The Secret Advantage of Expats
Dateline: Derry, Northern Ireland If you’re a person who makes a living through entrepreneurial pursuits, whether it’s business, investing, or consulting, you already know that you frequently need to be a creative problem solver. That’s practically common knowledge....
Why the US election doesn’t matter (as much as you think)
Dateline: Letterkenny, Ireland I’m writing this in mid-November 2016. If you’ve walked past a TV anywhere in the world or graced social media any time over the last year and a half you’ve seen highlights from the clown show known as a US federal election. From the...
4 Reasons Every Person Needs a Second (or Third) Passport Post 9/11
Dateline: Letterkenny, Ireland History has trends. One of the most obvious and major trends in the West since the attacks on September 11, 2001 is that governments are becoming more authoritarian. In London, there are cameras watching virtually everyone. In the US,...
A New World Requires New Tools and Services
Dateline: Oslo, Norway + Budapest, Hungary I’m starting this article at the airport in Oslo, Norway. I’ll finish and send it from a hotel room in Budapest, Hungary. Thirty years ago, based on that information, you might have guessed I was an executive with a big oil...
Still hesitating about going offshore? Go buy a lottery ticket
Dateline: Belfast, Northern Ireland Go buy a lottery ticket. Does that sound like the stupidest financial advice you could ever read? Maybe it is. On the other hand, it might be the best two bucks you spend this week. Let me explain why. First of all, let’s make...
If You Want to Become an Expat, Hurry Up
Dateline: Derry, Northern Ireland I first became an expat 31 years ago when I legally emigrated to the United States and successfully pursued a green card. Years later, I left the US, surrendered my green card, and became a legal permanent resident of Belize. After...
Well-Diversified Victims: Why regular diversification isn’t enough
Dateline: Dublin, Ireland Every book about investment basics talks about the value of having your portfolio well diversified. The rationale is that if you hold all of your net worth in, say, energy stocks and a relevant global event triggers huge losses in the energy...
My Expat Medical Plans
Dateline: Pattaya, Thailand One of the major challenges of expat life is making sure you have decent medical care and coverage. I’ve noticed that the 20-somethings who travel the world seldom talk about this. But I’m 57 years old and my wife is only a few years behind...
My #1 Reason for Being an Expat
We all have our own priorities in life. We each make our own subjective assessment of what trade-offs are worth it and which are not. These decisions, whether we explicitly realize it or not, depend on our personal values. Leaving one’s native country can be a...
Freedom Requires Choices
Dateline: Guangzhou, China Freedom is a cheap word. It gets thrown around, particularly by politicians and their accomplices, in ways that cheapen and corrupt the concept. One thing people have in common in Venezuela, the UK, America, China, North Korea, and the...