Making a new life abroad.

2nd edition.

By Rosanne Knorr

Ten Speed Press 2008

For empty-nesters, early retirees, and even established executives, midlife is the ideal time to turn travel fantasies into real and rewarding experiences. This revised and expanded second edition of "The Grown-Up's Guide" covers estimating cost-of-living expenses, the do's and don'ts of international health care, the boom in online travel resources, and much more. Whether planning a month-long escape or a whole new life in Europe, this empowering guide will encourage mature would-be ex-pats to pursue the overseas adventure they've been craving.

Reviewed by Karen S Hirschfeld

When I first happened upon this book I was immediately attracted to the title.  As a person who had left the comforts of an active career 4 years earlier to see what I could build in Europe, I thought this book might be amusing and thought it might enlighten me about situations I had yet to encounter.

It turned out to be a great deal more than that and I wish I had read it before I’d made the leap.  It would have saved me a lot of hand wringing on various subjects and helped me think through a number of topics in advance.

The book addresses those who want a few months’ getaway in a different environment as well as those who want to pull up stakes completely for a more ‘long term’ change of scenery.  Although written to some degree from an American perspective, the issues and questions raised apply no matter what your departure point.

Knorr raises subjects ranging from how to choose your destination, the family planning that’s required, health care and medical coverage, insurance, passports, visas, bureaucracy, safety, financial considerations when operating away from home, what to take and what to leave behind, how to deal with the property you own, settling in, networking in your new environment as well as how to find a home, car, doctor, you name it, she thought of it.  

Knorr gives you the facts but also addresses the emotional upheaval that can accompany such a move and helps you think through the permutations that always accompany a big decision!  She writes with the wisdom of somehow who has passed this way and wants to save the reader some of the headaches she encountered while navigating the waters of setting up home in a new location. Her style is engaging, straight forward and very well informed .

If this book inspires you to take the leap, all the better,  but even if I doesn’t, it’s a great read and will acquaint you with the adventure and challenges that await those who do. It is an easy read and jam-packed with good information on virtually every aspect of making this kind of decision.  If she missed anything, I’m not sure what it is.  

Reviewed by Karen S Hirschfeld for American Citizens Abroad.

You can order a copy of this book from Amazon.com US or from Amazon.com UK