Archive for the ‘Adapting abroad’ Category

You may have reached that age when retirement has arrived and now you are wondering whether you should settle at home or embrace the expat retirement life. If you are considering the latter, you will be joining the millions of retirees who have ventured abroad in search of a better, healthier and more peaceful lifestyle. International […]

Trailing spouses are dependents; that is quite a hard word to swallow for someone who has a thriving career at home and gives it up for their family or their spouse’s career. It may be you, suddenly staring at your visa and reading the word dependent on it. You’ve gone from being a self-sufficient, hard-working […]

When you’ve been having the same Christmas dinner every year of your life, it’s hard to imagine eating anything else. In my case the Christmas dinner is turkey, pasta, salad and way too much dessert. People seldom contemplate trying something new, especially if it is an ingrained tradition in your family. If you’re living abroad […]

It’s that time of year again when the kids are off school for a couple of weeks. The working spouse may not have the same privilege and might only have a couple days off work, which means that, as expats, it’s not always possible to fly back home for the holidays. If you are not […]

It’s that time of year again, it’s time to set up a piñata dressed in men’s clothing and fill it with lit firecrackers. The piñata is set on fire 15 minutes before the clock strikes 12 at midnight. In Mexico, it’s our way of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming in the new […]

While there are certainly many occasions when you feel homesick while living abroad, there’s something about spending your holidays abroad, especially the first time, that can make you feel really isolated. This is normal; everywhere you look families and friends are joining together, acting as a constant reminder that you are far away from home.

Moving to a new country for an adult is a challenge, but towing a whole family along with you can multiply the challenges greatly. Although it tends to be easier for children to adapt to new environments, make new friends and learn new languages, it can still be challenging for them to adapt to a […]

Being a doctor is a transferable skill, human bodies are the same regardless of nationality; so  treating someone in Kuala Lumpur is the same as treating them in Kigali. Apart from language barriers, it is still fairly easy for doctors to practice their profession in a foreign country. A UK politician recently revealed that her […]

The National Sleep Foundation released their 2015 Sleep Duration Recommendations earlier this year. They suggest that a newborn baby should be sleeping up to 17 hours a day. According to me, so should adults. However, healthy sleeping patterns vary greatly between age groups, reducing until adulthood. As adults, we should be getting between 7 and […]

It’s that time of year again, the start of the university semester. For those starting their first term it means the rise in the sale of two things: tissues, as doting parents wipe away their tears as their cherubs leave the nest; and booze. Students going to university for the first time will be perusing […]