Categories ArchivesExpats

When you think of Italy, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Pizza? Espresso? The Coliseum? Maybe it’s fashion, sports cars, wine, or Renaissance art… Perhaps you’ve heard that you can retire for under $2,000 a month there.     Yes, there are dozens of reasons why anybody would want to live in Italy. But a little planning is necessary. So, if you want to make moving to Italy a reality, here are 10 things to consider and prepare for: 1. Visas and Paperwork As an American, you’ll need to get a Work Visa, either by applying for one from the USA or by finding a company in Italy to hire you and initiate the paperwork on ...

  Costa Rica is known as one of the happiest places on earth. And for good reason – Costa Rica is an extremely peaceful country (it has had no standing army since 1949) and the catchword is “Pura Vida” – “Pure Life”. Beyond that, there is an abundance of beaches, wildlife, jungles, adventurous trails, good food and smiles in the small country on the Central America isthmus, wedged between Nicaragua and Panama. If you’re planning on moving to Costa Rica and becoming one of Costa Rica’s happy people, we’ve listed the nine most important things to consider before embarking on the journey:     1.      Visas: Fortunately for US and Canadian citizens, no visa is required to enter Costa Rica ...

If you are considering moving to Hong Kong, there are a number of important things to handle before you leave: Generally speaking, all foreign residents require a visa or entry permit to work, study, establish a business or to take up residence. If you are not being sponsored by an employer, relocating for work, or moving inter-company, it is wise to have a job offer before moving. The processing time for a visa application is between 6-8 weeks. Here are the different types of visas available: Work visas: These are normally granted for the duration of your employment contract, although generally not for more than 2 years. Investment Visa: These visas are issued to entrepreneurs starting a business in Hong ...

If you have decided that Tel Aviv is where you want to live, then you need to know exactly how to go about finding an apartment and negotiating a rental agreement in Israel. It can be a tortuous and frustrating process, if you don’t have some guidance, so here are some tips on moving to Israel to help you get started: 1.Lay the groundwork Israelis know that the best way to find an apartment anywhere in the country is to go through online sites such as Yad 2 or Homeless.co.il on which people post their apartments for sale and rent without having to go through an agent. (By the way, Yad 2 – which means “Second-hand” – also offers a ...

Once you know to where you’re going to relocate, one of the most important tasks you will have to accomplish is to find a new place to call ‘home’.  Whether you want to live in a house or an apartment, finding a new home abroad before you arrive can be a bit of a challenge. You want to see the house or apartment and check out the neighborhood, meet the neighbors, and hang out in the area to see if it is a good fit for you and your family – all of which isn’t always possible when you are house hunting thousands of miles away. But with the right tools, connections and planning, it doesn’t need to be as ...

Lots of people are choosing to move abroad nowadays – just read this blog post!  But when you make your decision to do so, whether it’s for business, pleasure, retirement or adventure, you have to make a rather important decision…where you are going to live and for how long? The basic dilemma will be: rent or buy a home? Of course, this decision will be pretty much based on factors such as the length of time you intend spending abroad and the affordability of each option. But there are other factors that should be considered, as well. Here are 4 of the more important issues you need to think about before making your choice: 1. What is your long-term plan? ...

There was once a time was when a long-distance move to the other side of the world – or even the other end of the country – meant saying goodbye to friends and family for forever, only to maintain contact with them through “snail mail” or extremely expensive telephone calls. How things have changed! Now you can be virtually in your loved-ones’ living room at the click of a button – er, sorry, icon. Apart from that, air travel has become much cheaper, easier and quicker (ignoring the security checks for the moment) that getting back home is less of a problem than it used to be. Many simple ways of keeping in touch long-distance have become available in recent ...