http://www.expatify.com Expat Blogs & Community Magazine Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:30:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.expatify.com/turkey/prices-of-food-and-groceries-in-turkey.html http://www.expatify.com/turkey/prices-of-food-and-groceries-in-turkey.html#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:30:46 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7546 For so many expat-related questions there are solid resources to get specific answers, but I’ve noticed that when it comes to prices of groceries it can be nearly impossible to find the information, or to trust if if you do find it. There’s a TEFL (teaching English) site that provides lists of groceries and their [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/turkey/prices-of-food-and-groceries-in-turkey.html/feed 0 http://www.expatify.com/spain/for-retiring-expats-choosing-the-right-location-is-only-part-of-the-equation.html http://www.expatify.com/spain/for-retiring-expats-choosing-the-right-location-is-only-part-of-the-equation.html#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:43:00 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7541 When writing for a website that is mostly about different locations around the world that are popular with expats, it’s easy to focus way too much on the location itself when it comes to being happy. I think it’s common for almost all of us who are shivering away in a snowy winter city to [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/spain/for-retiring-expats-choosing-the-right-location-is-only-part-of-the-equation.html/feed 0 http://www.expatify.com/turkey/the-pros-and-cons-of-expat-escapism.html http://www.expatify.com/turkey/the-pros-and-cons-of-expat-escapism.html#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:27:13 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7537 People become expats for all kinds of reasons, and some of us lucky enough to have done it by choice by moving out of a First World country are doing at at least partially in the name of escapism. I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately because I’m an American who is delighted [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/turkey/the-pros-and-cons-of-expat-escapism.html/feed 2 http://www.expatify.com/spain/new-survey-of-british-expats-shows-spain-canada-and-germany-are-where-they-are-happiest.html http://www.expatify.com/spain/new-survey-of-british-expats-shows-spain-canada-and-germany-are-where-they-are-happiest.html#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:51:49 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7532 A brand-new expat survey shows some very interesting results, but also shows that it’s hard to take any one of these surveys too seriously. Specifically, a new poll of British expats done by Lloyds TSB International of people who’ve relocated to 10 different countries shows that Spain, Canada, and Germany get the highest marks for [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/spain/new-survey-of-british-expats-shows-spain-canada-and-germany-are-where-they-are-happiest.html/feed 4 http://www.expatify.com/advice/living-abroad-without-health-insurance-isnt-as-risky-as-you-might-think.html http://www.expatify.com/advice/living-abroad-without-health-insurance-isnt-as-risky-as-you-might-think.html#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:56:07 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7527 In a more perfect world, every citizen everywhere would have affordable access to high-quality health care and medicine. But most of the world isn’t even close to this ideal, and for many it’s all about risk and trade-offs and hoping for some good luck. Some people seem to be terrified of leaving the United States [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/advice/living-abroad-without-health-insurance-isnt-as-risky-as-you-might-think.html/feed 3 http://www.expatify.com/new-zealand/new-zealand-ranks-1-in-worklife-balance-in-new-expat-survey.html http://www.expatify.com/new-zealand/new-zealand-ranks-1-in-worklife-balance-in-new-expat-survey.html#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:39:52 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7519 It’s hard to find people who’ve visited New Zealand and haven’t at least briefly considered moving there, and a recent survey shows that those who do tend to be quite happy about the decision. New Zealand actually ranked #1 in several key categories of global expats, but one that stands out as very imporant is [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/new-zealand/new-zealand-ranks-1-in-worklife-balance-in-new-expat-survey.html/feed 0 http://www.expatify.com/advice/expat-bars-and-why-we-love-to-hate-them.html http://www.expatify.com/advice/expat-bars-and-why-we-love-to-hate-them.html#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:51:52 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7512 When I grew up in Orange County, California there was a small windowless bar near my high school where Mexicans were the main clientele. Only recently did it occur to me that it was an “expat bar,” because we normally use that term to describe a place where better-off foreign residents congregate in so-called ‘developing’ [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/advice/expat-bars-and-why-we-love-to-hate-them.html/feed 0 http://www.expatify.com/advice/world%e2%80%99s-best-places-to-live-in-2012-survey-reveals-some-strange-choices.html http://www.expatify.com/advice/world%e2%80%99s-best-places-to-live-in-2012-survey-reveals-some-strange-choices.html#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:22:23 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7506 This time of year we are deluged with lists involving either last year or the current one, and a new entry that might be of interest to the expat communities has just been released. The Daily Telegraph in the UK (known for its right-wing politics and likely an upscale readership) has announced the results of [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/advice/world%e2%80%99s-best-places-to-live-in-2012-survey-reveals-some-strange-choices.html/feed 2 http://www.expatify.com/thailand/expat-podcasts-are-an-excellent-resource-and-much-more.html http://www.expatify.com/thailand/expat-podcasts-are-an-excellent-resource-and-much-more.html#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:29:49 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7501 Still in its infancy, the podcasting movement is already providing remarkable information and entertainment to both broad and niche audiences, and the expat world is becoming increasingly covered. Podcasts, in case you aren’t yet familiar, are basically radio shows (sometimes video shows) that are free and can be automatically downloaded to your computer as each [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/thailand/expat-podcasts-are-an-excellent-resource-and-much-more.html/feed 0 http://www.expatify.com/ecuador/top-retirement-havens-for-2012-points-again-towards-latin-america.html http://www.expatify.com/ecuador/top-retirement-havens-for-2012-points-again-towards-latin-america.html#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:14:58 +0000 Tom http://www.expatify.com/?p=7496 It’s of little surprise that the new list of ‘best places to retire’ appears to be loaded with destinations in Latin America, plus a handful in Asia. International Living Magazine puts out a yearly list of its 19 highest rated retirement countries and this year’s list has Ecuador on top overall. The entire list is gated [...]]]> http://www.expatify.com/ecuador/top-retirement-havens-for-2012-points-again-towards-latin-america.html/feed 0