We all need support sometimes and I’m not talking about the type of support offered by Spanx that makes you look super-svelte in your figure hugging cocktail dress. I’m talking about the emotional and practical support we get from our families, our communities and our friends. As accompanying partners we often find ourselves in new … Read more
Toni Hargis interviews Apple Gidley author of "Expat Life Slice By Slice" I have written before about static and serial expats , and debut author Apple Gidley is the epitome of a serial expat. As a child, wife and mother, she has moved twenty six times and lived in twelve different countries. I first met … Read more
Many people still have large families in the DR, basically because children are a form of pension. There is no social security, no state pension, and very few private pensions. Basically when you stop work the income stops too, hence all children will always send their parents money. When it comes to giving birth, most … Read more
Can you believe it? It’s exactly one year since Joe and I were under house arrest in the Middle East. Spring was the only thing on our minds then but it was the Arab Spring, not the seasonal one. In Bahrain, the seasons passed unnoticed. Unlike here in our valley in the Spanish mountains, we … Read more
Did you know that by calling yourself an expat you could be using a politically incorrect term? Or you could be demonstrating your superiority over others? No, neither did I. Like many expats before me I realised that there may be more than one label for my life overseas and I started wondering what the … Read more
For the last month or so sandstorms have been on Dubaians minds. Represented in the form of swirling, howling Shimal (north westerly winds) and widespread attacks of asthma and allergies this familiar climate manifestation is a part of life in the desert. My last post was on weather so for fear of sounding like an … Read more
There can be a lot of pressure when moving to a foreign language speaking country when only your better half knows the lingo. It puts stress on one side to constantly translate and the other racing to learn the new language as quickly as possible. In the case of my husband (a.k.a. the hubs) and … Read more
To contact Tom for a free, no-obligation discussion of your financial situation please use our expat IRA / 401k enquiry form. If you have worked in the United States for any length of time (either as a US citizen or a foreign national) it is likely that you have paid into a US pension account … Read more
Tom Zachystal (CFA, CFP) is President of Individual Asset Management, a Registered Investment Advisor specializing in investment management and financial planning for expatriates. Click here to send Tom a no-obligation enquiry for financial advice. For the better part of this year investment markets have been largely trendless. There have been many ups and downs but … Read more
Tom Zachystal (CFA, CFP) is President of Individual Asset Management, a Registered Investment Advisor specializing in investment management and financial planning for expatriates. Click here to send Tom a no-obligation enquiry for financial advice. In the current low interest rate environment prevalent in many developed market economies it makes little sense to park one’s investment … Read more