Twelve Prep the Move Tools

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

Here’s the last in our 12 Days of Christmas series of gift-giving ideas for expats. Everything recommended in Days 1-12 will help you or someone near and dear to you plan and execute their overseas move. Now on the final day, we’re focusing on books and products that will help you prepare for this momentous [...]

Your Top 20 Country Choices for Overseas Retirement

getting ready for the China session

And the winners are. . . drumroll please. . . Yesterday evening the Live and invest Overseas Conference ended after a densely scheduled three-day smorgasbord of information for expats and plan-to-be expats. (I’ve decided that’s a better phrase than “wannabe.”) Last month I speculated about the 20 countries they’d recommend, and I’m happy to report [...]

How Safe is Mexico for Expats?

Guanajuato, Mexico market

Recently International Living put Mexico in the #2 spot on their Best Retirement Havens list. That raised a lot of questions among future expats — what about safety? All we’re reading about (here in the US anyway) is how dangerous Mexico is and its problems with drug-related violence. Last week, a friend of a friend [...]

Best Places to Find Expat Life Information, Ideas and Tips

Blogs by and about expats are a great place to find information, ideas, tips, and get a general feel for what it might be like to live elsewhere. Here are a dozen interesting expat blogs I’ve found recently. Europe Expat in Germany provides information about living in Germany (and a little bit about Canada). The [...]

How to Jumpstart Your Overseas Move

jumpstarting the cars

Want to move abroad but not sure where to start? Has your planning stalled? Don’t know yet where exactly you want to live? Here’s something that promises to get you unstuck and help you find the overseas adventure that’s waiting for you. Next month, Live & Invest Overseas will blow out all the stops and [...]

Top 10 Spots to Retire Overseas in 2011

Quito, Ecuador

Every year International Living publishes its list of the top ten retirement havens. They’ve just sent out their September issue, and it includes their take on the best spots in the world to retire. I’ve been known to take issue with their findings in the past (for example, in their 2011 Quality of Life list). [...]

Best Countries for Quality of Life in 2011

Gullfoss Waterfall, Iceland

An organization called Nation Ranking recently released its 2011 Quality of Life Index. One hundred thirty-seven countries were ranked according to: “a nation’s livability for its average inhabitant. It is a composite of six sub-indexes, each describing one of the elements which objectively influence the quality of life: health, education, wealth, democracy, peace and environment.” [...]

36 Best Cities for Quality of Life or Business

Vancouver, BC Canada

As future expats trying to decide where to live, we have to balance all sorts of important issues: quality of life, health care, affordability, weather and climate seem to top everyone’s lists. The Economist recently ranked cities worldwide for Quality of Life. Vancouver, BC, Canada Melbourne, Australia Vienna, Austria Toronto, Canada Calgary, Alberta, Canada Helsinki, [...]

Can You Build a Solid House from this Blueprint?

blueprint

Recently I purchased a publication that promised to be roadmap for expats, something that would quickly take us, step by step, through our journey from our native homes to our lives abroad. Instead of the AAA Triptik I was expecting, however, I got an envelope full of “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” from Mrs. [...]

An Antidote to Doom and Gloom

Occasionally I reprint articles here that appeared on other expat websites. This one struck a chord with me, and I hope it will with you too. Thanks to Live and Invest Overseas, where you can read the original in its entirety. “Vicki and I recently returned to Argentina after a six-month absence,” writes Intrepid Correspondent [...]

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