Expats Moving And Relocation Guide

From House to Home: Personalizing Your Overseas Living Space

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:12:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Sarah Novak an American expatraite and a Global Lifestyle Designer is currently living in Manila. Sarah helps accompanying expat spouses in career transition redefine what work looks like for them now and create fulfilling portable careers that will support them wherever they go.

Sara has just finished writing her first e-book titled "House to Home: Personalizing Your Overseas Living Space." It is a free offering that Sarah is giving away at her blog

About the book in Sarah's words:

"Are you tired of your overseas house not feeling like a home? Are you confused about where to start? This brand new, 22 page e-book will guide you through managing the transformation from start to finish. The e-book is a collaboration between myself, A Life Coach, and Mindy Jeppesen, a Professional Organizer and fellow expat.

This e-book is one part workbook, one part tips and tricks and one part action plan! In Part 1, you’ll look back on what you liked about past spaces, assess your current space and create a rich vision for what you want now. In Part 2 we’ll teach you the secrets to organizing your space successfully and creating a home that supports and re-energizes you. Once that learning is done, the only thing left to do is to get on with the implementation. Part 3 is all about getting into action and will take you through step-by-step regarding what you need to do to make your vision a reality.

As Foreign Service spouses ourselves, we have seen that creating a comfortable, energizing living space is one of the biggest factors that guarantees successful integration into a new country. Our hope is that this e-book will give you the structure and tools you need to transform each new space you inhabit!

To receive your free copy of From House to Home: Personalizing Your Overseas Living Space, please go to www.inspiredoverseasliving.com and enter your email address in the top of the right-hand column."

Sharon

Valentine's Day Photo Cards to Family and Friends Back Home

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:30:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Valentine's day is just around the corner, and this is the best time to let your loved one back home know that you think about them.

Sending an e-mail or talking on the phone is nice but nothing beats a personalized gift that comes from the heart.

My mother in law for example loves greeting cards. Every holiday and birthday she send us the most beautiful greeting card and adds a personal touch to it. And when we bring her presents the first thing she opens is the greeting card. The card and what is written in it is the most important thing for her, and shows her that we really care.

A great way to personalize your card and make it special is to send a photo card. Att Tiny Prints you can find stylish Valentines photo cards to choose from; you can add your own touch to the card, choose any photo directly from your computer, change the colors and even add a gift tag or stickers to your Velntines photo cards.

Tiny prints is offering now 10% off Valentine's Day product orders of $25 or more with code VDAY10, which expires 2/14/2010. Make sure you get the discount by including the coupun code VDAY10 on your order page

P.S - Tiny Prints welcomes international orders. They ship to international locations worldwide via UPS and Swiss Post worldwide shipping service

Sharon

A Survey for Trailing Partners

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:09:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Louise Willes an expatriate living on the Island of Madeira, Portugal and an expatriate coach has created a survey for trailing partners to complete.

The survey is called ‘Your Relocation Experience’ and asks people to comment on the issues and challenges they faced when relocating abroad and the type of support that could/would help them.

Louise is hoping to achieve a widespread distribution of the survey as obviously this will then make the findings more valid and therefore valuable for the expats community.

The survey is anonymous and there is a link to a free workbook as a thank you for participating. It should take no more than 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

Click here to enter the survey.

Thank you all for helpig out Louise
Sharon

We are relocating to Brussels, Belgium

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:37:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

We will be relocating to Brussels, Belgium this coming summer.

The news about the new posting was received differently by each member of our family:

My husband is very happy as it is a promotion and a very interesting and challenging work. Our eldest is graduating high school this year and is not very happy about the upcoming posting. He is planning to join us but as he does not speak French we will need to search for universities in English. Our middle son is excited. He loves living in different countries, and our youngest is not sure if it's good or bad.

I am pleased we found out about our move at the end of December. This will give us plenty of time to prepare.

First thing we need to do is to prepare a moving list and to register our 2 youngest to an English school in Brussels - grade 10 and grade 8.

Then, we will start gathering information about life in Brussels. This is where the expats blogs are a great help and an amazing resource for valuable information.

There were no expats blogs when we relocated to Venezuela in 1996, and there were hardly any when we moved to Canada in 2002. But now it is 2010 and everyday new expats blogs are being created, so I will be reading lots of blogs about life in Brussels in the upcoming weeks.

If you are an expat living in Brussels I would love to hear about your experience. You can comment on this blog post, or you can write about your experience in here.

If you are an expat living anywhere around the world you are welcome to share your stories about life in your host country, and you can also assist other expats who are planning a relocation to your host country by filling out our questionnaire..

Sharon

Expat CFO Offers a Great Promotion in December

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Are you a U.S citizen living abroad who is struggling with U.S tax preparation?

Not sure how to plan and organize your finance abroad?

Expat CFO Wealth Advisors can help you think about the big, broader picture of all of the aspects of your financial world, and make sure that ALL the pieces of your financial picture fit together.

Expat CFO will advice you how to:

Prepare your family to meet the challenges of a turbulent world

Take care of your family in the event of your death

Make the right decisions to protect your future

Have an advocate looking out for your best interests

Expat CFO will provide you with comprehensive solutions that help you reduce taxes, consolidate your financial picture, mitigate your down-side risk, utilize asset protection and help you organize and focus your entire financial world.

There is no doubt that using the services of Expat CFO will take a huge burden from your shoulders.

During December Expat CFO is offering a promotion - $100 off if you sign up before January!, So go ahead and check them out now!

Happy Holidays
Sharon

Send Holidays Cards to Your Love Ones Back Home

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:20:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Holidays can be a hard time for expats - the excitement about the upcoming holidays is sometimes overshadowed by homesickness, and by holiday memories from the home country.

Not all of us can travel back home for the holidays, but we can let our family and friends know that they are in our hearts, and that the holiday season is not the same without them.

Of course you can tell them how you feel on the phone, but it would be much more special and exciting if you send them a unique holiday card.

Tiny priny has a great collection of cards for the holidays, and they are offering huge sales now.

On Thanksgiving they are running a thanksgining sale up to $40 of sitewide. To get the discount rate make sure to use the code THANKSALE. This code will expire on 11/28/09.

Tiny Prints welcomes international orders. They recently added a printing facility in Europe to provide faster turnaround time for international orders.

Tiny Prints ship to international locations worldwide via UPS and Swiss Post worldwide shipping service.

Enjoy the Holiday
Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans
Sharon

How Hard is it to Find a Hairdresser in Your New Country?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:16:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

One of the most difficult things for me is to find a hairdresser that I can truly trust in the host country.

In each country, I usually wait as long as my hair let me, before I dare to search for a hairdresser. Usually I see someone with a nice haircut and ask her about her hairstylist. It takes another 10-14 days until I have the nerve to call him/her, and to make an hair appointment. The night before I barely sleep, and when I finally arrive to the hair salon, I lecture for an hour about what I like and what I don't like.

But when I find the right hairdersser he/she is a keeper until I repatriate.

A few days ago I was wondering if other expats have the same hair issues, so I posted a question on twitter. And apparently I am not alone!

Here are a few of the answers I got:

@chompermom I'm a wussie. In Belize, I waited til I went to the states again. In France, my husband cuts my hair! every expat woman i know always cut their own hair. Frustrating. Makes it harder to find someone.

@wifeinasuitcase Hairdressers? Hot button expat topic! Have always relied on referrals. Even stopped strangers in the street!

@ekreeger Many! I have often had pple tell me they didn't know what to do with my hair texture.

@debra47 That's a good one. Still haven't found one that compares to ones I had in U.S.

@AmitafCookies I have been in the Netherlands for over a year and I still haven't found a hairdresser...I think it is harder if you are black.

@Juliette_R it took 2 yrs and i'm still not convinced!

@athomemom I usually cut my own hair, but we do have a young guy who comes to the house to do the boys' hair. He cut mine once, too.

@sandierpastures I don't do anything with my hair in the new country. I go home once a year & do salon stuff while I'm there.

@eCheers My word it was!! Add dentist & doctor to the list.

@expatina Word of mouth is best for finding a hairstylist. Manufacturer websites (Sebastian, Redken, L'Oreal, etc.) are also good.

What about you?

Sharon Gilor

Accompanying Spouses are Invited to Complete a Short Online Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Jennifer Bradley a Certified Job and Career Transition coach is putting together a workshop for the next Families in Global Transition conference on career/work issues for accompanying spouses. In preparation for the conference she is conducting a brief survey about career issues for spouses and partners

Here is what Jennifer requests -

Help Others by Contributing your Insights on the Impact of Relocating on Your Career and Work-Life. Share your views here.

If you are an accompanying spouse or partner, you are invited to complete a short online SURVEY (accessed through link) about career issues for those of us who move with our partners.

Click Here to take survey

Your input will contribute to a workshop on this issue during the next Families in Global Transition Conference.

I have kept the survey short - I hope you have 5-10 mins to share your views.
I'd also appreciate it if you pass it on to others in your network that might be interested in contributing

I look forward to sharing the results. If you can't make the conference, be sure to let me know at the end of the survey if you want to get the results.

I appreciate your help. Thank you. .
Jennifer

Sharon

Expatriate Assignment Research - Request for Help from UK Trailing Spouses/Partners

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Claire Hardy a PhD student at the University of Nottingham in the UK is looking for UK trailing spouses to complete an online survey for her research.

Here is What Claire requests:

"My name is Claire Hardy and I am a PhD student at the University of Nottingham in the UK. I am trying to contact UK employees and their spouses who have experience of being posted on an expatriate assignment (min. duration 1 year) and returning home but finding it difficult to locate these people and would appreciate any help that people could give. I am therefore posting this message to try and contact these individuals and ask if they would be willing to complete a 20 minute online anonymous survey for my research.

If you accompanied your partner on an expatriate assignment, please click on this link and complete a survey designed specifically for trailing spouses/partners.

If you know of anyone else who may be willing to help and complete a survey, please forward this message to them.

I am extremely grateful for your time.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at lwxch@nottingham.ac.uk "

Sharon

Ebooks Sales and Coupons

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:50:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Winter is just around the corner. Soon we will be cuddling in the house, drinking hot chocolate and reading all the books we did not have time to read during the summer.

There are so many great new books and best sellers. However if you are an expat living in a country where English is not the first language, you will have hard time finding those books in the book stores.

This is exactly why ebooks are a great solution - All you need to do is download the book and read it on your computer or on a Sony Digital Reader

Ebooks the digital bookstore has great deals going now. Here are just a few of the deals you can find:

Monthly special - 20% off in the following categories:

Family and Relationships eBooks

Medical eBooks

Travel eBooks

Reference eBooks

Make sure to Use the coupon code: Categorysalecp at the payment details page to claim your discount. The coupon is valid only for 2 more days

Other than that you can get:

10% off New York Times Best Sellers

20% Off Featured Authors at Ebooks.com!!!

And you can also

Save on these recently reduced titles

Have Fun and Enjoy
Sharon

Guest Post - Culture Shock Revisited or Is It Really All About Going Through the Stages

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Today I am hosting a guest post written by Margarita Gokun Silver - a global co-active coach, a veteran expat, and the founder of the Global Coach Center

Whenever I give a presentation on Culture Shock, I try not to speak a lot at the participants. Instead I allow them to share and, as we discuss what Culture Shock means to them, we discover how different each Culture Shock experience is for everyone.

However, if you read the research available out there on Culture Shock, you’ll discover, that most of it presents the phenomenon of Culture Shock as something that consists of five (5) stages. And so when people look at this definition, they immediately begin to try to figure out what “stage” they are at and what awaits them in the future. And while this process may offer some comfort and may show you that you are not alone, it’s not ideal. Because not everyone goes through all the stages, not everyone goes in order the stages are presented, and not everyone can identify with these stages.

So instead of pigeonholing people into the stages and figuring out where each person is and how we can help him/her there, I take a different approach. I encourage participants in my presentations to look at our experiences in another culture not through the lens of “stages” but rather through the lens of “perspectives”.

When we go through life, we find ourselves constantly changing perspectives. In any one-day we can go through “frustrated”, “elated”, “sad”, “creative” and many other perspectives. These perspectives color the way we look at the world around us and they also either empower or dis-empower us.

The same with Culture Shock. When we move to a foreign place, we may find ourselves in a perspective of “curiosity” or perspective of “hate” or perspective of “longing for home”. Any one of those can be a section of your Culture Shock journey, almost like those stages are. Except that there is one thing you can do with perspectives that you cannot do with stages. You can change perspectives at will.

That’s right. If you are stuck in a perspective that’s not working for you, you are free to change it and choose another one — one that would be more empowering. How? There is a great exercise for that, but it would take too much space to describe it here. You can read about it, though, in my Culture Shock book . or you can join me on THREE STEPS TO MANAGING CULTURE SHOCK AND MAKING TRANSITIONS EASIER presentation over the web. All you need is access to the internet and a computer. For more information please click here.

So, what perspective are you in? And what perspective would you like to be in?

Global Coach Center is Introducing a Webinar on Culture Shock

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:43:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

It is almost the end of October. Most of you had the time to settle in your new country, unpack and arrange your house, put the kids into school, and now you are ready to start enjoying your life in a new country.

But, you find out that things are not so easy. All sorts of feeling are rising: lonliness, homesickness, alienation, and some of you might even feel depressed.

This is not how you pictured your life abroad.

Even veteran expats, those of you who already experienced living in a new country can not escape these feelings.

You are dealing with a culture shock. A very common phenomenon via expats.

The good news is - There is a way to handle culture shock effectively, and to establish a fulfilling life abroad.

How?

Margarita Gokun Silver - a global co-active coach, a veteran expat, and the founder of the Global Coach Center, has created a unique system to manage Culture Shock:

THREE STEPS TO MANAGING CULTURE SHOCK AND MAKING TRANSITIONS EASIER

This one of a kind system takes an old concept of the Culture Shock and presents it in the entirely new light.

The culture shock presentation has until now only been available through in-person workshops or through Margarita's affiliate trainers. However, due to increasing demand, Margarita is making it available through the web to all expats wherever they are in the world.

Even better, the culture shock webinar will be conducted as an interactive workshop, so each participant will have a chance to ask questions, share, and make comments.

You will not feel alone anymore!

To learn more about the cuture shock webinar please visit the global coach center blog

Sharon

Announcing The Winner of the Expat Arc Book Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:50:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

On October 4 we have started the Expat Arc book giveaway.

To win Danielle Barkhouse's book - The Expat Arc: An Expat's Journey Over Culture Shock, you were requested to share a story about your expatriate life adventures.

I would like to thank all of you that took the time to share their stories. We have received many great submissions.

And today we are announcing the winner - Shelly Roberts from Romania for her story I Love The Smell Of Ciorba In The Morning.

Thank you Shelly for a great story, and thanks to Danielle for offering the Expat Arc book giveaway.

Even though the competition is over,you are most welcome to continue and share your stories about expatriate living. Each story will carry a link to the authors blog.

Sharon

Julia Child - A Trailing Spouse who Found Her Calling

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Many of you have probably seen the movie Julie & Julia which was written and directed by Nora Ephron.

Julie Powell (Amy Adams) attempts to cook every recipe in Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) cookbook - Mastering The Art of French Cooking. She writes a blog about her experience. Woven into her story is the story of Julia Child's time in Paris, in which she discovers the art of cooking.

What impressed me most about this movie is the biography of Julia Child which is described in the movie and in her autobiography My Life in France

Julia was a working woman all her adult life. During World War 2 she worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and was posted to Sri Lanka and China. After the war, in 1946, she married her husband Paul, and in 1948 Paul was posted to Paris by the United States Foreign Service.

When Julia first arrived Paris she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. The couple had no children, Julia had no work, and she was searching what to do in her spare time.

Very soon, Julia fell in love with Paris, with French food and with the local markets. She started taking cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu, and the rest is history.

I believe that Julia childs can serve as a roll model for all trailing spouses. She was full of energy, active, assertive and was not afraid to go after what she wanted. Other than that she had a supportive husband on her side.

What we also need to remember is that all this happaned in the mid of the 20th century. Julia was a true pionneer. Any trailing spouse who struggles should read her book and be encouraged by Julia's amazing story

I would love to hear what you think about the story of Julia Child. Did it inspire you?

Sharon

Wanna Win a Free Copy of The Expat Arc: An Expat's Journey Over Culture Shock?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:18:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Danielle Barkhouse's book - The Expat Arc: An Expat's Journey Over Culture Shock is a collection of Danielle's journal entries detailing her expat arc path beginning with the honeymoon phase, hanging out in the rejection phase longer than desired and plowing her way into the phase of acceptance.

It's a very personal and detailed description of Danielle's journey over the arc of culture shock, identity crisis and settling in. It includes nuggets of her humor, mistakes and a few 'light bulb moments' about living abroad.

You can read a chapter from Danielle's book in here.

Now, for a limited time, one of you can win a free copy of The Expat Arc!

How?

It is quite simple.

Surely all of you have fascinating stories about life overseas, so finding one to share with us is a piece of cake.

Did you choose the perfect one?

Great :)

Just submit it to our expat blog section, and make sure to indicate your e-mail address, so we are able to contact you.

Anyone who submit a story until October 16 2009, can enter the competition. The winner will be announced on October 26, 2009.

Have Fun
Sharon

My Gmail was Hacked

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:14:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

This post is not about expats living, but I would like to share with all of you something that happened to me last week as I think it is important and that everyone can learn something from it.

Thursday Sep 3 was my husband's birthday. Our kids have already started the school year, so we had all the morning for ourselves and we planned some fun activities.

But things don't always go as planned - Like every morning, even before the kids go to school, and because I am addicted to my e-mails, I opened the computer and entered into my email box.

To my surprise I found an empty mail box - Contacts - 0, Inbox - 0, Outbox - 0, labels - 0.

At first I thought it was a bug in google, as there were some alerts about this lately, so I immediately asked ny hunsband if his gmail is working? His answer - Yes, but I received a strange email from you.

"How are you doing? Hope all is well with you, i am sorry that i didn't inform you about my traveling to England for a Seminar.

I need a favor from you as soon as you receive this e-mail because i misplaced my wallet on my way to the hotel where my money, and other valuable things were kept i will like you to assist me with a loan urgently. I will need the sum of $ 2,800 to sort-out my hotel bills and get myself back home.

Sorry to bother you i will appreciate whatever you can afford to help me with, if you could help me out that would be very much appreciated. I will of course pay back every penny within a reasonable period of time.

Kindly let me know if i should send you the details to use when sending the money through Western union.

Your reply will be greatly appreciated.

--
Sharon Gilor
E-mail - sharon.glor @ gmail.com
Website: http://www.expats-moving-andrelocation-guide.com"

Well, as I recall, I did not plan to go to any seminar in England. And if I did I would sure tell about it to my husband.

What the f...?

Furthermore, my signature at the bottom of the mail was changed - The I was deleted from my surmame, and an hyphen was removed from my web site address.

And my gmail - remained quiet - no new mail arrived to my inbox.

I called Rebecca, a good friend of mine, and asked her if she had received a weird mail from me? Rebecca said yes and that she sent it back to me with question marks. But ... Her mail never reached me.

I called my brother in law (an engineer and computers expert), who confirmed that he also got the same mail, and then he continued "There is a big scam on the internet lately and many mail boxes have been hacked".

How does it work?

Hackers break into a mail box, send a mail similar to the one that was sent from my box, change the signature, empties the mail box from all mail messages (incoming and outgoing) and from all the contacts, and finally change the mail settings so that no new incoming mails can enter the mail box.

This strategy buys the Hackers some time - Until the person whose mail box got robbed understands what has just happened and before he starts to minimize the damage the hackers can continue with their scam. Anyone who "buys" whats written in the e-mail, and clicks on the signature in order to respond arrives to another mail box, which was opened especially for this fraud. This is where he will be given the bank details and will be asked to transfer the money to there.

Of course not everyone click on the signature to answer an email: Some will click on Reply, others will take the address from their contacts, some will ignore the mail and think it is a pointless joke or a spam, others will call to ask what was happening, and some will send a mail through the website, through social networks (Facebook, Twitter, linkedin) or to another mail address.

But - Imagine that the hackers broke into dozens of mailboxes, and at each mailbox at least five people believed the mail, wanted to help with a small amount, clicked on the signature and received instructions to where to send the money.

Wahoo ... Those Hackers can steal thousand of dollars.

What a Nerve!

I was furious and felt like my house was robbed. A sense of rage and helplessness.

What did I do?

First thing - I changed my password immediately. I also put a reminder to myself - to change the password every few months.

Second - I went to the mailbox settings to correct the signature and the URL of my website, and updated the option - your mailbox can receive e-mails.

Now the real mess began - Tons of mails arrived, and the telephones were ringing constantly.

Now If you remember the beginning of this post - it was my husband's birthday, we planned a quiet morning with fun activities.

Well, we have decided to change our plans - we went to a quick breakfast and then returned home to minimize the damage.

What did I do?

To send an email to all my contacts and explain them what happened I couldn't because my contacts were deleted. So I wrote a mail explaining the sequence of events and to all those who sent me mail with questions about what was happening, I sent the mail. To those who called me on the phone I explained what happened and asked them to send me a mail so I could start collecting mail addresses of my contacts.

In addition I ran a message in all my social networks, I canceled my credit card (for safety), and updated my bank.

At the same time I sent a message to google explaining what has happened to my mail box and requested that they will restore my mailbox.

After several hours I received the following answer from Google - "Unfortunately the information you transfered is not enough and we can not verify that you are the account owner. We suggest that you fill out additional forms or reply to this mail with additional information. Of-course I chose to reply their e-mail but until today I recieved no response from Google.

I have no idea if google will agree to restore my mailbox, but I sure hope they will do it. Not only that I lost valuable information but my name was misused. The best way to handle this is to send all my contacts (especially those who still do not know me well) a mail explaining the sequence of events. I also believe that it is only proper to warn all my contacts about this malicious deception so they won't be tempted to transfer money.

What did I learn?

Do not forget to change the password of the mail every few months

To use another mail box designed to store all important mails.

Keep all address and contacts outside the mail box

Prepare a separate folder to keep all information that is vital and important.

Finally - I also learned who knows me well and can tell that I will never ever send this kind of mail.

I would love to hear your opinion about this

Sharon

FIGT International Conference 4-6 March 2010 Houston, Texas.

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:17:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Families in Global Transition (FIGT) mission is to bring together those involved with the unique world of global transition. It is the only US-based conference where representatives of the corporate, diplomatic, academic, military and mission sectors come to share cross-cultural coping strategies. This unique forum allows everyone to recognize the universal challenges of relocation and strategize on new methods and research.

Figt is hosting an International Conference on 4-6 March 2010 in Houston, Texas, and is calling for proposals to present a Concurrent Session, a Pre-conference Workshop, a Cracker Barrel, or a Research Poster.

Proposals can relate to the following subjects: What kinds of innovative programs and services help expatriate and repatriate family members? What can sponsoring organizations do to help families who stay at home during an employee's overseas assignment, whether short-term or longer in duration? etc'

Proposal deadline submission - SEPTEMBER 1ST 2009

If you are interested you can find more information in here.

Sharon

Are you interested in participating in a CNN Business Traveller interview in London?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:37:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

If you are traveling to London in the next 2 weeks, I would like to recommend a great event that might interest you:

The event is an intiative of GDN - Global Dinner Network Website

What is GDN?

In their words - "The GDN is the first global meeting point for female travellers and locals. Meeting up with local women is a great way of finding out more about the city and how other nationalities live. The GDN makes independent travel easier as it enables social interaction in a comfortable and safe environment. The GDN is not only about meeting up for dinner - meet for lunch or coffee, use it for business networking or to find women with similar interests, e.g. running, yoga, theatre or cinema, clubbing..."

Lianne Turner, a journalist from the Business Traveller show on CNN International is looking to interview GDN members that will meet over a GDN dinner in London within the next two weeks (until the 31st of July).

If you are planning a trip to London and a GDN dinner and if you are open and interested in participating in a CNN Business Traveller interview , please email Lianne (lianne.turner@cnn.com) and copy Ulrike (ulrike.baumgart@gmx.net) the GDN dinner host in London.

What a great opportunity :)

If you are not a member of GDN you can become a memeber by entering your details in here.

If you get a chance to participate in the CNN interview please come back here and tell us how it was.

Enjoy your Holidays
Sharon

HSBC Bank International Expat Explorer Survey 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:37:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

Part 1 of The Expat Explorer survey, which was commissioned by HSBC Bank International and conducted by third party research company FreshMinds has been published.

This publication is about Expat Economics, and it is the first of three reports.

The report examined the financial circumstances of expats and compares the experiences of people living in different countries. It reveals how expat life has been affected by the global economic downturn and the change in people’s spending and saving habits.

Some interesting findings:

1. Asia is home to the highest paid expats in the world (First Russia then Hong Kong, and Japan follows), while their poorer counterparts can be found in Australia and Western Europe.

2. The UK remains one of the most expensive places for expats to live

3. Expats in Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar manage to save more now since moving away from their country of origin than expats in any other country.

4. Popular methods for saving and investing money among expats include, shares, property and managed funds. Property was a popular option in Bahrain and South Africa, while shares are popular for expats in Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia.

5. 63% of expats worldwide said that the credit crunch has changed their attitude to spending. The most affected expats are based in Russia, US and Japan.

You can find here the full report HSBC Bank International
Expat Explorer Survey 2009

Sharon

For British Expats or Anyone Who Loves UK T.V

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

I just came across something really cool, a prefectly legal possibbility to watch UK TV from anywhere in the world.

Living away from the UK creates various restrictions on what TV channels are available for you to watch online. Internet TV is fast becoming a great alternative to satellite systems. By using a UK proxy service your computer appear as though it is in the United Kingdom, and enable you to watch any UK blocked website from anywhere in the world legally.

The whole process is simple. Each time you use the internet, your computer gives out an ip address. For example, if you are in Spain, your ip address will be a Spanish address that will not allow you to access live online television channels such as BBC and ITV, both these services are only available for computers with a UK ip address.

The Serviice I came across gives your computer a UK ip address so you will be surfing the internet as though you are based in the United Kingdom.

Are you wondering if it is legal?

According to Britishtvanywhere supplying a proxy service is 100% legal. And they do not allow the use of their proxy service for illegal activities such as hacking, illegal downloads or viewing illegal content from abusive websites

With Britishtvanywhere you can watch lots of channels like - BBC TV Lives Channels, ITV Live Channels, Channel 4 live Channels, Channel 5, Sky and more.

Britishtvanywhere will let you a 7 minute free trial so you can make sure that their software is compatible to your system.

Cool AH?

Sharon

What To Get For My Best Friends Birthday?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:27:00 +0000

My childhood best friend will be celebrating her birthday at the begining of July. But my best friend is also an expat - living far away in Portland, Oregon (What a beautiful place). So how do I let her know I care? A phone call is just not enough...

I started thinking what to do, and then I remembered that while we were posted in Venezuela my sister came for a visit. She was in her twenties and just met a new guy, who she left back home.

This young guy (now my brother in law) was in love, and wanted to show my sister how much he cares. So he phoned the embassy, spoke with our security guys, and requested them to buy her flowers and to arrange for the flowers to be sent to our house. Probably a smooth move as they are married today.

Well, why won't I do the same and send my best friend flowers for her birthday? Only today is 2009, the internet is much more developed and there is no need for such extreme actions.

I started searching the web, and I stumbled across FromYouFlowers.com They have so many products to choose from , and not only flowers but also gift baskets and plants.

However, what I really like about FromYouFlowers.com is that they deliver to 160 different countries! This is so cool I can send birthday gifts to any of my expat friends or family around the world.

I just hope my best friend would like it.

Would you be happy with this kind of birthday gift?

Sharon

How Can US Expats Avoid Taxes Headache?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:06:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

One of the biggest headaches and time consuming is the need to file your taxes.

Filling taxes is a huge assignment for everyone, but if you are an expat it gets a lot more complicated. I am sure many of you have postponed their tax filling until the very last minute, and some were even tempted to ignore it.

The good news is there is a great solution for USA expats. (I promise to search for solutions for other nationalities as well).

So, US expats - You do not need to file your taxes by yourself. You can consult an expert who can guide you through the process easily.

expatcfo.com - Expats Certified Public Accountants offers a Premier Tax CFO Program, specifically designed for Americans living and working abroad.

Among the services that expatcfo.com provides, you can find:

1. guidance through the complexities of the tax laws, and tax solutions that will help you make good decisions for your family and your future.

2. Activation of a secure, on-line financial world portal for you to organize and focus your personal financial information and critical documents.

3. Optimization of your financial world with tools, resources, and professional consultations that provide you with holistic tax solutions that make sense for your unique situation.

4. Aggregation of your financial world portal to provide you with nightly updates of your various banking, mortgage, credit card, retirement plan, and investments balances - all in one place!

5. Preparation of your necessary Federal and State annual tax returns, which include regular tax projection consultations so that you can avoid any year-end tax surprises.

As expats you have so much on your plate, from family transitions to language barriers to accessing your documents. So why not let the experts handle your tax preparation.

Sharon

How Expats are Greeting the Locals in Their Host Countries?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Hi everyone

I read recently a blog post at a reluctant mom about greeting and why it can sometimes become very confusing.

Greeting can put you in awkward situations, especially if you are an expat living in a foreign country. I was curious how other expats are feeling about this, so I posted a question on twitter asking - I am curious - How do you greet others in your host country?

I would like to share with you some of the answers:

@US_Unlocked Hey, how are ya?

@JessInChina kidding right? I smile & say hello. they act like I just tried 2 rob them. rush on by. I'm a chick for goodness sake!

@AnnKatrin_B - A Swede in Germany - I look learn and follow and sometimes excuse myself for being a silly Swede not understanding all the rules of greeting... Whom to kiss on the cheek, how many times, who should have a handshake, who do you "wave" to - impossible to know. I try though.

@sarainsantiago Usually a kiss on the cheek.

@bellavventura 'Moien' (Luxembourgish) that when I have to revert to French.

@hollysuel I'm in Finland and it is the same as the USA...

@msamayoa i'm from Latin America (El Salvador) and how we great there is handshake for guys and one kiss on cheek for girls... :)

@TheWritingWell - A brit expat living in the Netherlands - in NL it is with 3 kisses on alternate cheeks with friends, family and those u know. It's a handshake for strangers.

magpiegirl In Denmark you are supposed to introduce your self and maybe shake hands. no kissing or hugging. but in the Danish expat community it is all over the map! handshakes, hugs, 1, 2 or 3 kisess...we all just bumble and laugh.

I find this list very interesting, Don't you?

Please contribute to the above list by sending a tweet to @expatsguide, or by commenting on this post.

Sharon

Resources for Families who are Moving Overseas with a Child with Special Education Needs

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

It is almost the end of May and many of you are probably busy with your kids end of the year school activities. I sure am busy with one kid graduating elementry school, and 2 others taking their finals.

However it is also the perfect time to start thinking about the next school year. Are you moving to a new country? Do you have a kid with special needs? Are you concerned if you can find the right school for him/her in your new country? Do you know how to start searching?

The good news is that there is an increasing awareness of the need for quality information and guidance for parents with speacial needs kids, who are moving or living overseas.

Kate Goggin the website content manager at U.S. State Department has just published a special education overseas reference guide for families who are moving overseas with a child with special education needs. Among the useful information you can also find a list of overseas schools offering support to children with special needs. The list is organized by countries. So all you need to do is find the country you are moving to and browse the list of schools. This can serve a great startng point.

If you are living in the Netherlands then there is a special needs conference for expats in Netherlands on 14th June and another one on family in general on 6th June, led by Brandi McCollum of familysolutions.nl.

Do any of you know about another conference or resource for families who are moving overseas with kids with special needs? Please share them through the comments of the blog, and I will make sure to add your information.

Sharon

Why Speaking the Local Language is Important?

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:13:00 +0000

Hi Everyone

I had the honor to attend the celebration of Europe day that was hosted by the European Commission's Delegation to Israel yesterday on 12 May 2009.

The event was packed with diplomats from all over the world. It started with a cocktail and continued with a wonderful concert conducted by the amazing German conductor Kurt Masur.

The concert was opened to the wide Israeli public.

Mr. Ramiro Cibrian the Head of the European Delegation delivered a speech before the concert started. Now everyone in Israel understand English, so Mr. Ramiro could easily delivered his speech in English, and no one would have wondered. But, instead he decided to deliver the speech in Hebrew.

Wow, what a great decision. The Israeli audience was so flattered that Mr. Ramiro took the time and made the effort to speak in Hebrew (not a very common language). And not only that, in his speech he managed to capture the Israeli culture. It felt like he was a true Israeli.

All this has reaffirmed my belief that if you truly want to experience the local country you must learn the local language. Not only you would feel more comfortable in the foreign environment, you will also gain the respect of the locals.

What do you think?

Do have any stories about how knowing the local language changed the way you experienced life in your host country?

Sharon