As more people either work or retire abroad I often wonder how expats managed to survive in a pre-internet world. How did they communicate with family and friends back home, or research different aspects of life in their new country? I can’t even begin to imagine life abroad without the internet. Can you imagine being … Read more
When my husband and I moved to Panama last January, we were looking forward to a slower pace of life. Considering that we were only 30 and 32 at the time, we weren’t looking for retirement. We knew we were interested in business opportunities available in Panama, but the last thing we ever thought of … Read more
Mountain weather is unpredictable, as Joe and I found out after our first winter in Spain, seven years ago. Snow cut off our village for nearly a week, and we had no electricity or water. However, we coped. We had bottled water and two woodburning stoves that kept us warm and cooked our food. We … Read more
In my 20+ years of living in the United Kingdom I have been asked ‘Why do you live here?’ many times. The emphasis in the question is on the word ‘here’: Why on earth, if you were going to choose to become an expat would you choose to move to Britain? My recollection is that … Read more
I’ve always been a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. They give you a chance to reflect on the past year and evaluate what is working well in your life and what areas could use a little improvement. This year I have just one New Year’s Resolution. It is a big one, but achieving it … Read more
Our family just returned from a wonderful 6 week holiday to the States. This was my first time back since moving to New Zealand over a year and a half ago, and it was the first time for most of our family to meet Joe, our then-5-month-old baby boy. We had a great time traveling … Read more
My fellow columnist and bloggy chum Michelle Garrett is currently writing about being the only American in her UK neck of the woods. It prompted me to think about my status as the only Brit in town. Well, OK, not the only Brit in town; this is Chicago after all, there are thousands of us. … Read more
Somebody knocked on our door this morning, and Joe and I immediately guessed who it might be. We were right; our next door neighbours stood on our doorstep, faces wreathed in smiles, arms bearing pre-Christmas gifts. This is our sixth Christmas in our tiny, remote Spanish mountain village, and Paco and Carmen have brought us … Read more
For us, 2012 will be the Year of the Road Trip, the year we travel to Tadoussac to see the whales swimming in Quebec’s first purely marine national park, where the Saguenay River meets the estuary of the St Lawrence. I’m excited at the thought of the drive and the stops we’ll make en route, … Read more
January – the beginning of a new year; the time when we look at our lives and resolve to do things differently. Most people set resolutions in January but have often broken them by February. In this article, I’m going to discuss the use of more rigorous goal setting – akin to that used in … Read more