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A Tale of Two Expat Spouses

I’m later than normal writing this post because this month has been a little hectic: I have finally launched my book, the Expat Partner’s Survival Guide. In the making for the past three or four years, the Survival Guide is

Expat Packing (Say That Six Times Quickly)

A recent article about smart packing got me thinking about my packing list for the annual, month-long trip to the motherland. With weight restrictions these days, any kind of packing requires some forethought but for many expats, staying with family

Why Every Expat Needs A Blind Date

Those dam butterflies in my stomach… they’re persistent buggers! I try to catch my breath, inhaling, deeply… as our car crawls slowly in and out of lanes, jammed with thick Saturday evening traffic. We are late. Naively forgetting about the

My Love Affair With Italy Begins

I FELL IN LOVE WITH Italy the minute I spotted that peach-colored swing coat in Florence more than twenty years ago. Though it was ruinously expensive, I had to possess it. Being nineteen at the time certainly helped me decide.

Shopping For Expats In France

We emigrated to the Morvan in 2005 from rural Suffolk. By the time we left, shopping in our nearest town, Woodbridge, was no fun at all. The town had for various reasons – rapacious rents, scarce and costly parking, and

Clang, Clang, Clang Went The Trolley

An exciting new development has started here in St Louis, as work on the Delmar Loop Trolley gets underway. I’m sure there have been other films set here, but “Meet me in St Louis” is certainly the most famous. Like