There are certain public areas where bed bugs can be more prevalent. You should be careful of the following locations:

1. Hotel and motel rooms – Because bed bugs come out to feed at night, beds and bedding in hotels and motels are a prime place to be bitten.

2. Public transportation, such as buses, trains, planes and subways – With people traveling all over the place in close proximity to each other, it’s relatively easy for bed bugs to hitch a ride on your bags or clothing when you’re using public transport.

3. Laundromats – If you use shared laundry facilities, take care to keep your clothing separate from other peoples, where bed bugs might be hiding. As a precaution, wash and dry your clothes on a high heat setting, as bed bugs are killed by extreme heat.

4. Retail stores – In a recent high profile case, stores in Manhattan were closed for fumigation because of bed bugs. Clothing and soft furnishing stores are particular hot spots.

5. Thrift stores and yard sales – Be wary of buying secondhand furniture that might harbour bed bugs, and avoid buying used mattresses at all costs.

6. Office buildings – Carpets and upholstered furniture, combined with visiting clients and workers coming and going, make offices a good breeding ground for bed bugs.

7. Movie theaters – Bed bugs can thrive in the soft upholstered seats, feeding on the many human bodies that visit theaters.

8. Public libraries – Bed bugs have been found in the pages and spines of library books.

9. Hospitals – Infestations of bed bugs have occurred in hospitals in recent years. You’re unlikely to be checking for them if you get sick, but although their bites are unpleasant, they do not spread diseases.

10. Restaurants – There have even been reports of bed bugs in restaurants. Try to avoid putting your bags on the floor or hanging your coat up next to those belonging to other diners.

As this top ten shows, bed bugs can be found in pretty much any public place. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize your chances of becoming a victim of their nasty bites when traveling:

• Before traveling to a new destination, check it out beforehand by doing research online. Check bed bug hotel registries to ascertain which areas at your destination are having problems. By researching the hotel where you intend to stay, you will learn if there have been any recent outbreaks and if they have been resolved satisfactorily. Southeast Asia, Africa and South America have all had problems with bed bugs, with London and Australia also experiencing outbreaks. For that matter, locations right in the United States have been plagued by these creatures in recent years. Even a five star hotel can be afflicted with bed bugs. When traveling, do your research beforehand.

• On arrival at your accommodation, you will need to carefully go over your room. Look for bed bugs themselves and also for signs that they have been or presently are in the room. Bed bugs are reddish-brown with six legs and are approximately the size of an apple seed. They are oval in shape and flat, plumping up when they have eaten. When you check your room, look for black flakes, which will be fecal matter. You will also need to look for shed skin, red or brown stains and eggshells.

• Inspect the bedding, bed frame and mattress and other areas of the room. Check behind the headboard and items hanging on the walls. Inspect folds and seams of upholstered furniture. Use a flashlight and magnifying glass when you do your search. Keep your suitcases on a table or luggage rack, never on the bed or floor. Protect your packed clothing by storing items in plastic bags within your luggage. You may even want to bring your own bedding with you rather than using what the hotel provides. If you do notice signs of bed bugs, request another room in a different location within the hotel, or demand a refund and check in to another hotel.

• Always wash your clothing items in the hottest water possible upon return, just in case any bugs are hiding there.

If you keep a watchful eye for bed bugs and exercise caution, you will protect yourself from these nasty nuisances.

About the Author:

Karen Barnes currently writes for a bedbug website that has lots of practical advice on dealing with these pests, including tips on using bedbug traps and other means to get rid of them.

When packing to live abroad you need a different mind-set than you would for holiday packing. A key difference is that you don’t have a return journey to plan for; you are staying for a while and you will inevitably need to buy things whilst you are out there.

This means that you should focus on packing a few essentials for your first few days, so you can settle in and find some shops. Other than that, bring expensive essentials which would rather not have to buy another one of. Oh, and you might also want to bring photos and any other sentimental items to remind you of home.

Language

One of the hardest things about living abroad is the feeling of isolation. Wherever you are going, make a really good effort to get to know the language – you will almost certainly struggle when you get there, but studying for a few months beforehand will help you to fit in in time.

Google earth / maps

Depending on where you are going, having a look on Google earth / maps and even streetview if available can really help you to get to know where you are going. Try spending a few hours “exploring”, go find your house if you can, and get to know where the shops are etc. This will help you to feel a little more at home when you arrive. That feeling of familiarity goes a long way.

Get to know the locals

When you arrive you really need to go outside of your comfort zone and make an effort to interact with local people. Test your language skills a little bit at a time and go into the shops, bars and restaurants where local people gather.

Know the culture

The worst thing you can do when trying to fit in is to accidentally offend somebody or just not fully understand local traditions and cultures. It is worth spending some time reading up on local culture before you leave to make sure you are forearmed.

Find your community

There are thousands of expats living in every country all over the world and there are plenty of websites where they ‘get together’ to share stories, offer support etc. There may well be one specific to the country you are moving to. Have a look around before you travel and speak to others who have done what you are about to do.

These sorts of sites are a gift to expats, simply for the support you can get; you might even be able to get to know someone who will be living near you who can help you get to know your new home.

About the author

This article was written by Alex from wish.co.uk – a seller of traveling experiences and great days out to help you make more of your days off. Click here for more info about our driving experiences.

The important question to ask is – Will it be cost effective to live and work abroad with the various tax rates?

It is crucial to weigh up the pros and the cons of working and living abroad to see if your are better off or actually out of pocket.

When you work abroad, like everywhere you get charged a tax, the first thing to look into is what the tax rates will be where you are going.

Here are a list of 5 countries and their approximate tax rates: (including income tax and social security contributions) assuming a salary of $100,000

• Germany 35%
• Japan 26%
• Turkey 34%
• United Kingdom 32%
• USA 24%

So lets take a look at whats on offer in terms of expat job compensations from employers.

Employers that require you to move abroad for your job role will compensate you in various ways for your extra expenses and changing your entire way of life.

The compensations from an employer that you will almost always receive are:

1. Living away from home allowance – this is important as you have left your home country and are adapting your whole life somewhere else so you must be paid for it.

2. Healthcare paid for in the destination Country for you and your family – the healthcare may be more expensive than it would have been in your previous home and you may have to go use private hospitals abroad or pay extra so it is only right the employer should compensate for this.

3. Your employer should either pay for your belongings to be shipped abroad or put you into fully furnished accommodation and air freight some personal effects – this is essential as you want certain belongings with you and you need to live in somewhere comfortable where you can go about your normal daily life and carry out your job role successfully.

4. If you are renting privately the company should assist you in paying the rent – this is important as you may be paying out for a mortgage in your home country.

5. They will pay for your child’s education if you have children of school age – this is an added consequential expense for you so employers should pay this.

6. Cultural and Language Training organized and paid for – You need to attend local language courses, it wasn’t your intention to move to this destination so they will rightly pay for the courses.

7. Work Permits and Visas arranged and paid for – In order to carry out your job role you need these so the employer should supply them as part of the costs of relocating you.

And here are a few of the more unusual things that some companies will compensate for:

* Telephone and Internet Costs

* Membership of local Clubs and Gyms

* Assistance to help your partner/spouse find a job

* Supplying a car with driver (depending on location)

Once you have been presented with your compensation package from your employer and have researched into the rate of tax in their chosen country I think it will be very obvious to you if you have a good deal or are going to come out of it worse off.

For example if your employer was willing to give you all the compensations listed 1-7 above and their chosen destination was the USA I think this would be a fair deal. They are offering you a lot of incentives and the rate of tax you will be paying is an average rate in the USA but a lot lower than most of the other developed countries.

Blending in with the locals is important if you want to fit in and be accepted. I am especially talking about the local born and bred communities not the British expat communities. Although being part of an expat group is nice and welcoming you will learn a whole lot more, including the language from the locals. Be friendly if you see people around a few times, wave or say hello as you pass by.

Learning the language is a top priority so that you can be respected by the local people, although I know for us British people we don’t discipline ourselves enough to learn other languages. It is important if you are wanting to do business and strike good business related deals and get good pricing for goods and property. Also it lets the locals know you are serious about living there and you are not just a 1 season fly-by.

Respecting the culture and local customs is essential as you choose to live in their country so should respect these. Although you don’t have to agree with their beliefs or their religions making fun or going out of you way to be awkward or hostile towards people will only make you an outsider. Some things that we think are acceptable in the UK are quite rude or disrespectful abroad.

Gaining friends is important but be wary and use your own gut feeling at the same time, not everybody is your friend. You need to be wary of people that promise you lots of things or say things that seem to be too good to be true (they normally are!) If people keep talking about how much money they have got or talking about your money its not a good sign! Just normal chatting over a tea and people showing interest in your lives and interest in why you have come to their country to live is a good sign.

If you are wanting to buy property do not be forced into the first thing that is thrust into your face. The estate agents will tell you everything you want to hear about it just to sell it. Step back and think about it yourself and visit various estate agents to compare prices. Try to research the estate agents on the Internet to see if other people have had a past experience of them. Do not let people know how much money you can afford as they will have you spend it all, be vague about the money you have, don’t mention actual figures and don’t go into places flashing wads of money. This is your hard earned pounds after all so you wont want to see it all frittered away.

For most people keeping in touch with family and friends at home is ‘a must’ so I am sure that you will want an Internet connection for emails also a phone line for calls. Some problems faced with using normal phone lines abroad are the costs of them and the call quality. So I researched on the Internet and that is when I came across Pingo.com, the call quality is great and the rates are really competitive. I was paying 1p a minute to call home!

If you are thinking of working abroad and haven’t already decided what you will do, a lot of companies want British workers to speak to their UK customers, help them respond to their UK customers emails and be a UK customer contact.

And if you want to drive a car or scooter check into the rules to see if your UK License is valid in your chosen country otherwise you may have to apply for a new license in that country or get an international driving permit.

Make sure you are not paying double tax. If you are working abroad you will pay tax there, however you do not want to find yourself landed with a bill also from the UK where they may want to tax you on the same work. Fortunately the UK has agreements with many countries to avoid this.

Investigate into the best banks to put your money in, read forums of peoples past experiences and check out the variety of interest rates and decide on what bank suits you best. Do you need to access money quickly? or can you give notice and wait a while for the money? or finally can you keep the money in the account without touching it for a long while?

Remember how dangerous the sun actually is. You must always apply suncream and be aware how easy it is to dehydrate or even worse get heat stroke. The worst time for this is when it is hot but the wind is blowing, this fools you into thinking you are not getting burnt so you stay out for longer but you still are getting burnt.

Lastly do not think that all countries abroad are crime-free, just be as vigilant as you would be in the UK.

Firstly do you know where you want to go?
Somewhere in Europe or maybe somewhere further afield.
What kind of life do you want?
Busy City Life, Beach Resort Life or maybe the Country Life.
Can you settle into different cultures and become part of the locals?
If yes, the countries are endless.
Would you like great temperatures all year round?
If yes, Mediterranean climates are ideal.
Do you have a budget?
If so researching the cost of living in your chosen country is important.

Once you have decided on ‘the place’ to go you need to look into whether you can work easily in that country.
Some countries may require you to gain a Working Visa which may need applying for in advance before you go or some countries may want you to apply when you arrive.

Look on Forums for local job ads on you chosen country and town to see if there are any jobs up for grabs. Think of some well known global companies and see if they recruit abroad.

Next step is to look to see if you need to apply for Residence Permit in advance, again some countries require you to do so within a month of arrival so you need to check out different countries rules.

Make sure you know your financial situation and what you can afford and have enough money saved to allow you to live for a little while in case you haven’t got a job straightaway.

After this the next important step is to if possible have some accommodation sorted out before you arrive so you know exactly where you are going and where you are staying. Then when you arrive you can take some time to get to know the area and decide on where you would like to rent, if you would like to buy a home and you will get better prices face to face rather than on-line.

Health care is important so make sure you have an insurance policy in place as some countries will not treat you without one and others have badly funded health care.

Look into rates of tax abroad and see how much they will be. Make sure that you wont be taxed twice, by your home country and your new country.

Now start planning if you will relocate all of your belongings or just some of them and how will you do this. Either by using a freight company or an airline. Look into different airlines as it may be a cheaper method for you if you are not bringing too much to just buy some excess baggage in advance.

While you are abroad you will need to be able to stay in phone contact with friends and loved ones as and when you want to with a trusted source. I found Pingo.com to be this source, they charge you economic prices and the connection is always reliable.

Lastly buy a travel book or guide on your chosen country to gain more of an insight into what the country will be like. Try and pick up a few phrases or words along the way, the locals will really appreciate you for trying even if you don’t quite pronounce it right.

If you do these important steps you will find yourself on the right path and almost ready to go!

The expat community, irrespective of where they live, has a lot to cheer about! The reason this can be stated with so much confidence is that unlike a few decades ago, the whole world has now shrunk into one giant global community and expat calling solutions have seen revolutionizing changes therein. The feverish pace, at which networking and communication technology has grown in the recent years, has made expat calling, child’s play. Move over, cell phone roaming and ISD! 3G, 4G and Video-calling are the latest buzz words these days. These, however, have not reached all corners of the world just yet, and there are still many regions, where people prefer sticking to conventional methods. There are two means of communication, which have been there awhile and still feature fairly high on the popularity charts as far as expat calling is concerned.

Cell phone rental services are available in most countries and are still going strong as an inexpensive option for international calling. These are best suited for expats, who are on long-term assignments to foreign countries or students who have a 1 or 2 year course. This is obvious from the fact that, the longer you rent a cell phone service for, the lesser you tariff rates work out, and who can resist the temptations of a good deal, right? Another advantage with this option is that, country specific rental offers work out perfect for most people who want to call relatives and friends in their own countries alone. This also eliminates any additional costs and hassles that are associated with multi-country SIM cards.

Expat calling cards too are extremely lucrative when it comes to getting value for money services. These come with the additional flexibility of not having to spend valuable cash on fancy rental schemes and handsets. As the popular line goes “Keep it simple, stupid”, calling cards follow this truly universal principle to the T. These cards are very convenient, especially for people on short stints abroad. They are easily available and accessible, and they have ridiculously low tariff-rates. Considering that a majority of the expat community consists of people who have come for small duration projects, which do not extend beyond a few months, prepaid calling cards are the way to go!

So if, you are an expat who has just stepped into an alien land, and feel intimidated; do not fret. Just log on to one of the many websites available and pick out one of these two brilliant and time tested means to get back in touch with that familiar voice back home!

Sometimes the daily grind and stressful lifestyle that we lead in our normal everyday life gets too much for us and we decide it is time to leave the rat race behind and look for pastures new.

Normally we are drawn overseas by a hotter climate, a laid back and calmer way of life and healthier living, but it needs to be practical and affordable for us at the same time.

Do I need a Residence Permit in Canada?, How can I move my dogs to France?, Can I work in New Zealand? These are just a few of the kind of questions you may need the answers to before you decide to take the plunge.

That is why I have made things easier for you and collaborated 10 of the most useful websites that I have come across. They are full of useful and invaluable information to either help you decide where is best for you to relocate or if you already know where you are going why not check these websites out for further information on your chosen country.

Here are the Top Expat Websites (Listed Alphabetically)

Canada Anglo Info

This site is great if your chosen destination is Canada. It is a very fact full website that offers maps and news on Canada. It helps you compile a checklist for relocating. It contains links and contact addresses for all important sources that may help you with your move.

Escape Artist

Many guides to living overseas are on here. As well as the popular destinations to emigrate to, it includes the more unusual ones, which are searchable by region or country. It is jam-packed full of information and contains a lot of referenced material. Escape Artist is updated frequently.

Expat Arrivals

There are expat guides included on various countries. There are Q & A’s, blogs and expert advice. You can join an online community and even buy an e-book. Expat Arrivals offers inside knowledge on your chosen culture and procedures to buy property and land plus much more.

Expat Forum

This site covers many countries. There is an individual forum for each country so you can easily find the relevant information you are looking for. It is updated daily so all information is very much current. There are many members and the forums are large. Lots of great articles to read also.

Expatica
Offers 11 of the popular destinations to relocate to. Expatica gives you the important facts you need to know. From where to live to what the healthcare is like. Also features the latest news on each country and has a forum and discussion board.

Getting Down Under

This website gives you an insight into life in Australia. There are communities to be a part of and blogs to read. It tells you the latest news for living in Australia and gives you great hints and tips for your move. Also has useful sections on visas and working.

Just Landed

This site has an extensive range of countries that you may wish to emigrate to. It is easy to navigate around. Just Landed points you in the right direction with getting visas or researching the culture plus loads more. You can be part of the community for your chosen country and find suitable jobs and somewhere to live.

My UK Move

Contains all information to help you decide if you would like to relocate to the UK and planning your arrival. Gives information on costs of living and a general insight to what it is like to live in the UK. It also gives you advice on settling in and finding your way around.

Spanish Living

There site contains a lot of information about Spain and helping you to relocate there. There are a wide range of varied articles. It gives advice covering all aspects from getting internet and telephone to starting up your own business. The site is easy to find your way around.

Turkish Living Forum
This forum offers extensive information on relocating to Turkey. The members tell you about different areas to live and their experiences good and bad. There are sections to help you with all things associated with moving to and living in Turkey. You can communicate with people living there and no what to expect before you relocate there.

While most expats are very happy to immerse themselves in the local way of life by meeting all new kinds of people, some find it more comfortable to continue living their normal, quiet lives, save for the local festive occasions and get-togethers. But almost all expats would readily agree that nothing fills them up with joy more than communicating with their loved ones back home. Getting that one birthday call from your childhood friend across the globe lightens up your day; a student hearing the good luck wishes from his parents back home over the phone on the day of his exams holds his head proud all day; a working professional gets his peace of mind after hearing his wife’s voice 3 continents away over the electronic lines every night before going to sleep. Such is the importance of staying in touch with family and friends back home.

The one stop shop of solutions for converting all this to reality is a calling card. In age of electronics and communication, the expat calling cards have risen to prominence more than ever. With a growing population of expats, there is a correspondingly growing number of ways of communicating with your folks back home. However, it can be very confusing in this day of explosion of technologies to make the optimal choice. Prepaid calling cards, cheap voice calls over the internet, international monthly tariff sim cards, nation specific calling cards are just some of the many available avenues.

Prepaid expat calling cards have been in the market for a while now. They provide a good flexibility in procurement, a hassle free-usage, and a good usability in the short term. However, the tariff might not be as lucrative as in some of the other long-terms options available. A short-term exchange student, a professional in for a small business trip or even a globetrotter might want to go for this fast and easy option.

Monthly tariff systems, on the other hand, can provide better deals with contract handsets (these might well be one of the latest and most awaited gizmos) and a very reasonable international calling tariff with special plans. Expats who are settled abroad for long term assignments would usually prefer this option.

The country specific calling cards also deserve a special mention. These are much better and economical if you are sure to be calling to a particular destination regularly. But there have been known issues with most of these cards, for instance: complicated usage requirements, like 16 digit pin entering every time you make a call, hidden fees, etc.

It is therefore imperative to find out more about the service providers, take feedback from other expats and then decide on the kind of card you want to go for. There are surely many good services out there with ease of use and reachable affordability for all kinds of expats, students or working professionals alike. “Affordable Calling Cards” is currently offering these services to many expats around the world.

A small mention is demanded by VoIP or internet telephony (For eg: Skype, GTalk, etc), a growing space favored by the student expats over the globe. While it makes international calling to mobile phones and fixed lines highly economical, it is severely limited in the quality of the calls by virtue of the data-packet nature of the signals over the internet. However, with better 3G and 4G services being promised in the near future around the world, the international calling space is poised to see a whole lot of competition, followed by reasonable pricing by most players like www.Pingo.com. Surely, the expat community and all our expat friends won’t have any problems with that piece of news, would they?

Earlier this week I noted some tips and hints for adjusting to life when you are married to a foreigner, and many of my expat friends weighed in with their own experiences. While adjusting to your new life and learning to merge your cultures is always a good thing, getting to that point might not be easy.

No, I’m not talking about falling in love and the inevitable, if only temporary, long-distance relationship, I’m talking about the practical side of marrying someone from another country.

While the rules and regulations vary widely depending on each person’s nationality, where you get married and where you decide to live, the following sites should get you started. Note: I am an American woman married to an Italian man, therefore, most of the following examples are based on my experiences with these countries.

1. Websites

Official (and well-researched unofficial) websites are a prime source of information for people wishing to marry an Italian. Here are few sites you might find helpful.

UK in Italy

US Department of State Naples: Marriage of a US Citizen

Travel.State.Gov: Marriage in Italy

ItaliaAmerica.org: Italian Dual Citizenship

ImmiGroup.com: Marrying and Sponsoring an Italian

2. Forums

While official websites are a great source of logistical information, forums are usually visited by people who’ve been there and offer a great combination of practical know-how and useful tips. Some helpful forums and topics include:

Expat Forum: Marrying an Italian

Expat Forum: Marrying an American

Immigration Boards.com: Marrying an Italian

Expats in Italy: Getting Married Forum

Expats in Italy: Atto Notorio

3. Blogs

While many bloggers visit forums and talk about their experiences marrying a foreigner there, they also write blog posts and articles on their sites. Some particularly helpful expats I’ve come across include:

Ms. Adventures in Italy (My personal go-to expat when I was marrying my own Italian in 2007.)

From Australia to Italy (My Calabria-based counterpart who is chronicling  her marriage to an Italian.)

ReallyRome (A Really great resource on, among other things, marrying an Italian.)

Moving2Italy2 (Extensive resource on moving to Italy, with a section on marrying an Italian.)

It is important to note that each case is unique and there is no one size fits all when it comes to marrying someone from another country. Additionally, laws can change from year to year and Italian consulates, at least in the US, seem to have varying procedures, as well. It is always important to contact your local embassy or consulate before proceeding and get a detailed list of what you need to do before the Big Day. As in most cases when dealing with bureaucratic situations, it is a good idea to allow yourself plenty of time and an even better opportunity for you to practice your patience.

In bocca al lupo!

Do you know any other useful sites, forums or blogs for people wanting to marry a foreigner? If so, please leave them in the comments!

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer and Calabria tour consultant living in southern Italy. You can read more about living and traveling in Calabria at her site, My Bella Vita or visit her in person at her B&B in Catanzaro, Italy.

Photo: Life 123

I was visiting good friends last summer in Texas-we were sitting at one of our favorite Mexican cantinas, sipping on frozen lime margaritas, talking about the good ‘ole days and catching up on the last few years.

“I just love Italy,” one of my peppy ex-Sorority sisters gushed. “I could soooo see myself living there.”

I smiled as she gazed dreamily out the window, no doubt imagining herself strolling to the weekly market each Monday, sipping on stout Italian wine in the evenings, spending her days-riding on a Gondola or dining outside the Colosseum. She exhaled, “It’s just such a beautiful country.”

Not wanting to burst her idealized bubble of the life I’m leading, I politely agreed-because it is true, Italy is a beautiful country-and kept quiet. But secretly I wondered … could she really live here?

As my southern Italian counterpart pointed out last week, you can’t uproot your life back home and replant that baby here in Italy. It is a whole new country world and while we love it here, we’ve definitely learned to live without some of the luxuries of our American lifestyles.

Here are three things I’ve learned to love less here in Calabria.

1. Variety

You often hear people say, “Italians love food,” when in fact, what they mean is, “Italians love Italian food.” Especially here in Calabria, diversity, restaurant variety-heck, even a foreign food shelf-are had to come by. I’ve learned to live with this by importing my must-haves, like Velveeta cheese and Starbuck’s vanilla syrup, kicking up my personal non-Italian food recipe list and creating variety in the Italian food we eat and love.

2. Instant Access

One of the hardest things for me to get used to-if one could say I’ve gotten used to it-is learning to live without the instant access we are accustomed to in the US. There are no 24-hour pharmacies-actually, even finding an open pharmacy on Saturday or Sunday is a challenge, customer service calls regularly go un-answered-even during “working” hours and paperwork can take years to get approved.

Still, I believe I can learn something from these would-be frustrating experiences-and that, my friends, is patience. Italy has taught me patience in a way I never could have learned in the United States … and for that, I’m thankful.

3. The Latest Greatest

No doubt if I lived in the US, I’d be on the i(insert latest gadget here) bandwagon. Being in southern Italy, far from the peer pressure that comes with having an office job and well-paid friends, I’m sheltered, in a way, from needing to have the latest, greatest gadget. Many expats in Italy have other priorities and luckily, keeping up with Rossis, isn’t one of them.

Tina and I have weighed in-now it is your turn. What have you learned to live without in your expat adventures?

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer and Calabria tour consultant living in southern Italy. You can read more about living and traveling in Calabria at her site, My Bella Vita or visit her in person at her B&B in Catanzaro, Italy.

Photos: CarbonNYC and Ivyfield via Flickr