International Travel Tips: Smart Ways to Plan and Enjoy Your Trip

A small squirrel monkey with a white face and orange fur clings to a vibrant green palm frond, illustrating the daily presence of wildlife in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica

Top 10 Culture Shocks You’ll Notice When You Move to Costa Rica

Even if you’ve visited a country many times before moving there, the experience shifts once you live there. Vacations offer a curated glimpse, but living somewhere reveals the unedited version.…

A colorful street in Oaxaca, Mexico, with a mountain in the background, representing an authentic travel experience beyond the resort.

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Culture

Life Beyond the Resort

For many first-time travelers, the resort feels like a safety net. After all, it’s a carefully curated ecosystem where the local culture is distilled into a loosely drawn sketch, ensuring…

The bright yellow clock tower of the Xalapa Cathedral against a blue sky, representing the city's rich culture and history for potential expats.

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Mexico

Could Xalapa Be Mexico’s Best-Kept Cultural Secret?

If you’re searching for a home in Mexico where cloud forest fog mingles with the aroma of freshly roasted coffee, university students gather in verdant plazas and chic cafés, and…

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South America

A Welsh Homeland at the Edge of Argentina

A New Wales in the New World Picture this: you’re in a cottage, tucking into a plate of Bara Brith with a cup of tea. The sound of Christian hymns…

Colorful cliffside village of Positano Italy with pink and white buildings overlooking Mediterranean Sea showing Mediterranean charm for expats relocating

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Plan B

The Countries That Make Starting Over Feel Possible

It is easy to talk about starting over in broad, aspirational terms. To imagine new landscapes, slower mornings, or a different version of oneself living somewhere else. What is harder,…

Families and children playing soccer and enjoying beach activities together in Costa Rica, demonstrating community bonding and social connection

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Costa Rica

Building Community in Costa Rica

Community matters everywhere, but in Costa Rica, it feels even more essential. It’s a gentle net that rises beneath you on the days when the power flickers out, the water…

Is Panama Right for You? A Guide to Expat Life, Costs and Everyday Comforts

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Panama

Is Panama Right for You? A Guide to Expat Life, Costs and Everyday Comforts

Introduction Expat life in Panama begins, funnily enough, with a shift in your soundtrack. Morning roosters replace car horns. Mangoes hit tin roofs after a warm night. Coffee is transported…

Lush green islands with turquoise water in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, a top destination for sustainable travel on a budget and eco-friendly tourism in Southeast Asia

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Uncategorized

Seven Eco-Friendly Destinations That Won’t Break The Bank

Sustainable travel is sometimes marketed as a high-end luxury, all organic linens and $600-a-night eco-villas. But let’s be clear: more often than not, that’s greenwashing with a high price tag.…

Kurdish women in traditional dress at community gathering in the Kurdistan Region, representing the vibrant cultural life and social fabric of Kurdish society

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Field Notes

Beyond Conflict. The Story of Kurdish Iraq

Iraq’s recent past has been marked by turmoil and strife, from dictatorial regimes to a brutal war that claimed more than 120,000 civilian lives in 2006, and the advance of…

Costa Rica Homes for Rent: Best Areas, Prices, and Tips for Expats

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Costa Rica

Costa Rica Homes for Rent: Best Areas, Prices, and Tips for Expats

Introduction Few destinations combine tropical beauty, political stability, and modern comfort quite like Costa Rica. For retirees, expats, and digital nomads, Costa Rica homes for rent offer an easy gateway…