Living and Working Abroad
Hello Expat browser, Most of our Paros Paradise web site is about Paros and our life on a Greek island. This page is intended to have more information and links about living away from your home country, wherever that may be.
If you want to read more about our particular expatriate nomad lifestyle, first in Ireland, then Greece and Czechia, try our overview site, Travel Shepherd. If you want to read an article about how we came to choose to be expatriates, find it here. Our first several years on Paros we published a newsletter every few months with highlights of our island lifestyle. Find the archives, here.
The biggest question on the mind of everyone considering living abroad is Can I Afford It? At various times for various purposes I have written articles about specific aspects of earning a living in a foreign country. Some of these are found on the page Work at Home — On the Beach
Moving Money: Expats, global nomads and long term travelers are always looking for more convenient and cheaper ways to get funds from their home country to their residence country. Now electronics have come to the rescue with a new company backed by Richard Branson and others. I have used them and been quite satisfied. My local bank charges 1% and takes 28 to 30 days to process a draft on my USA account (wire transfers cost much more); TransferWise charges the same 1% but takes under 3 days. Please use this link to check them out. The first transfer is free.
Of the many foreigners who have relocated to Greece a few have written books about their experiences. We highly recommend anyone considering any foreign country should read a few personal accounts before taking the plunge. In both Ireland and Greece we enjoyed reading others accounts and then seeking out the locations that they described.
During our initial year on the island we read On a Greek Island by Fionnuala Brennan, an Irish woman, and then later met Fionnuala and her husband Rory who maintain a house here but now live in Ireland. The main value of this delightful story is a record of a time that is long gone on islands now dominated by tourism. Like the lifestyle the book appears to be out of print; it was published by Poolbeg in 1998.
Here is another book we found enjoyable and useful:
The book pictured by John Mole we read later and enjoyed although it too is now a tale 30 years old. Still we felt the author did an excellent job of developing the background behind many of the character traits of the Greek personality. Although the story is about rebuilding a ruined farmhouse on the large island of Evia we recognized many of our neighbours in his characterizations.
2020 UPDATE: Our much more recent experiences: Kilo of String
Check out this recent book for a variety of expat experiences in a variety of locales:
Here are other sites that contain a great deal of current information about living and working in a foreign country.
- Corfu – Bob and Tricia Giles are having fun.
- InterNations- Global Expat Network – Full of useful information and social contacts. We especially enjoyed their activity groups while living in Prague. If you join, look me, Michael, up!
- International Living – This was one of our first resources eons ago. Inspiring. Identify the best places to retire, buy real estate, and to live. Articles about savvy travel, message boards and home swapping.
- Paros Life was the local expat newsletter with a wealth of factual information and features of interest to the longer term resident. Still alive on Facebook.
- Workaway has a huge data base of cultural exchange opportunities.
If you have more time than money, check out our page for International Volunteer Opportunities
