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worldwide communication technology

No internet-connected expat should be abroad without a VPN (virtual private network). The right VPN will let you access all the websites you’re used to doing business with in your home country, even if those sites normally block traffic from outside their borders. It also provides an additional level of security from WiFi snoopers. I [...]

21 More Expat and Travel Blogs to Watch

Following in a more experienced person’s footsteps is a great way to learn something new, or to take the fear factor away from a scary new undertaking. Sharing an expat’s experience with the process of relocating, or their life overseas, can teach some very useful lessons. Here’s a list of expat and travel blogs and [...]

He Writes about Everything, Everywhere — and So Can You!

Bangkok, Thailand

Recently I promised to find out more about how travel writers balance their lives between work and travel. To that end, I spoke with Gary Arndt. Gary is a travel blogger, which is a slightly different — but equally portable — career. Gary explained the difference between being a travel writer and a travel blogger: [...]

Blogging and Travel — Making Them Both Work

blogging in the park

Sooner or later, if you decide to blog for some or all of your expat income, you’ll have to maintain and update your blog while you’re traveling. It can be done, but it requires a much higher level of organization and planning than you might be used to. Do It Ahead Do everything you possibly [...]

On My Way to Panama

Chiriqui Highlands, Panama

By the time you read this, I’ll be tossing the last few items into my suitcase and heading for the airport. Today I fly to Panama to attend the Live & Invest in Panama conference, followed by a week exploring the country. This is the culmination of a decision made in January, just a couple [...]

Let Total Strangers Plan Your Trip

copa_socialicons

My husband and I are going to Panama in a couple months to see whether it’s someplace we’d like to live, so I’ve been spending a lot of time planning our scouting trip. Not surprisingly, not every little hotel in the country has a website (at least, not in English). Since we don’t want to [...]

How to Plan Your First Expat Scouting Trip

scouting the territory

(Continued from How Do You Plan for the Unknown?) So you’ve decided to move to another country, you’ve done tons of research, and you’ve narrowed down your country choices. The next step is a big one — scouting out your country of choice. Ideally, you’ll be able to spend two weeks to a month exploring [...]

How Do You Plan for the Unknown?

Starship Enterprise

The unknown. . . it can be exciting, exhilarating or paralyzing. Even when we’re excited that we might “boldly go where no man has gone before,” there’s usually a bit of terror lurking in the background. In this internet era, with easy access to satellite photos and maps of the entire globe, there’s not much [...]

To Untether, First Take Inventory

sculptor chipping away

The story goes that Michelangelo created his beautiful statues by visualizing what was trapped inside the marble and chipping away everything that wasn’t the statue. Before you can untether yourself as an expat you have to undergo a similar transformation. You need to chip away everything that won’t work with your new life so you [...]

The Untethered Expat Life

the untethered expat life

Untether Yourself is the title of the free e-book I recently released. (If you missed its release, you can grab your copy here.) But what does the untethered expat life mean? Is it: the freedom to travel constantly, flitting from place to place and exploring all the world has to offer? the opportunity to live [...]