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. This time last year I was writing about how the European Sovereign debt crisis was coming to a head and that we were seeing continuing improvement in the … Read more
This country constantly amazes me as you expect things to be a certain way – and they are not. The Dominican Republic is a staunchly Catholic country, catholicism is the national religion and it is said that around 80% of the country are Catholics, albeit not all practising. In addition, in several areas you feel … Read more
Why isn’t the bus moving? I strain to look out of the foggy window from my aisle seat. After two hours stuck in late afternoon Mexico City traffic, we finally start rolling, the bus grinding its gears up the mountain pass between the two big volcanoes on the way to Puebla: Popocatépetl, which recently re-activated, … Read more
This is not supposed to be a political post. I’m just confused trying to reconcile the country I see in my mind with the country I see in the media. As an American living outside the States I am occasionally asked about the crime in my home country. When I first moved to the UK … Read more
Like many serial expats, especially the “trailing spouse”, it can be hard to keep a professional career going. This month I’m talking to Veronique Martin-Place who has re-invented herself, professionally speaking. Veronique, can you tell us what your expat background is? I am a French citizen and I started my journey as an accompanying spouse … Read more
Receiving post has always been a tad problematic since we moved to our village in the mountains of Spain. In the old days, mail used to arrive by mule, but we’ve definitely progressed since then. Haven’t we? After moving in, as our front door didn’t sport a letterbox, one of our first jobs was to … Read more
When we decided to move overseas, I read everything I could get my hands on about different cultures. I knew that, whatever country we ended up in, they’d do things differently than we were used to. In some countries a hand gesture that’s perfectly acceptable at home becomes a deadly insult, for example. In others, … Read more
If you have a tendency to feel a little on the claustrophobic side, there’s every chance you’ll find the pulsating energy of Hong Kong suffocating (initially). In fact, even if you don’t mind being in a tight squeeze, you’re bound to find it a little intense if, like me, you weren’t brought up in the … Read more
Well, after all the sunshine and rainbows I knew it wouldn’t be long before something not so pleasant happened in our idyllic little expat oasis. Even regular trips to immigration in Phuket Town and two days at the department of transportation weren’t as unpleasant as the obnoxious tourists who have moved in next door. I … Read more
2012 was a bumper year of new books for expats, thanks in no small part to Jo Parfitt’s Summertime Publishing which continues to lead the way in publishing all genres of books of interest to expats. I’m an avid reader of books that relate in some way to the experience of being an accompanying partner; … Read more