Many years ago several years after I was discharged from the Army, I was a relatively new husband with a wife and a three-year-old daughter. At the time we lived in a modest house in California’s San Fernando Valley (a suburb of Los Angeles). My mother-in-law lived in Los Angeles near the Miracle Mile district …more

10 years ago we bought an apartment in Bagni di Lucca. We did almost no research. An Italian friend suggested Lucca as a suitable place to buy. We loved Lucca, but a home there was a bit out our price range so we headed north to Bagni di Lucca, a collection of villages in the …more

These days there are lists after lists of what you should be doing to live longer, make it to retirement, feel better, and all of that. Take a look online or in magazines. 10 ways to do everything faster. 10 ways to plan for retirement. 10 ways to feel younger. How did we ever exist …more

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After 23 years of living at Lake Chapala in Mexico, I decided to strike out and explore where I might want to live next. I was already familiar with Spanish-language countries; I had lived a happy, interesting, and contented life in Mexico since I was 40 years old. However, after 25 years as a single …more

Sorry about the title, but after several weeks writing about Wills, Death and Cockroaches for expats, I thought it was time to move on to something a little more cheerful, and that this would catch your attention. Let us consider a subject that I know is very dear to the hearts of many expats, and …more

Before retiring, many of my more recent jobs and consulting assignments required the use of, or software development for the Internet. The reach of the Web always fascinated me. How else can something you write, record, photograph or video have the potential to be instantly available to hundreds, thousands or even millions of people around …more

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With the down turn of the American economy and a big hit to our retirement funds my husband and I decided to outsource our retirement. I began reading everything on the Intranet about the best places to retire. Out of the blue, my India born husband said why not India. I did some reading and …more

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Burglary is a common occurrence at our rural, Northwest Arkansas home. How the thief gets in, steals what he wants, and gets out without leaving a single clue indicates a level of true professionalism. The doors haven’t been jimmied, the windows remain closed and locked, and yet numerous items continue to disappear. In fact, this …more

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