Overseas Living Your trusted guide to life abroad

Overseas Living

Your trusted guide to life abroad

Latest Articles

From Microchip to Ferry Ticket: Counting Backwards to Move Your Pet Abroad
Relocation & Pets

From Microchip to Ferry Ticket: Counting Backwards to Move Your Pet Abroad

The paperwork for a dog or cat crossing to Europe is not complicated, but it is unforgiving about dates. This is the calendar we would pin to the fridge — worked backwards from your removal date, with the deadlines that cannot be moved.

Your UK Will May Not Cover the House Abroad: Planning an Estate That Spans Two Countries
Property & Buying Abroad

Your UK Will May Not Cover the House Abroad: Planning an Estate That Spans Two Countries

A British will is a powerful document, but it seldom reaches land held in another jurisdiction. Here is how separate local wills, forced heirship rules and the EU succession choice fit together — and what to place in front of your solicitor and your notary before either of them puts pen to paper.

The Driving File: Exchanging a UK Licence Abroad in Your Seventies
Visas & Residency

The Driving File: Exchanging a UK Licence Abroad in Your Seventies

A UK photocard licence does not transfer itself, and the rules change sharply with age, residency status and destination. Here is a calm, step-by-step plan for exchanging your licence, passing the medical and getting legally insured behind the wheel in your new country.

The Second Set of Keys: What a UK Base Really Costs Once You Have Moved Abroad
Money & Admin Abroad

The Second Set of Keys: What a UK Base Really Costs Once You Have Moved Abroad

Keeping a British address is often the sensible choice, but the arithmetic is frequently done once, at departure, and never revisited. This guide sets out the bills that quietly continue, the ones that can be trimmed, and the questions worth answering before your first winter overseas.

The Folder Before the Flight: UK Paperwork to Settle Before Moving Abroad
Money & Admin Abroad

The Folder Before the Flight: UK Paperwork to Settle Before Moving Abroad

Pensions, bank accounts and National Insurance are easy to postpone until after the removal van has gone. This practical checklist helps older British movers assemble a simple UK paperwork folder while the systems are still familiar, so later problems are quieter and easier to solve.

The Local Pharmacy Routine: Planning Repeat Medicines for Life Abroad
Healthcare Abroad

The Local Pharmacy Routine: Planning Repeat Medicines for Life Abroad

Regular prescriptions are easy to overlook until the repeat button no longer works in the same way. This practical guide focuses on the logistics of moving medicines abroad: accurate lists, foreign brand names, customs rules and the small pharmacy habits that reduce stress after arrival.

Public Clinic, Private Hospital: Vetting Healthcare Properly Before You Sign Anything
Healthcare Abroad

Public Clinic, Private Hospital: Vetting Healthcare Properly Before You Sign Anything

Most prospective expatriates research schools, taxes and sea views, and leave healthcare until after the keys change hands. Applying a simple two-clinic rule, and asking the right questions in English, removes most of the unpleasant surprises later.

Before You Put Down a Deposit: Ten Checks That Reveal Whether a Foreign Town Suits Later Life
Property & Buying Abroad

Before You Put Down a Deposit: Ten Checks That Reveal Whether a Foreign Town Suits Later Life

A pretty square and a sunny week can persuade almost anyone to start browsing estate agents. These ten practical checks look past the holiday version of a town and ask the harder question: would ordinary life there still work for you in ten years' time?

Counting Days, Not Nights: A Practical Guide to the Schengen 90/180 Limit for British Second-Home Owners
Visas & Residency

Counting Days, Not Nights: A Practical Guide to the Schengen 90/180 Limit for British Second-Home Owners

The 90/180 rule is not a ban on long stays, but a rolling allowance that rewards careful planning. This plain-English guide explains how the window works, how to track it, and how to avoid the small errors that cause trouble at passport control.

The Test Stay: Renting for a Season Before Buying Your Overseas Home
Property & Buying Abroad

The Test Stay: Renting for a Season Before Buying Your Overseas Home

A two-week holiday shows you the sea view, not the ordinary life around it. A three-month rental in the off-season can reveal the damp, the bus timetable and the neighbours before you commit to a purchase.