Los Angeles native Serena Page is a long-time resident of Paris (10 years!) and a contributor to both editions of Getting Out (I've posted her most recent contribution below). I met with her for a coffee and brioche while in Paris and found it fascinating that she wasn't currently working since she just had her second child and was receiving a subsidy from the French government to stay home and raise her children.
Oh yeah, Serena's a bit camera-shy.
There is a very large American expatriate community in France. You find them in cities all over the country. Many come as students, either to study French or get a degree at a French university and others are transferred by their jobs in the States on expatriate contracts for either a definite or indefinite period of time. And many come on their own, with or without work papers and find jobs once they are here. You can find Americans who work as English teachers in language schools, as nannies/au pairs, in pubs, restaurants and shops, as personal assistants and secretaries and other types of jobs.
Still others with financial or technical backgrounds find that their experience and skills, coupled with being an English mother tongue speaker, makes them in demand with companies that have regular contact with Anglophone countries ; for example ; companies with headquarters based in the UK, or whose supplier is based in a non-French speaking country and they need employees who can communicate with them in English, etc. And many more Americans come to France because they have fallen in love with a French person and have decided to make their lives here with that person.
I would certainly recommend Paris to other expats. One of the things I like about it is the fact that there is a large American community here, which can be incredibly helpful during the transition process, since you have access to people who have already gone through it and can guide you. It's quite easy to find American food projects and American-style place when you are homesick. Paris is a very cosmopolitan city and you will find expatriates of every nationality. And the rest of Europe is very accessible by train or plane
The drawback are the winter weather, which is very damp and gray, and the red tape in this country, which is unbelievable. It can seem never-ending and getting papers in order can be a frustrating, hair-pulling experience.
French people can appear to be standoffish at first, but they are very warm people once you get to know them. Americans don't often realize how difficult it is at first to make French friends. French people take friendship very seriously and do not open their arms wide at first. They take their time cultivating true friendships, so at first, life in Paris can be quite lonely.
US News & World Report seems to run semi-regular features on retiring abroad by this writer, Kathleen Peddicord. The info seems good, as far as it goes. Consider it tasty food for thought.
Panama qualifies as one of the best places in the world to think about retiring overseas for many reasons. Its location is at the hub of the Americas and the country has developed, near-first world infrastructure. The U.S. dollar is the currency, which makes relocating much easier for expat Americans. There are also international-standard medical facilities and many affordable options for health insurance.
Another reason Panama is appealing to retirees is that it offers up many distinct lifestyle options. There is urban life in Panama City, cooler mountain climates, and a number of beautiful and tempting beachfront choices. The trouble is that many of this country's top beach options have become discovered and, therefore, more expensive than the typical retiree on a budget can afford.
One important exception is Las Tablas, on the Azuero Peninsula. This is the first town of note along what is emerging as this country's Gold Coast. Other beaches are easier to access from Panama City, but these "city beaches" have gotten expensive. Panamanians like to be able to leave work on Friday afternoons and reach their places on the water by dinnertime, and they are willing to pay a premium for that privilege. Properties at these Panama City beach areas have appreciated in value over the past several years, and retirees may not find them worth the high housing prices.
It'll take you four hours to reach Las Tablas from downtown Panama City. The good news is that you can travel along a well-maintained highway door-to-door. Once you've made the drive, you are greeted by a charming and lively town center, a welcoming local population, and a long-established community of Panamanians and expats who savor their ultra-affordable seaside lifestyle.
You could join them on a budget of as little as $1,200 per month.
Just thought I'd share this email I got from Ken Smith in Mexico. Ken's got a site called "Leaving America," so obviously he's an ally, and, well, I'll let Ken do the talking....
Mark,
A short note to let you know that advertising Getting Out on my website. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to do some work on my website, which has been mostly dormant for a couple of years. While redesigning the site, I added some book adverts that I thought might be appropriate for my intended readership. In no particular order, I put three books in the lower right column and your book was in the third and last [huh???] position.
I don't know if its the placement or your title, but your book is pulling three times the click-throughs as the other two books -- even more than my own book advertised up higher. Experts say the higher the better, but I don't want to test the idea. I had an extraordinarily high traffic day because several sites linked my article about software guru John McAfee. I will know in a couple of days how many people actually bought your book.
---------------------------
Ken Smith
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
You can see Ken's book ad in the bottom right corner of the screenshot. But to get to where the real action is ;), you have to scroll down a bit.
BTW, I took a look at Ken's site and, the "Getting Out" ad aside, there's lots of good info there. You can check it out for yourself at www.kvsmith.com.
Thanks again, Ken! And hope to hear back from you about those sales!
In Why America Failed, noted historian and cultural critic Morris Berman's brilliant, raw and unflinchingly accurate postmortem of America, he concludes that this hustling model, literally woven into the American DNA, doomed the country from the start, and led us inevitably to this dysfunctional point. It is not just the American Dream that has failed, but America itself, because the dream was a mistake in the first place. We are at our core a nation of hustlers; not recently, not sometimes, but always. Conventional wisdom has it that America was predicated on the republican desire to break free from monarchical tyranny, and that was certainly a factor in the War of Independence; but in practical terms, it came down to a drive for "more" -- for individual accumulation of wealth.
So where does that leave us as a country?
To find out, read more of the article on AlterNet.
German tax authorities thought they may have been helping to uphold the tax laws in their country by purchasing stolen data (to track down German tax cheats), but the Swiss government says that by doing so, they broke the law. And now they face arrest.
The tax inspectors, all from North Rhine-Westphalia, are wanted for "economic espionage," Swiss prosecutors confirmed on Sunday.
Arrest warrants have been issued on the trio in the latest development in a long-running spat between the two countries.
"There's concrete reason to suspect Germany of having given clear orders to spy on Credit Suisse information" Swiss prosecutor Michael Lauber told Swiss radio station DRS on Saturday.
German regional authorities, however, said the inspectors had done "their duty" by pursuing German tax evaders who were hiding money in Swiss bank accounts.
Also interesting is this bit:
This weekend's latest spat comes as a proposal to make German investors in Switzerland pay the same amount of tax as they do at home seems on the edge of collapse due to renewed resistance from the German opposition.
Americans of particularly (but not exclusively) Jewish descent may have another easy in besides Israel: Germany, and by extension, the EU. But any descendants of Holocaust victims from Germany have this option:
Under Article 116 of Germany's constitution, known as the Basic Law, anyone who had their citizenship revoked during the Nazi regime for "political, racist, or religious reasons" is eligible to reapply for German citizenship. The provision also makes allowances for the descendants of Nazi victims, and does not require them to give up the citizenship of their new home countries.
And of course, since citizenship in one EU country is more or less citizenship in all of them, well, this can work out quite nicely for those who qualify.
Too old to work? Too bad. Here is some interesting information courtesy of some of Getting Out's facebook friends.
Here's the money quote:
Some dramatic changes have been occurring over the past decade in the labor market activity of older Americans. Here are the basic facts:
The labor force participation rate (LFPR, the share of the labor force that is either employed or looking for a job) of those 65 and older had fallen to historic lows by the 1980s and early 1990s, but after that it reversed course and has continued to rise until the present. Between 1995 and 2009, the LFPR for older men rose from 17 percent to 22 percent and for older women from 9 percent to 13 percent.
The labor force participation rates rose for those between 65 and 69, 70 and 74, and over 75.
In 2008, half of working men 65 and older were working full-time, up from 38 percent in 1994. For women, the change was from 23 percent in 1994 to one-third in 2008.
Surveys of those between 45 and 59 years of age indicate that a very high share of both men and women expect to continue working after they reach 65. This share is more than double the fraction of those 65 and older who are now working; therefore, the trend toward rising employment among the elderly will almost certainly continue.
Relocating overseas is often a grand adventure. You get to reinvent yourself in a new place and completely start over. Moving to a foreign country in retirement could also dramatically lower your cost of living, housing, and medical care, meaning you could afford more luxuries than would ever be possible in the U.S. Here are the seven best reasons to retire overseas.
1. Reduce your cost of living, perhaps dramatically.
2. Lower cost medical care.
3. You could enjoy little luxuries you could never afford back home.
4. Your health insurance expense could be $100 per month or less.
5. The climate could be ideal.
6. Your housing cost could be reduced to less than $500 per month.
7. You could reinvent yourself and have a grand adventure.
For anyone concerned about the dangers posed by genetically modified foods, this is welcome news from Peru. According to this story at occupymonsanto360.org
In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for a full decade before coming up for another review. Peru's Plenary Session of the Congress made the decision 3 years after the decree was written despite previous governmental pushes for GM legalization due largely to the pressure from farmers that together form the Parque de la Papa in Cusco, a farming community of 6,000 people that represent six communities. They worry the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will compromise the native species of Peru, such as the giant white corn, purple corn and, of course, the famous species of Peruvian potatoes. Anibal Huerta, President of Peru's Agrarian Commission, said the ban was needed to prevent the "danger that can arise from the use of biotechnology."
If your goal is to live GMO free then your choices are finally beginning to expand as more and more nations take some action to protect their citizens, their farmers, their native species and their environment against the frankenfood invasion.
You can find a helpful overview of the worldwide GMO situation in this recent article at factoverfiction.com.
