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	<title>Future Expats Forum&#187; France</title>
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	<description>Create an Untethered Life Overseas</description>
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		<title>Twelve Prep the Move Tools</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/12-prep-the-move-tools</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/12-prep-the-move-tools#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:30:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Central America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Narrowing Your Country/City Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prepping the Move]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quality of Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[12 Days]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Argentina]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ecuador]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[expat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panama]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://futureexpats.com/?p=5898</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;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&#8217;re focusing on books and products that will help you prepare for this momentous [...]]]></description>
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			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffutureexpats.com%2F12-prep-the-move-tools"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffutureexpats.com%2F12-prep-the-move-tools&amp;source=FutureExpat&amp;style=normal&amp;b=2" height="61" width="50" /><br />
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<p id="top" /><a href="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Day-12.jpg"><img src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Day-12.jpg" alt="On the Twelfth Day of Christmas" title="Day 12" width="175" height="175" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-6023" /></a>Here&#8217;s the last in our <strong>12 Days of Christmas</strong> 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.</p>
<p>Now on the final day, we&#8217;re focusing on books and products that will help you prepare for this momentous move, whether it&#8217;s a guide to a country of interest or a program to help you determine the steps you need to take to get yourself from Point A to Point B.</p>
<p>Excelsior!</p>
<h5>On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my expat gave to me. . .<br />
Twelve &#8220;Prep the Move&#8221; Tools<br />
<a href="http://futureexpats.com/days-10-11">Eleven Shiny Tech Tools<br />
Ten Expat Books</a><br />
<a href="http://futureexpats.com/internet-research-social-media-dancing-girls">Nine Freelance Tools<br />
Eight Live Workshops</a><br />
<a href="http://futureexpats.com/sixth-day-of-christmas">Seven Expat Movies<br />
Six Travel Skill Sets</a><br />
<a href="http://futureexpats.com/on-the-fourth-day-of-christmas">Five Writing Resources<br />
Four Exclusive Clubs</a><br />
<a href="http://futureexpats.com/on-the-second-and-third-day-of-christmas">Three Premium Blog Themes<br />
Two Blogging Books</a><br />
And <a href="http://futureexpats.com/on-the-first-day-of-christmas">a website for to earn some money</a></h5>
<h3>Preparing to Live Overseas</h3>
<ol>
<li><strong>52 Days To Your New Life Overseas &#8212; with extra holiday savings</strong>
<p>Kathleen Peddicord has used her 25 years of writing about the expat life, and 13 years of living as an expat in four different countries to create a guide to take future expats &#8212; step by step &#8212; from our home countries to our lives abroad. <a href="http://futureexpats.com/real-roadmap-moving-overseas">You can read my review here.</a></p>
<p>And the best news is, you can save a bundle if you grab it by December 24. Just <a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4306881">click here to order </a> and <strong>use the coupon code <em>52OOPS</em></strong>. (You won&#8217;t get the savings unless you use the coupon!)</li>
<li><!--Begin--->
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b>Cheap, Safe, and Friendly: The World&#8217;s Top Retirement Havens</b>&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">There are places, the world over, where people are friendly, crime is almost non-existent, health care is excellent, and prices for everything from homes to groceries and doctors&#8217; visits could make you think it&#8217;s 1953 again.&nbsp; </div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Places where it is possible to reduce your retirement cost of living, perhaps dramatically&#8230;while increasing the quality of your life.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">&nbsp;We have prepared a series of five Country Retirement Reports that contain complete details on retirement opportunities in some of the world&#8217;s top retirement havens right now.&nbsp; </div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b><u><a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4535044">
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b><u>Go here now to learn more </u></b></div>
<p></a></u></b></div>
<p><img src="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Imp=4535044" width="0" height="0" border="0"> <!--End---></li>
<li><!--Begin---><strong>Revealed: The World&#8217;s Top Undiscovered Retirement And Investment Haven</strong>
<p>I&#8217;ve found the city that I believe is on track to become one of the world&#8217;s most sought-after destinations, for both retirement and investment.</p>
<p>This overlooked destination checks every box:</p>
<ul>
<li>Perfect weather&#8230;it&#8217;s springtime all year long&#8230; World-class health care (5 of the best hospitals in all Latin America are here)&#8230;</li>
<li>Very affordable cost of living&#8230;</li>
<li>And the real estate? It&#8217;s a screaming bargain, both to buy and to rent&#8230; Plus, the people are friendly, the streets are clean and safe, the infrastructure international-standard&#8230;with its restaurants, cafes, galleries, and shops, this place feels more European than Latin American&#8230;</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4535046"><br />
<strong>Go here now to learn more</strong></a><br />
<br /><img src="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Imp=4535046" width="0" height="0" border="0"><br />
<!--End---></li>
<li><strong>Interested in Panama? Here´s US $3,000 To Launch Your New Life There</strong> <!--Begin--->
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">And that´s only the start of what we´re prepared to do help you realize your dreams in the world´s #1 retirement, lifestyle, invesment, and overseas haven&#8230;Learn how to earn free admittance to every Panama conference we hold&#8230;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Plus, right now you can arrange to pay for your membership in installments.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">This couldn´t be easier. And the opportunities in Panama right now couldn´t be bigger.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b><u><a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4535056"></p>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b><u>Go Here Now To Learn More About This Special Offer</u></b></div>
<p></a></u></b></div>
<p><img src="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Imp=4535056" width="0" height="0" border="0"><br />
<!--End---></li>
<li><strong>If Europe Hits Your Hot Buttons. . . Here´s What To Do If Developing World Living Isn´t For You</strong><br />
<!--Begin---></p>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Not everyone is cut out for life in the Tropics or the developing world&#8230;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">If you´re more interested in Old World living, consider France.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">France is the good life defined. The food, the wine, the art, the shopping, the history&#8230;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">And here´s what you may not realize about France: Living here, even in Paris, can be far more affordable than you might ever imagine.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b><u><a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4535058"><b><u>Go Here Now To Learn More</u></b></a></u></b></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<p><img src="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Imp=4535058" width="0" height="0" border="0"><br />
<!--End---></li>
<li><strong>Exotic &#8212; and Incredibly Affordable &#8212; Asia, Home of the World&#8217;s Cheapest Retirement Havens</strong>
<p><!--Begin---></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Amidst vistas of nearly indescribable beauty, you can pay US$100 a month for rent, spend only 1% of the usual cost of health care, and eat a full lunch for only 50 cents.</span></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">The world doesn&#8217;t get any cheaper.</span></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">This land of ancient kingdoms, emperors, explorers, adventurers, traders, and pioneers is also beautiful, safe, welcoming, and, in some parts, completely at peace.</span></p>
<p><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4306866"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><a href="http://eletters.liveandinvestoverseas.com/t/11551056/162488416/105617/0/"><font class=Apple-style-span color=#000000><strong>Go Here Now For More Details</strong></font></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></a></span></span></span></span></a></a></a></a></span></a></span></p>
<p><img src="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Imp=4306866" width="0" height="0" border="0"><br />
<!--End---></li>
<li><strong>If the Land of Vino and Tango Appeals. . .</strong>
<p><!--Begin---><br />
<strong>Own Your Own Vineyard In The Next Napa</strong></p>
<p>Live your dreams and plan for your retirement with a 12% annual yield.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4306867"><u><font class=Apple-style-span color=#000000 face=Verdana><b>Here´s how to own your own vineyard, at a fraction of the price you´d find elsewhere</b></font></u></a><br /><img src="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Imp=4306867" width="0" height="0" border="0"><br />
<!--End---></li>
<li><!--Begin--->
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b>An English-speaking Paradise On The Caribbean</b></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b><br /></b></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Belize is a tiny, under-populated, under-developed country (there are but three highways in the whole place) blessed with a long Caribbean coast and a sprinkling of islands just offshore fringed by white sand and palm trees. It´s quintessential Caribbean served up for the non-jet-setter. For, while Belize is more expensive today, certainly, than it was the first time I set eyes on it, more than 20 years ago, it still can be called a bargain.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Plus, Belize has a great deal to offer beyond its Caribbean coast and islands. Inland, in the Cayo, Belize is a land of off-road mountain, jungle, river, cave, and waterfall adventures. And that´s not to mention the countless (and sometimes undiscovered) Mayan ruins.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Would it be a &#8220;good&#8221; place to live? Not for everyone. Belize is a 21st-century corsair´s playground, a frontier where you make your own way and the government interferes nearly not at all. This is a country for independent thinkers and self-sufficient sorts.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">On the other hand: Belize is, in fact, one of the easiest places in the world to obtain foreign residency. It´s also one of the best tax havens in the world&#8230;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><u><b><a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4306870"><u><b>Go Here Now To Learn More</b></u></a></b></u></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<p><img src="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Imp=4306870" width="0" height="0" border="0"><br />
<!--End---></li>
<li><strong>Overseas Retirement Letter, and Bonus Report on Seven Places to Retire on Social Security Income Alone</strong>
<p><!--Begin---></p>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">The average Social Security payment in the United States is slightly less than US$1,200 per month. If you qualify for Social Security, you can receive your monthly payment almost anywhere in the world. You can even have it direct-deposited to your overseas account in many countries. Then, Social Security check in hand, even if you have no other retirement income whatsoever, you could retire quite well in seven places our editors have identified.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">A new report has just been prepared, detailing everything you need to know about receiving your monthly Social Security payments overseas.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Plus, this current special report introduces you to the seven most Social Security-friendly overseas retirement havens.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">It can be yours free with our compliments when you take this opportunity to become a subscriber to the flagship retire-overseas publication, the &#8220;Overseas Retirement Letter.&#8221;&nbsp;</div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=4330169"></p>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div>
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b><u>Find out how to receive your free copy of this new report here</u></b></div>
<p></a></div>
<p><img src="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Imp=4330169" width="0" height="0" border="0"><br />
<!--End---></li>
<li><strong>Ecuador is consistently rated one of the best overseas retirement destinations.</strong> Learn all about it in the <a href="http://affiliate.internationalliving.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=125_4_3_3" target="_blank">Ecuador Owner&#8217;s Manual New 2010 Edition</a></li>
<li><strong><a href="http://affiliate.internationalliving.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=125_7_3_9" target="_blank">Mexico Owner&#8217;s Manual</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="http://affiliate.internationalliving.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=125_12_3_5" target="_blank">France: The Owner&#8217;s Manual</a></strong></li>
</ol>
<p>So there you have it! I hope you&#8217;ve enjoyed our <strong><a href="http://futureexpats.com/?s=12+days+Christmas">Twelve Days of Christmas</a></strong> gift ideas for expats and plan-to-be expats.</p>
<h3>Merry Christmas!</h3>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>10 &#8220;Bests&#8221; for Expats</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/10-bests-for-expats</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/10-bests-for-expats#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Narrowing Your Country/City Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prepping the Move]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bank]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[expat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[list]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retire]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[S. Korea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teach English]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://futureexpats.com/?p=4902</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Everybody loves lists, and expats (and future expats) are no exception. Here I&#8217;ve pulled together a list of ten &#8220;best of ____&#8221; for expats. Some of them are silly and some are serious. Enjoy! Best Expat Banks, a list of banks that do well by expats, based on home-country currency Best Expat Jobs in France [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="tweetmeme_button" style="float: right; margin-right: 10px;">
			<a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffutureexpats.com%2F10-bests-for-expats"><br />
				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffutureexpats.com%2F10-bests-for-expats&amp;source=FutureExpat&amp;style=normal&amp;b=2" height="61" width="50" /><br />
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		</div>
<p id="top" /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/samchurchill/4182826573"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-4912" style="margin: 10px;" title="Top Ten" src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/top_ten.jpg" alt="" width="347" height="346" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/samchurchill/4182826573"><br />
</a>Everybody loves lists, and expats (and future expats) are no exception. Here I&#8217;ve pulled together a list of ten &#8220;best of ____&#8221; for expats. Some of them are silly and some are serious. Enjoy!</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.expatnetwork.com/Money/Banking-and-Savings/Best-Banks-for-Expats-Awards-2011.cfm">Best Expat Banks</a>, a list of banks that do well by expats, based on home-country currency</li>
<li><a href="http://best-expat-jobs-france.soup.io/">Best Expat Jobs in France</a> shows a list of jobs available for English-speaking expats there</li>
<li><a href="http://offtrackplanet.com/inspiration/10-best-cities-for-expats/">10 Friendliest Expats Cities</a>. It&#8217;s easy to find lists of the &#8220;best&#8221; cities for infrastructure, economy and other &#8220;hard&#8221; measurements, so it&#8217;s about time someone came up with a useful measurement like &#8220;friendliest.&#8221;</li>
<li><a href="http://offtrackplanet.com/study-work-volunteer-abroad/the-5-best-places-to-teach-english-around-the-world/">Five Best Places to Teach English Around the World</a>. This needs no explanation. If you want to develop a portable career as an English teacher, check this out.</li>
<li><a href="http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/family-finance/top-countries-for-expat-families/3688/">Top countries for Expat Families</a>. Want to move abroad with your young family? Check this list out. They let you know where child-care costs are low, schools are good, and other issues important to parents of school-age (and under) children.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/the-best-expat-restaurants-in-korea">The Best Expat Restaurants in Korea</a>. If you&#8217;re in Korea and craving comfort food from the US, this list&#8217;s for you!</li>
<li><a href="http://www.expatarrivals.com/article/expat-arrivals-announces-winners-of-2011-expat-blog-awards">2011 Best Expat Blogs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.expatinfodesk.com/expat-guide/deciding-on-the-right-country/top-expatriate-destinations/">Top Expat Destinations Throughout the World</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.whichoffshore.com/blog/top-ten-retirement-places">Expat Retirement: Ten of the Best Places to Spend Your Twillight Years</a></li>
</ol>
<p><em>Do you have a favorite expat Top 10 or &#8220;Best of&#8221; list you&#8217;d like to share? Add it to the Comments!</em></p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/samchurchill/4182826573">photo by sam_churchill on flickr</a></em></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>From Africa to Central America: 12 Expat Blogs Worth Watching</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/from-africa-to-central-america-12-expat-blogs-worth-watching</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/from-africa-to-central-america-12-expat-blogs-worth-watching#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:30:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Central America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Narrowing Your Country/City Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Portable Careers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ecuador]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[El Salvador]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[expat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kenya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle East]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[portable career]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Singapore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a while since I shared some of the expat-related blogs and websites I&#8217;ve been reading. Time for another roundup of interesting blogs by and about expats! Here are an even dozen for your enjoyment. Africa Africa Expat Wives, a UK citizen moves to Africa two days after her marriage, and raises a family [...]]]></description>
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<p id="top" />It&#8217;s been a while since I shared some of the expat-related blogs and websites I&#8217;ve been reading. Time for another roundup of interesting blogs by and about expats! Here are an even dozen for your enjoyment. </p>
<h3>Africa</h3>
<p><a href="http://africaexpatwivesclub.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Africa Expat Wives</a>, a UK citizen moves to Africa two days after her marriage, and raises a family there.</p>
<h3>Middle East</h3>
<p><a href="http://interculturalmeanderings.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Intercultural Meanderings</a>. Lynne Diligent, a long-time expat and Middle Eastern resident since 1990, writes about interesting questions relating to intercultural business, expat issues and multicultural issues.</p>
<h3>Asia</h3>
<p><a href="http://ourbigexpatadventure.wordpress.com" target="_blank">Our Big Expat Adventure</a>, moving the family from Australia to Singapore.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thedropoutdiaries.com/" target="_blank">The Dropout Diaries</a>. No, not education related, this is one person&#8217;s account of packing it all in and going to China to teach. . . and what happens next.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sublimeportal.com/" target="_blank">The Sublime Portal</a>, an online community and reference sites for all things Turkey.</p>
<h3>Europe</h3>
<p><a href="http://annmah.net/" target="_blank">Kitchen Chinese</a> Adventures in Food, France and Beyond with chef and journalist Ann Mah.</p>
<p><a href="http://expatenprovence.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Expat-En-Provence</a>, tales of a young American woman in the south of France.</p>
<h3>Central and South America</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.whatsupelsalvador.com/" target="_blank">What&#8217;s Up El Salvador</a>, an American woman falls in love with El Salvador and moves there with her husband and young daughter. </p>
<p><a href="http://xpatescape.com/" target="_blank">Xpat Escape</a> tells about one woman&#8217;s move to Panama, with stunningly gorgeous photos.</p>
<p><a href="http://ecuador4u.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Ecuador 4 U</a>, a lovely photo blog about life in Ecuador.</p>
<h3>Global Nomads</h3>
<p><a href="http://thedisplacednation.com/" target="_blank">The Displaced Nation</a>, a site devoted to global nomads.</p>
<p><a href="http://unwireme.com/" target="_blank">Unwire Me</a> &#8212; Work Anytime from Anywhere. All about portable careers.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;d like to see more of the sites I follow, check out my bookmarks page on <a href="http://www.delicious.com/backstpub">Delicious.com </a>&#8211; it&#8217;s all there!</p>
<p><em>Do you have an expat blog or website you&#8217;d like to recommend? You can share it on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/FutureExpats?sk=app_4949752878">Facebook</a>, or add it to the <strong>Comments</strong> below.</em></p>
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		<title>Retire to Latin America if You&#8217;re Poor, Europe if You&#8217;re Not</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/retire-to-latin-america-if-youre-poor-europe-if-youre-not</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/retire-to-latin-america-if-youre-poor-europe-if-youre-not#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Australia/New Zealand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Central America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Narrowing Your Country/City Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prepping the Move]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quality of Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Retiring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Costa Rica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[expat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Italy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Malaysia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[move abroad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nicaragua]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[overseas retirement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Portugal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uruguay]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://futureexpats.com/?p=2665</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I don&#8217;t generally follow investment websites or blogs, but The Oblivious Investor caught my eye recently. Why? Because author Rick Todd rated some expat retirement destinations based on how much income you have to retire on. His top five picks for retirees with a limited (primarily Social Security) income: Costa Rica Malaysia Uruguay Panama Nicaragua [...]]]></description>
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<p id="top" />I don&#8217;t generally follow investment websites or blogs, but <a href="http://www.obliviousinvestor.com"><em>The Oblivious Investor</em></a> caught my eye recently. Why? Because author Rick Todd rated some expat retirement destinations based on how much income you have to retire on.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div id="attachment_2673" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 410px"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wirralwater/3311747896/"><img src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Granada_Nicaragua-400x300.jpg" alt="Granada, Nicaragua" title="Granada_Nicaragua" width="400" height="300" class="size-medium wp-image-2673" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">photo by wirralwater on flickr</p></div>His top five picks for retirees with a limited (primarily Social Security) income:</p>
<ol>
<li>Costa Rica</li>
<li>Malaysia</li>
<li>Uruguay</li>
<li>Panama</li>
<li>Nicaragua</li>
</ol>
<p>His top five picks for retirees with higher income:</p>
<div id="attachment_2669" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 410px"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kokorowa/2312565579/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2669 " style="margin: 10px;" title="Paris_eiffeltour" src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Paris_eiffeltour-400x266.jpg" alt="Paris and the Eiffel Tower" width="400" height="266" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">photo by kokorowashinjin on flickr</p></div>
<ol>
<li>France</li>
<li>Spain</li>
<li>Italy</li>
<li>Portugal</li>
<li>New Zealand</li>
</ol>
<p>Note that four out of the five &#8220;lower income&#8221; destinations are in Latin America, while four out of the five &#8220;higher income&#8221; locations are in Europe.</p>
<p>You can read the entire article <a href="http://www.obliviousinvestor.com/the-best-places-to-retire/">here</a>.</p>
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		<title>Panama, Sweet Panama</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/panama-sweet-panama</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/panama-sweet-panama#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Central America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Narrowing Your Country/City Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Working Overseas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business startup abroad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[expat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://futureexpats.com/?p=2404</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you plan to start a business overseas &#8212; and most of you indicated you&#8217;ll have to generate some income to finance your overseas lifestyle &#8212; Panama is the country to look at. According to Kathleen Peddicord, publisher of the Overseas Retirement Letter, the country&#8217;s friendliness to business is why she and her real estate [...]]]></description>
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				<img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffutureexpats.com%2Fpanama-sweet-panama&amp;source=FutureExpat&amp;style=normal&amp;b=2" height="61" width="50" /><br />
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<p id="top" /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/briangratwicke/4085285453/"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1766" style="margin: 10px;" title="panama_city" src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/panama_city-300x199.jpg" alt="Panama City, Panama" width="400" height="266" /></a>If you plan to start a business overseas &#8212; and most of you indicated you&#8217;ll have to <a href="http://futureexpats.com/our-first-poll-results">generate some income</a> to finance your overseas lifestyle &#8212; Panama is the country to look at. According to Kathleen Peddicord, publisher of the <a href="http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=148072&amp;AdID=496635">Overseas Retirement Letter</a>, the country&#8217;s friendliness to business is why she and her real estate developer husband moved from Paris to Panama two years ago.<br />
<br />
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<p>Kathleen explains:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;In the past few months, since my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594630658?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=futureexpat-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1594630658">How to Retire Overseas</a><img style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=futureexpat-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=1594630658" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> book was published, I&#8217;ve been interviewed by at least two dozen members of the media&#8230;and every one of them has wondered:</p>
<p>&#8221; &#8216;You moved from Paris to Panama two years ago? Why would you do that?&#8217;</p>
<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s the truth. If we had no children, no business, and no agenda beyond pursuing the best possible quality of life, we&#8217;d have stayed put in Paris. For us, the City of Light (from which I write you today&#8230;we&#8217;re here for the month of July) is the best place in the world to call home.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, about 2 ½ years ago, I did have another agenda. Having sold out my participation in the <em>International Living</em> group, where I&#8217;d been publisher for more than 23 years, I decided I wasn&#8217;t ready for retirement. What I wanted to do, I realized, was to start over&#8230;to build a new business from the ground up.</p>
<p>&#8220;France, I knew from experience, was not the place for this. The French are not the nasty, rude people many Americans imagine them to be, but one French stereotype is real: They have little tolerance for the entrepreneurial imagination. The red tape, the bureaucracy, the taxes, and the labor law in this country make it one of the least appealing places on earth to start or operate a business.</p>
<p>&#8220;Lief and I knew we&#8217;d have to relocate if I wanted to make a real go of a new business venture. But where?</p>
<p>&#8220;We took stock of our previous entrepreneurial adventures. By that time, we&#8217;d run businesses in the United States, Ireland, France, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Panama.</p>
<p>&#8220;When deciding where to base a business, you want to consider five things: the labor pool (how educated and at what cost); the infrastructure; relevant tax rates; the doing-business climate; and local labor law. Considering the world map and taking into account our own experiences, we concluded that, all things considered, Panama is the top choice worldwide if you&#8217;re in the market for a place to launch the kind of business I was in the market to launch.</p>
<p>&#8220;No place in the world is as entrepreneur-friendly as the United States when it comes to labor law. Nowhere else, for example, can you fire at will (without incurring costly consequences). The rest of the world favors the employee over the employer. We used to joke in France and Ireland that employees were for life. You hired a new one understanding that you were taking a big risk and incurring a long-term liability.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is much less true in Panama, but, still, sometimes, we miss the good old days in the States when we could ask an employee to leave on the spot &#8212; without written notices, without witnessed warnings, without the calling of tribunals &#8212; if his performance warranted it.</p>
<p>&#8220;That aside, Panama checks every box you want checked when you set out to start a business. We&#8217;ve been delighted by the eclectic pool of labor we&#8217;ve been able to tap into in Panama City. In our downtown office today, we have a Romanian, a German, two Russians, three Americans, and four Panamanians. All are educated and hard-working.</p>
<p>&#8220;In our high-rise office, we have high-speed wireless Internet, a VOIP phone system, and a telephone number that&#8217;s toll-free when dialed from the United States. As we&#8217;ve grown, we&#8217;ve been able to source bigger and more sophisticated IT and web-support systems, including an American IT pro in the city who responds immediately to our calls for help.</p>
<p>&#8220;Panama business taxes? We aren&#8217;t liable for any. Structure your business in this country properly, and you won&#8217;t be either. Depending where and how your revenues are sourced and, again, how your company is set up, you can operate corporate tax-free.</p>
<p>&#8220;The doing-business climate? Panama&#8217;s current President Ricardo Martinelli, a successful businessman himself, couldn&#8217;t be more pro-entrepreneur. Martinelli has made it his administration&#8217;s mission to make Panama the most business-friendly jurisdiction in the hemisphere, and he&#8217;s making good progress.</p>
<p>&#8220;At a recent American Chamber of Commerce meeting I attended, the Vice Minister of Commerce reported to the assembled group on his ministry&#8217;s efforts to attract mega multi-national companies to Panama. They&#8217;ve signed on more than 40 big-time international operations to date. Their goal is 100 by year-end.</p>
<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s getting the attention of the presidents and CEOs of some of the world&#8217;s biggest companies?</p>
<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re looking at the same things I looked at 2 ½ years ago&#8211;the labor pool, the tax situation, the infrastructure, and the doing-business climate.</p>
<p>&#8220;For them the stakes are much bigger. For my part, I can tell you that our little operation is thriving.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p><center>____________________<br />
<h4>Fully Detailed Guides To The Five Cheapest Retirement Havens On Earth…Yours Free</h4><p><a href="http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=148072&AdID=496635">Go Here Now to Learn More</a></p><br />
___________________</center><br />
<em>Is Panama on your radar? If so, why? You can <strong>comment</strong> below. </em></p>
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		<title>The Flip Side of Expat Guilt</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/the-flip-side-of-expat-guilt</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/the-flip-side-of-expat-guilt#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What Kind of Expat Are You?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[expat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guilt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://futureexpats.com/?p=2381</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Guest Post by Barbara Diggs Lucky is the expat that has no lingering guilt associated with his or her decision to live abroad. But, I think, rare is that expat also. Maybe you feel a bit guilty about how living abroad will affect your children, or you worry about the feelings of loved ones left [...]]]></description>
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<p id="top" /><div id="attachment_2386" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 235px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2386" href="http://futureexpats.com/the-flip-side-of-expat-guilt/eiffel_tower"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2386 " style="margin: 10px;" title="eiffel_tower" src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/eiffel_tower-225x300.jpg" alt="Eiffel Tower, Paris at dusk" width="225" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Photo by Catherine Perkins</p></div></p>
<p><em>Guest Post by Barbara Diggs</em></p>
<p>Lucky is the expat that has no lingering guilt associated with his or her decision to live abroad. But, I think, rare is that expat also.</p>
<p>Maybe you feel a bit guilty about how living abroad will affect your children, or you worry about the feelings of loved ones left behind. You might even have conflicted feelings about preferring another country over your own.</p>
<p>For me, as excited as I was to move to Paris nine years ago, I felt terribly guilty about leaving my mother behind.</p>
<p>At the time of my decision to move, my father had died only sixteen months earlier and my mother was still adjusting to her new life. Even though my brother and sister lived in the same city as she – and I didn’t – I fretted that I was bailing out at a time that she needed me.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Moreover, I knew that even without the complicating factor of my father’s death, she wouldn’t really understand or appreciate my desire to live in another country. This was a woman who lived (and still lives) five minutes away from where she was born, grew up, married, divorced and married again. Although she’d visited many U.S. states, she had never left the country and nor expressed any desire to, save a vague wish to visit the Caribbean.</p>
<p>I knew she would see my wish to live in Paris as evidence of my so-called “wildness” (she thought me “wild” because I did things like go skiing, parasailing, and make trips down the coast of California alone), and because she’d consider the move to be “wild” and strange, it would worry her.</p>
<p>There was no particular point at which I broke the news to her. I had decided to move to Paris after visiting a friend there on the back end of one of my “wild” ski trips in the French Alps. I was leaning out the windows of my friend’s apartment on rue du Bac, watching ordinary scenes of Parisian life below, when I became gripped with the notion that I had to live in Paris. I didn’t want to be another fly-by-night tourist exclaiming, “I feel like I’m in a movie!” when wandering down Parisian streets.  I wanted to have a real relationship with the city.</p>
<p>Still looking out the window, I called my boyfriend (now husband) in New York and said,“Let&#8217;s move to Paris,” and he said, “Let&#8217;s do it.”</p>
<p>When I returned to the U.S., I was bursting with the news, like a girl in love. My mother heard the news of our decision along with the rest of my family and friends, but other than getting a queer deer-in-the-headlights look on her face when I talked about it, she didn’t say much. She probably didn’t take me seriously since there were few people less equipped to move to Paris than me: I couldn&#8217;t speak a word of French, nor was I qualified to practice law in France, and I was too saddled with student loans wait tables or teach English.</p>
<p>It was only when I got a lead on a law job in Paris it dawned on her that I was determined to make the move happen. When I told her about the potential job, a pained expression crossed her face and she wailed: “Can’t you wait until I’m dead?” I shot back: “I have to wait that long? You’re only sixty-five!” But even as I hugged her and told her not to be silly and to think of all the great trips she would take, guilt grabbed my heart and twisted it with both hands.</p>
<p>Fifteen months after I made that fateful call to my boyfriend, he and I moved to Paris.  (How we both managed to get jobs is another story.)</p>
<p>A full year later, my mother made her first trip across the Atlantic Ocean.  I cannot describe the pleasure it gave me to see my homebody mother sitting in Parisian café (fanning her hands against the smoke, it’s true), savoring a chausson aux pommes, or gasping with delight upon seeing the Eiffel Tower or Sacre Coeur.</p>
<p>As she visited more and more over the years, I marveled that this woman who had only been on an airplane two or three times before I moved, had grown so comfortable with international travel that once when her plane was diverted to Lyon because of fog in Paris, she hardly turned a hair (while I was freaking out with worry). When she safely arrived in Paris she mused that next time she would like to actually <em>see</em> Lyon.</p>
<p>My husband and I have been living in Paris for over nine years now, and my mother comes over two or three times a year. She walks down Parisian streets and handles basic transactions with an ease that makes me swell with pride.</p>
<p>While I still have rushes of guilt about living abroad, a year or two ago, she said something that assured me that I made the right decision. She was at lunch with a friend and other people she didn’t know very well, when the conversation turned to Paris and London. “It made me feel so good that I’d actually visited these places and was able to join the conversation,” she told me later. “I probably knew Paris better than anyone there!”</p>
<p>I realized then that my expat journey has been a journey for her as well &#8212; an enlightening, confidence-building journey in which she has discovered the fun of being “wild,” and the pleasure of having an intimate relationship with a city that most people only dream of.</p>
<p>Isn’t it lucky, then, that I didn’t “wait until she was dead” to move to Paris?  Sure, she misses me &#8230; but if I hadn&#8217;t moved, there are other things she would have missed as well.</p>
<p><em>Barbara Diggs is a lawyer-turned-freelance writer living in Paris. She blogs about her expat life at <a href="http://theinternationalmama.blogspot.com/">International Mama</a>.</em></p>
<p>___________________<br />
<h4>Fully Detailed Guides To The Five Cheapest Retirement Havens On Earth…Yours Free</h4><p><a href="http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=148072&AdID=496635">Go Here Now to Learn More</a></p></p>
<p>___________________</p>
<p><em>How has your family influenced your choices? Click the <strong>Comment</strong> link below.</em></p>
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		<title>Top Quality of Living Cities for 2010</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/top-quality-of-living-2010</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/top-quality-of-living-2010#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 May 2010 14:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Narrowing Your Country/City Search]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Every year, Mercer conducts a Quality of Living survey. Results for 2010 were announced a couple of days ago. Vienna, Austria, keeps its #1 spot for another year. Top 10 cities worldwide for quality of living are: Vienna, Austria Zurich, Switzerland Geneva, Switzerland Vancouver, Canada Auckland, New Zealand Dusseldorf, Germany Frankfurt, Germany Munich, Germany Bern, [...]]]></description>
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<p id="top" />Every year, Mercer conducts a Quality of Living survey. Results for 2010 were announced a couple of days ago.</p>
<p>Vienna, Austria, keeps its #1 spot for another year. <strong>Top 10 cities worldwide</strong> for quality of living are:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaspa/4285092087/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2159" style="margin: 10px;" title="vienna_gloriette" src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/vienna_gloriette-e1275001177780.jpg" alt="Gloriette, Vienna Austria" width="300" height="201" /></a></p>
<ol>
<li>Vienna, Austria</li>
<li>Zurich, Switzerland</li>
<li>Geneva, Switzerland</li>
<li>Vancouver, Canada</li>
<li>Auckland, New Zealand</li>
<li>Dusseldorf, Germany</li>
<li>Frankfurt, Germany</li>
<li>Munich, Germany</li>
<li>Bern, Switzerland</li>
<li>Sydney, Australia</li>
</ol>
<p>The first US city on the list is Honolulu, at #31. Singapore, at #28, tops the list for Asia. Central and South America and Africa are no shows, at least among the top 50 choices.<br />
<br />
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Mercer&#8217;s results show Paris, France at #34, a far cry from France&#8217;s high rankings on most quality of life indices.</p>
<p>Mercer bases their rankings on &#8220;detailed assessments and evaluations of 10 key categories and 39 criteria or factors&#8221; including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Political and social environment</li>
<li>Medical and health considerations</li>
<li>Public services and transport</li>
<li>Consumer goods</li>
<li>Economic environment</li>
<li>Schools and education</li>
<li>Recreation</li>
<li>Housing</li>
<li>Socio-cultural environment</li>
<li>Natural environment</li>
</ul>
<p>Mercer&#8217;s goal is to help companies and governments figure out how much to pay their international employees &#8212; so they really don&#8217;t evaluate the 221 cities on their list in the same way you or I would when choosing a place to live. </p>
<p>You can read more about their methodology <a href="http://www.mercer.com/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1380465">here</a>. </p>
<p>This year, Mercer also provided an <strong>Eco-Ranking</strong> for the first time, rating cities on such environmental concerns as water availability, water potability, waste removal, sewage, air pollution and traffic congestion.</p>
<p><strong>Top 10 Green Cities</strong> include:</p>
<ol>
<li>Calgary, Canada</li>
<li>Honolulu, US</li>
<li>Ottawa, Canada</li>
<li>Helsinki, Finland</li>
<li>Wellington, New Zealand</li>
<li>Minneapolis, US</li>
<li>Adelaide, Australia</li>
<li>Copenhagen, Denmark</li>
<li>Kobe Japan and Oslo, Norway (tied)</li>
</ol>
<p>Singapore again topped the list of Asian cities, coming in at #22. Africa was represented by Capetown, South Africa, #30. South America almost made the list, with Point-A-Pitre, Guadaloupe (one of the Windward Islands in the eastern Caribbean) coming in at #49.</p>
<p>While these lists provide some interesting comparisons and information, don&#8217;t take them as gospel in deciding where you might like to live as an expat. </p>
<p><center><a href="http://affiliate.internationalliving.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=125_2_1_5" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://affiliate.internationalliving.com/banners/retireoverseas_240_240.jpg" width="240" height="240" alt=""></a></center></p>
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		<title>Totally Unprepared for the French</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/totally-unprepared-for-the-french</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/totally-unprepared-for-the-french#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2010 22:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Narrowing Your Country/City Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prepping the Move]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[expat]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Paris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Guest Post by Catherine Perkins When I left the United States in February for a two month stay in France, I was very prepared. I had a bag loaded with French language resources (a dictionary, a phrase book, a traveler&#8217;s guide), and some new cold-weather clothing. Living in Florida my entire life, I&#8217;d never had [...]]]></description>
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<p id="top" /><em>Guest Post by Catherine Perkins</em></p>
<div id="attachment_2118" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2118" href="http://futureexpats.com/totally-unprepared-for-the-french/cp_in_paris"><img class="size-full wp-image-2118 " style="margin: 10px;" title="cp_in_paris" src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/cp_in_paris.png" alt="The author in Paris, April 2010" width="300" height="424" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The author in Paris, April 2010</p></div>
<p>When I left the United States in February for a two month stay in France, I was very prepared. I had a bag loaded with French language resources (a dictionary, a phrase book, a traveler&#8217;s guide), and some new cold-weather clothing. Living in Florida my entire life, I&#8217;d never had much need for a heavy coat before, but I purchased a lovely blue parka just before I left.</p>
<p>I never once used the language books, and I ditched the parka my first week there (too flashy) in favor of a black coat. So basically, I was totally unprepared.</p>
<p>No matter how much research you do ahead of time, there are some cultural differences that you just can&#8217;t prepare for. Table manners, for example. Although I&#8217;d read plenty of materials beforehand about the order of meal courses, it wasn&#8217;t until I was eating dinner with French people that I realized how differently they held their silverware.<br />
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Or one time, after a long day touring Paris (almost completely on foot, mind you), my friend and I stopped for dinner at a restaurant. I ordered water immediately, and had to wait a long time before they brought it out. Once it arrived and he poured me a glass, I gulped down the entire thing in one go. My friend couldn&#8217;t have looked any more disgusted than if I&#8217;d belched at the table. Apparently sucking down a glass of water like I did (even if you&#8217;re really thirsty!) is a social <em>faux pas</em>. How was I to know?</p>
<p>But it wasn&#8217;t just etiquette. Everything about France, from the layout of the cities to the mindset of the citizens, was foreign.</p>
<p>When I went, I was expecting I&#8217;d have to speak French all the time; I thought I didn&#8217;t have a choice. I found that it was very much the opposite. As soon as people realized I was from America, they immediately switched languages. I didn&#8217;t have very many opportunities to practice French because everyone around me wanted to practice English! And I&#8217;m not talking about a few people here and there, either. I mean everyone: the shopkeepers, waitresses, University students, delivery boys, people selling flowers on the street.</p>
<p>If something like that happened in the United States &#8212; if a French person came to visit Florida &#8212; the people around him would not be taking advantage of the opportunity to practice a foreign language; they&#8217;d be demanding he speak English.</p>
<p>It was cultural differences like these that amazed and sometimes embarrassed me. Truly, the only way to learn about a foreign culture is to experience it firsthand. You can&#8217;t be afraid to make mistakes, because you will make mistakes regardless. You&#8217;ll discover things that you like and other things that you don&#8217;t like; some things will remind you of home and others will leave you completely lost.</p>
<p>Here are a few things I learned:</p>
<ul>
<li>If you want to experience a different culture and way of life, try not to have expectations.</li>
<li>Don&#8217;t constantly compare it to what you&#8217;re used to, because no matter how much you believe that it can&#8217;t be so different, it often will be.</li>
<li>You probably won&#8217;t get the same comforts you&#8217;re accustomed to (tiny refrigerators, toilet in a separate room from the sink).</li>
<li>Take time to really try living as the local people do. Relax and let yourself enjoy each moment. Things will feel different, strange, and foreign, but that should be part of the fun.</ul>
<p>Whether you travel, live in, or are moving to a foreign country, I hope you dive in and enjoy the experience of learning about a different culture.</p>
<p><center>____________________<br />
<h4>Finance Your New Life Overseas</h4><A HREF="http://www.awaionline.com/go.php?Clk=3724409" > Turn Your Pictures into Cash</A><br />
<br />____________________</center><br />
<em>Catherine Perkins capped off her Gap Year with a 2-1/2 month adventure in France. She&#8217;ll be heading off to Wheaton College in Massachusetts in the fall to study music and Japanese.</em></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Is France Affordable?</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/is-france-affordable</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/is-france-affordable#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 May 2010 01:37:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Europe]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Bearn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[expat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Languedoc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Recently, the Live and Invest Overseas e-letter has been talking about France in the run-up to their upcoming conference about living and investing there. France is not one of the countries we&#8217;ve been considering as a retirement destination because of the expense. But with headlines like, &#8220;Your Second Home In France (Could Cost As Little [...]]]></description>
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<p id="top" /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/peter_curb/3668082301/"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2102" style="margin: 10px;" title="Arlempdes_France" src="http://futureexpats.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Arlempdes_France-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>Recently, the <em><a href="http://www.liveandinvestoverseas.com/index.php">Live and Invest Overseas</a></em> e-letter has been talking about France in the run-up to their upcoming conference about living and investing there. France is not one of the countries we&#8217;ve been considering as a retirement destination because of the expense. But with headlines like, &#8220;Your Second Home In France (Could Cost As Little As 45,000 Euro),&#8221; is it worth reconsidering, I wonder?</p>
<p>Correspondent Lucy Culpepper writes with enthusiasm about the Languedoc and Bearn regions of the country and touts a one-bedroom apartment for 28,000 Euro, a stone townhouse needing renovation for $42,700, a two-bedroom village house furnished for $70,419. . . she makes it sound very enticing.</p>
<p>Kathleen Peddicord writes glowingly about the joys of Parisian life, which she and her family enjoyed for several years before moving to Panama.<br />
<br />
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<blockquote><p>&#8220;We lived in Paris for four years, with two children, and I&#8217;m here to tell you that we were able to control our costs within a very reasonable budget.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately, she doesn&#8217;t define that &#8220;very reasonable budget.&#8221; According to an email, it&#8217;s possible to &#8220;live in France on US $1,300 a month.&#8221;</p>
<p>Would that it were true! Year after year, France is voted the country with the best quality of life and best health care. Our daughter has just returned from a 2-1/2 month trip to France and she definitely fell in love with Paris. Our son speaks French fluently, has fond memories of a visit and speaks of going there to live. The thought of living in France is tremendously appealing on many levels.</p>
<p>I just have a hard time believing that it&#8217;s affordable on a Social Security income.</p>
<p>I&#8217;d love to hear from any expats in France who can provide some real-world experience!</p>
<p><em>photo by Peter Curbishley on flickr</em></p>
<p><center>____________________<br />
<h4>Fully Detailed Guides To The Five Cheapest Retirement Havens On Earth…Yours Free</h4><p><a href="http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=148072&AdID=496635">Go Here Now to Learn More</a></p><br />
____________________</center><br />
<em>You can share your French experience &#8212; good, bad or ugly &#8212; by clicking the <strong>Comment</strong> link below.</em></p>
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		<title>9 Expat Blogs to Follow</title>
		<link>http://futureexpats.com/9-expat-blogs-to-follow</link>
		<comments>http://futureexpats.com/9-expat-blogs-to-follow#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:00:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>FutureExpat</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a while since I&#8217;ve done any kind of list, so I thought I&#8217;d give you a look today at some of the expat blogs I follow, and that you might find helpful, too. Empty Nest Expat. Currently living in Prague, the blogger describes herself as &#8220;an American expatriate bursting with enthusiasm to GET [...]]]></description>
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<p id="top" />It&#8217;s been a while since I&#8217;ve done any kind of list, so I thought I&#8217;d give you a look today at some of the expat blogs I follow, and that you might find helpful, too.<br />
<br /></p>
<p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://empty-nest-expat.blogspot.com/">Empty Nest Expat</a>. Currently living in Prague, the blogger describes herself as &#8220;an American expatriate bursting with enthusiasm to GET OUT AND EXPERIENCE OUR GLOBE! &#8221;</p>
<li><a href="http://www.livinginthesun.info/blogs.html">Living In the Sun</a>. This is a website with four offshoot blogs, each dealing with a European/Mediterranean country. There&#8217;s one for France, Portugal, Spain and Greece.
<li><a href="http://www.soultravelers3.com/">Soul Travelers 3</a>. Two fifty-something parents and a nine-year old travel the world in &#8220;an epic odyssey: open-ended, years long slow trip around the world as a family adventure, unschool, spiritual journey and lifestyle.&#8221;
<li><a href="http://anastasiaashman.wordpress.com/">Expat+Harem</a>. A Berkely, CA native living in Istanbul with her Turkish husband.
<li><a href="http://www.myseveralworlds.com/">My Several Worlds</a>. The author is a traveler and photographer. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, she currently lives and works in Taipei. Her site features gorgeous photos, as well as information about teaching English abroad.
<li><a href="http://www.careerbychoiceblog.com/">Career by Choice</a>. Megan Fitzgerald helps expats develop their careers abroad.
<li><a href="http://blogs.traveling4health.com/">Traveling4Health</a>. While not specifically an expat blog, this is a terrific resource for anyone interested in health care abroad.
<li><a href="http://michelloui.blogspot.com/">Mid-Atlantic English</a>, the blog of an American who&#8217;s lived for an extended time in the UK.
<li><a href="http://www.thecrankyyank.blogspot.com/">The Cranky Yank</a>. This is the personal blog of Dan Prescher from International Living, and he always has a unique perspective.
<p><em>Do you have a favorite expat blog? Share it by clicking on the <strong>Comment</strong> link below.</em></p>
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