BEING AN EXPAT: Whether you are a young person wanting to travel the world, a family transferring to another country for experience/work, or an international retiree, it appears you can never be too old to be an expat. While expat life still retains a somewhat glamorous, jet-setting image, you should know that it is not […] Continue reading → 
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: When you think of American High school, there are lots of images that are conjured up from TV shows, movies and news stories that have been shown around the world including in Australia. Shows such as ‘Mean Girls’, ‘High School Musical’, ‘Heathers’ and ‘Clueless’, help to develop biases and pre-conceptions about […] Continue reading → 
BEING AN EXPAT: As we come to the year’s end, I am thinking of my expat life in NJ over the last eight years, at a height of many thousand feet, in a plane on my way to Australia. It has been a long while since my last blog post, and much has happened in […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: As much as I have tried to avoid sounding American in my own parochial way, it’s almost impossible. After seven years, there are many routine words from the local’s vocabulary that have crept into my everyday speech. Here are a few examples of common American expressions that I say frequently: Candy A very […] Continue reading → 
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: For many new expats, working out what clothing you will need to buy for winter in New Jersey can be a bit of a guess. Many Australians and others from warmer climates often have no real experience with the bitter cold that accompanies a Northeast USA winter. You know that it’s […] Continue reading → 
MOVING TO NEW JERSEY: Amongst the key attributes that expats and others moving to New Jersey look for when choosing a town to live in, is the presence of a great downtown. To put this into non-American parlance, this simply means municipalities or cities with a great town center area. What makes a great downtown though? Opinions […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE: I won’t be wishing for a White Christmas this year – just a cool one. Unbelievably, for the first time since we moved here to the USA, we will be having an expat family Christmas in Australia. Yep, that’s right: a hot, sunny Christmas, where the temperatures can go so high Santa has […] Continue reading → 
RELOCATION: Moving to another country nearly always requires a number of documents. No matter where you are moving to, there will always be specific important documents needed for immigration, employment, school enrolment plus others. The USA is certainly no different. If anything, moving here will possibly require more paperwork than you could even anticipate. For a […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE: My teenage son has just turned 15. This is a major milestone in his life. Sure, you could think it’s because he would be starting Year 10 at school if he was in Australia or for several other reasons. But these are not the real reasons why turning 15 is a milestone. This […] Continue reading → 
EXPAT LIFE: Being an expat must give you early Alzheimer’s. I’m just waiting for the study results to show up one day proving me correct. No, it’s not the stress of moving to the USA that I’m talking about (although that does contribute I’m sure). It is the constant need to check and recheck your spelling when […] Continue reading →