Moving is exciting for some and dreadful for others.  The chore of packing all your personal belongings, making new friends and confronting the unknown can be daunting.  However, a change of scenery, great job opportunity or better lifestyle can be extremely motivating factors.  Regardless of whether you are looking forward to the big day or looking for anything to do but think about it, relocation is sure to bring a host of different experiences, ranging from complete excitement to an absolute nightmare, especially when moving overseas.  The packing process can be tricky, including the crucial decision when only one box is left: Is placing cleaning products and dry foods in the same box a bad idea?  An enquiry that today remains unanswered.  However, there are even more issues to solve when this move is being made to another country, including import taxes and “Where they heck do I pick up my stuff anyway?!” So, after packing up your life as you know it, managing to get it to another country and into your new home, the fun part begins: Living abroad! The expatriate is sure to ride the emotional rollercoaster after arriving in the host country, and a great majority of these ups and downs has to do with cultural differences.  Cultural differences are here to stay and are what make life interesting.  If you arrive in a new country with your ethnocentric thinking cap on, then all you’re going to get is a lot of migraines (the only plus being the funky Panamanian Panadol).

Your computer, software, databases, files, applications, systems software and computer networks are all part of your information technology (IT) assets.  Like most other public and private organizations, you and your company are extremely dependent upon IT and would find it impractical if not almost impossible to function without it.  Any temporary or extended loss to any portion of these IT assets could have tremendous impact on your company’s financial and economic stability and to your own security.  This eBook details 18 Steps for Protection of Your Information Assets as part of a plan to ensure the protection and recovery of your vital information assets. The reality is that because you depend on crucial IT assets, you cannot risk being without such a plan.

With regards to educating oneself about a country’s cultural nuances, I recommend the crash course lesson, which is showing up at the local watering hole and getting knackered with the natives.   However, a more civilized approach would be to surf the internet, checking out a variety of online resources, such as blogs, forums and travel sites.   Forums are excellent because one can post a question and get an assortment of answers from different individuals.  Good expatriate websites with great forums are www.expatexchange.com and
www.expatforums.org.  Also, www.escapeartist.comEscape Artist provides an array of articles about living, working, investing & traveling overseas - including international real estate.

In addition to learning more about the country to which one will immigrate, expatriates can also develop a better understanding about the emotions they will undergo after relocation.  (She said “emotion,” ahhhh! Don’t worry!)  According to Professor Steve Barnett of the University of Louisville, most expatriates experience a common series of emotions upon arrival in a foreign country. 

Before the move, you usually feel nervous, excited, scared, and/or all of the above.  Upon arrival, you are on cloud nine.  After all, life is exciting!  Walking around the block is guaranteed to be barrels of fun, all the while ruminating as to why you did not make the move sooner.  After a couple of months, the honeymoon is over.  Walking around the block would be possible if they fixed that darn sidewalk or implemented some form of traffic control!  The language barrier is finally getting to you and practicing has become more of a chore than a novelty.  The expected, but dreaded, culture shock has arrived.  But, you cannot go back now!  After all, you just got here.  So, you put on a smile, sonrisa, sourire or whatever the heck it is called, and get on with your life.  Then, one day, you realize that you have been doing just that, getting on with your life.  Wow!  You have been living in a foreign country and actually learned how to grocery shop (200-grams of meat, none of that pound nonsense!) and pay your electricity bill.  You find yourself becoming more competent and more familiar with the insider knowledge.  Hooray! 

For expatriates returning to their native country after a work assignment, they are expected to experience a reverse culture shock upon arrival, which will eventually subside. 

For individuals that plan to relocate abroad permanently, whether for retirement, a better life or to be with a spouse, then I hope this finds them well.  If you are in the stages of culture shock, then let this serve as a sort of pick-me-up.  If you have already fought the good fight and can laugh at the fact that “nothing works,” then I hope this brings a smile to your face. ?

Watch Internet TV about <a href="http://www.latinre.tv/">Panama and Panama Real Estate</a>!
<a href="http://www.latinre.tv/">Quality Investment possesses 300+ listings of Panama Real Estate</a>!

Joint Adventures - How Anyone Can Create Financial Freedom with No Cost or Risk, Using Joint Ventures  - Financial independence offers people freedom, dignity, self respect, education, quality of life and personal growth opportunities. This eBook is an instruction manual that shows the reader how to use Joint Ventures to create multiple streams of increasing passive income with no cost or risk and how to remove all income limitations from your life. It will show you how financial freedom can be yours.This book is designed to literally change your life. The simple, no-nonsense approach contained in this eBook shows how you can retire in a relatively short time using Joint Ventures, whether you have a business or not and regardless of your background or situation. This remarkable approach is based on 19 years of experience and proven systems.