25 years or so after we left Canada in 1967, Linda & I received our respective salaries free of all deductions. It was a very comfortable feeling, to be so self-reliant. In the three Offshore tax havens

How To Find Unique Gifts To Bring Friends And Family From Spain

After so many years living abroad in Spain, I can’t keep bringing my family and friends the same souvenirs. It would be easy enough to walk into any souvenir shop on calle Mayor—the main drag in Madrid which connects Puerta

Destined To Be An Expat In Britain?

Expat life took me by surprise but it’s only because I wasn’t paying attention. It was probably an obvious destination all along. Some people are expats because they fell in love with a person from another country and followed them

One-Year Anniversary in Panama

It’s been a year now. One brief, fast-moving year since I landed at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City with my mountain of luggage, the first step in my expat life. As with any anniversary there’s a certain amount of