Holding On and Letting Go

Accumulated junk - not mine, thank goodness

My parents both had hoarding tendencies. Oh, I don’t mean their house was like some of those horrible places you see on TV shows — you didn’t have to weave your way through towering piles of old newspapers or anything like that. But they held onto stuff. After my mother died last summer, we found [...]

Countdown! Uncertainty Rules

Countdown to expat moving day

As we approach our planned exit date, uncertainty has taken over. No, not uncertainty about whether we should go, uncertainty about the timing. Until we have a signed lease agreement for our house, we’re not buying tickets or going anywhere. Our rental agent had been very sanguine about finding tenants in the allotted time, but [...]

Countdown! Less than 30 Days to Panama

Countdown to expat moving day

Wow, the time is really flying by as we get closer to our move to Panama. It seems just last week When I started this weekly recount of all the preparation steps we’d taken toward our upcoming Panama move. But actually, it was two months ago! Now we’re within 30 days of our projected move [...]

Don’t Do it with a Blog: Create an Enjoyable Overseas Retirement, Even if the Economy has Blown your Nest Egg

cha-ching machine

You’ve heard the siren song of that soft Caribbean breeze, or the bustling Asian street scene with the bright colors and temple bells. Or maybe your overseas dream runs more toward soaking up the culture of the City of Lights. The only problem is, the US economy has eaten your retirement nest egg and you [...]

Countdown: Why Did I Ever Think Moving Right After Christmas was a Good Idea?

Countdown to expat moving day

Last week we skipped the Countdown post because we were doing the 12 Days of Christmas guide to expat gift-giving, so we’ll combine weeks 6 & 7 this week. In this installment we’ll review the steps we took over the last two weeks toward getting ourselves moved from Orlando to Panama. At this point, I’m [...]

Countdown! Week 5 Already!

Countdown to expat moving day

Wow, I can’t believe this is the fifth week of Countdown! posts. When we got within the 90-day window for our move to Panama, I started this weekly recount of all the preparation steps we’d taken during the week. Any move is a big undertaking, but the first overseas move is ginormous, so I thought [...]

Countdown! Sleepless Nights

Countdown to expat moving day

I think this week’s countdown can be described as “sleep-deprived zombieland.” The end of our fourth countdown week saw us taking away our dogs’ big wire crate where they’ve happily slept at night for several years, and putting them in their spacious travel kennels to sleep. It wasn’t a happy experience, for them or for [...]

Countdown! Spinning in Circles

Countdown to expat moving day

This week has been characterized by some nice relaxing-with-friends time, and spinning in circles. We’ve just completed the third week in our countdown toward our Panama move, and the week was a pretty mixed bag of getting stuff done, relaxing, and frustration. You can see previous Countdown! posts here. I hope that sharing what we’re [...]

Plant Your Own Flags

The following was written by Kathleen Peddicord in her Overseas Opportunity newsletter. I’m a big fan of Kathleen’s, and am happy to share with you her Top 10 lists, as well as the reasoning behind them. And, in certain cases, why you might be better off doing something completely different. Kathleen writes: I’ve been inundated [...]

Health Care: Is it Driving US Citizens to Move Overseas?

health insurance

I spoke with a real estate agent yesterday to see whether we have any realistic prospect of selling our house in this economy. I mentioned to her that we would be leaving the area, so of course she wanted to know our plans. “We can’t afford to retire here,” I explained, “so we’re looking at [...]

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