It is often just as useful to look at the negative side of life as the positive, because the down-side gives us a good idea of what can be improved.  Having spoken to a range of expats in our community, I have come up with the top ten worst aspects of moving to another country. I have also looked at the things you can do to mitigate them and make your expat life as enjoyable as it can be.

In an extensive piece of medical research, a vast amount of key health data covering twenty years has just been analysed by and published inThe Lancet. The research looked at 16 European countries plus the USA, Australia and Canada in detail, pinning down the healthiest places to live. This week I thought it would be useful to pick out Europe’s top five.

Exploring the international health insurance market yourself doesn’t have to be complicated. To help you on your way, here are a few common sense questions to ask yourself.

What is your favourite European holiday destination? Holidays are highly subjective, with some expats preferring quiet, calm, relaxing breaks and others hooked on partying ‘til dawn. But the respected Sunday Times travel writers  Mark Hodson and David Wickers have done a great deal of legwork, recommending resorts in Europe based on personal preference, Sunday Times reader opinions and British government travel data. Here they are. If you have recently moved to Europe, you’re bound to enjoy at least one of these!

The expats I speak to give me invaluable insights into getting to grips with living in a new country. This week I thought I’d ask some of them about the best things about moving abroad. What gives them the most pleasure, fulfillment, excitement and happiness? I have collated the results of my informal straw poll into the top ten best things about expat life. Here they are.

Hong Kong is one of the planet’s most important financial centres and a popular holiday destination, where towering skyscrapers meet glorious beaches and a stunning subtropical wilderness.  It’s bright, colourful, bustling, businesslike and often very beautiful. But will life in Hong Kong suit you? Here are some useful websites from expats who live there to help you make the right decision.

As an expat your country of origin plays a part in shaping your overall health. But the country you move to also plays a part, which is why I thought it’d be interesting to take a look at the World Health Organisation’s latest Global Burden of Disease Study.

The ongoing research is an international collaboration funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It assesses health trends across 187 countries over decades at a time to identify the countries with the best and healthiest life expectancies, taking the number of deaths into account as well as the years people lost to disability.

You might be moving abroad with very few possessions, taking up fully furnished accommodation. Or you may be moving lock, stock and barrel, taking your home contents with you as well as your personal possessions. Either way it’s important to insure yourself against all the usual risks: theft, fire, floods, storms and so on, which is why I decided it would be useful to look into home insurance for expats.  

You’ve found somewhere to live. You’ve settled in. You’ve sorted out residency in your new home country. But what about your long term finances? It’s best to get the money side of life sorted out before you leave but because it isn’t always possible, I thought it would be useful to take a look at how to get your finances in good shape in your new home country.

If you’re moving overseas and starting to calculate how your finances might stack up, it can be tricky to predict where some of the costs will come from. I have heard a few stories of left-field costs from expats recently, which is why I decided it would be useful to look at some of the unexpected costs that can take a large chunk out of your budget and, unless you are aware of them up front, make your expat life more of a financial challenge than it needs to be!