I received an email from an expat living in Spain’s Costa del Sol last week, who was understandably concerned and angry about the falling pound. Basically, he was asking what the UK Government was going to do about it. Apparently, both he and his wife are now having to seriously cut back on both food …more

A new survey of retired British expats has produced some interesting, but not surprising results. It claims that around one third of those interviewed intend to return to the UK, because they are dissatisfied with their expat experience, which includes increases in costs of living and financial concerns. During my years as an expat living …more

The World recession has changed attitudes to many issues. For expats intending to start a new life in Spain, the option of buying a home before the recession, possibly with a cheap Spanish mortgage was always a tempting one. Good value properties were readily and cheaply available, and mortgages were never too much of a …more

Many expats living in Spain fail to recognise the importance of family and community to the Spanish people. Unlike many Northern European countries, where the sick and elderly are shipped off to hospitals, care homes and hospices, it is still the culture in many Mediterranean countries that families generally take care of their own. I …more

Nothing disturbs the mind of an otherwise dedicated expat, and particularly those of the retired variety, than being unable to watch their favorite TV programs from their home country. Admittedly, in countries such as Spain, France, Portugal and Italy, watching a good dose of national TV from time to time does help to improve language …more

After a short lived affair as a cub scout, where I learned to leap out of trees badly, build shelters that collapsed and was never able to light fires by rubbing stones (or was it sticks?) together, as well an assortment of valuable life saving skills. I also learned to be kind and helpful to …more

I rarely trust statistics, and particularly those in articles in the press that begin with “According to the latest statistics…”. I know far too much about how ‘flexible’ statistics can be, and how they can be twisted and manipulated to match the political arguments and headline grabbing deceptions of the day. Recent headlines in the …more

The experiences that come with being a retired expat mean that, very quickly, we are put in a position when we learn more about ourselves. Characteristics that we learn to associate with those from other nations are usually quickly dispelled and, hopefully, we begin to learn more about people of other faiths, cultures and those …more