Who are you?

My name is Jerry Nelson. I am a 57yo male from America. As a freelance photojournalist, I get to travel many different places and experience many different things. Much different than the life I would've had if I'd have stayed in the small mountain town in Virginia where I was raised.

Where, when and why did you move abroad?

2009 I came to Costa Rica. Following the break up with my fiance at the time, I just had to “get away”. While traveling so much is a form of getting “away”, I wanted somewhere that wasn't America; somewhere that people might appreciate the possessions they owned and appreciate the people around them.   more ...

Who are you?

I am Steven, a United States citizen, who is 28 years old. I have always dreamed of travelling and exploring the world, but until I moved one year ago, I had never even used my passport that I optimistically obtained when I was 19 years old. After receiving my PhD in chemical physics from a university in the United States of America, I decided that I wanted to do something more interesting than simply another post-doc or applying for a job that would start me on a career. Instead, I found short-term work with a German development firm, which would station me in Cairo for one year.   more ...

Contact Tom for a free, no-obligation discussion of your financial situation if you are a US citizen living abroad or a foreign national living in the USA.

Many US citizens living abroad have recently been contacted by their US brokerage firms to inform them that their accounts have either been frozen such that they can no longer change their investments or that they need to close their accounts entirely.

Even large brokerage firms and banks such as Fidelity and Wells-Fargo in many instances no longer want to deal with non-US resident clients through their US offices. Often there is little in the way of explanation, just a letter in the mail or a phone call from a broker who is following instructions and doesn’t really understand the issue.   more ...

Contact Tom for a free, no-obligation discussion of your financial situation if you are a US citizen living abroad or a foreign national living in the USA.

Many US citizens living abroad have recently been contacted by their US brokerage firms to inform them that their accounts have either been frozen such that they can no longer change their investments or that they need to close their accounts entirely.

Even large brokerage firms and banks such as Fidelity and Wells-Fargo in many instances no longer want to deal with non-US resident clients through their US offices. Often there is little in the way of explanation, just a letter in the mail or a phone call from a broker who is following instructions and really doesn’t understand the issue.   more ...

Living in a paradise that many see as a tourist destination does tend to increase the likelihood of visitors. As we have lived in such places for a while now, we’ve perfected the visitor strategy so that we balance the time we play tour guides with the time we must stick to our guns and continue life as usual (which for me includes chunks of time for writing and working on client projects).

The wonderful thing about having visitors is that we can then play tourists in our own town and explore new places and perhaps re-visit some of our favourites. Since our guests tend to vary in age and levels of ‘adventuresome-ness’ we do have to adjust accordingly.

A recent visit of my adult nephews triggered what I would call, in retrospect, the perfect Phuket day!   more ...

by Omaira Gill

Greece had never featured particularly high on my radar of places I wanted to visit. I found myself there in August 2004 after successfully applying to volunteer at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. But Greece is the home of interfering gods and the Fates, and they had other plans for me. What was to be a one-off two week trip ended up turning into a much longer relationship.

On my first day as a volunteer, I met my husband who was coordinating the centre where I was based. I returned to the UK and we stayed in touch. Our conversations became longer and more frequent, and the rest is history.

We managed a long-distance relationship for several years until it came to the crunch – who was going to move?   more ...

by Matthew Jorgensen

One way or another, you’ve landed a job in Germany and have an expected date of arrival. Now what? Preparing to move to Germany can seem like a daunting task. For my family and I it was the first time we would live outside of the USA. We had some guidelines from the foundation that was employing me, but they weren’t targeted to people coming from the States so most of the advice didn’t seem to apply. Emails to my contacts in Germany went unanswered for weeks, so we more or less had to figure things out on our own. Here’s how we did it, along with some of the mistakes we made.

The Setup

Money for relocation was very tight for us.   more ...

So you plan to pack up and move to Korea? Great! Just remember, everything might not go according to plan. I had planned to go for one year, and told everyone I’d be home soon. Seven years later, I finally left. I also met people who didn’t last a year, and returned home after 6 months, unable to adjust to life in the Land of the Morning Calm. Based on my own years of experience, here are 5 things every expat should know when they board a plane with a one-way ticket to Seoul.

1. Listen to the Voice of Experience – Maybe

If you apply for a job, talk to as many current and former employees as you can. If a whole chorus of current employees is speaking up about problems with working conditions, late payments or other serious issues – listen to them, and look for another position.   more ...

by Lindsey Coulter

Most new expats arriving in South Korea will do so via Incheon International, a sprawling complex of futuristic terminals and expansive runways. Incheon International is about as technologically advanced as an airport can get, a theme repeated across the country from classrooms to supermarkets.

When this modern, user-friendly Korea is an expat’s first introduction to the country, it’s easy to believe everything else will be a snap. Signs are posted in a variety of languages, everyone speaks English, both Dunkin Donuts and a Baskin Robbins are right at hand and even the train system is a breeze. Newly minted expats depart from the airport feeling generally confident. It’s only when they’re on the ground, forced to make life work in a new land and language that things get a little more interesting.   more ...

Catastrophe-in-waiting or self-development opportunity?

Hi everyone! Since I’ve been away summer has smiled on Ontario and Toronto’s already had its first heat alert; the beaches are open and the festival season is about to kick off. While I apologise for my unscheduled absence, (more on that in a minute) it has given me the opportunity to share with you a personal issue that also poses a dilemma for some would-be expatriates.

Livin’ la vida loca
As readers of my blog Expatlog already know, I’m diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). You can read about what that’s like to live with here, but suffice to say its hallmarks are emotional instability, black-and-white thinking, poor impulse-control, a hazy sense of identity and increased anxiety in the face of change. 10% of those diagnosed commit suicide.   more ...