Evacuating a country

March 4, 2011

One of the less told stories of the ongoing civil war in Libya has bee the flight of expats. Because Libya is an oil rich country with money to spread around, there are thousands of expats in the country working in the oil industry. Most have fled, particularly those who are westerners, but those expats [...]

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Are there any good places for expats left?

March 2, 2011

Today’s blog entry is going to be a bit off the cuff. With most of the world beset by recession and now revolution or threat of revolution, my question is whether there are any good places left for expats. Even the economies with jobs and with growth must be inundated to some extent by applications [...]

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A revolution in Saudi Arabia?

March 1, 2011

One of the issues with being a pundit who looks at world affairs or writes on topics related to investing and the future is unpredictability. In everything we commentators comment about, there is a sense that the future is predictable. It’s not at all. Those of us who contend that some event is bound to [...]

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How to live well on Social Security: a new book for those nearing retirement

February 25, 2011

I am taking a break from writing about the Middle East to discuss my new book for those eligible for Social Security (i.e. those who have worked and resided in the United States). I’ve written a book that specifically looks at the American retirement program known as Social Security. The book’s subject matter is a [...]

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What if you can’t evacuate?

February 23, 2011

One of the common misconceptions expats have is that even if trouble occurs in the country they are working and living in, they will be able to escape easily. That is not necessarily the case. In Libya right now there are hundreds of thousands of expats from all over the world working in that country’s [...]

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Libya Revolution Analysis

February 21, 2011

What we are now witnessing in Libya is the dark side of popular revolutions. Reports are coming out of Libya that fighter jets are bombing the country’s own capital. This mess is what protesters in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and elsewhere have all been lucky to avoid. For expats, what is happening is an important reminder [...]

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Bahrain revolution analysis

February 18, 2011

I’m going to weigh in on what is going on in Bahrain as I lived and worked there and in many ways it has become the new focal point for the Arab Revolution. The Bahraini revolution is different in many respects from the revolutions  occurring elsewhere for several reasons, but there are still large similarities. [...]

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Should expats stay after a revolution?

February 16, 2011

Let’s imagine that you are working in a corrupt country with a great deal of poverty and wealthy disparity. Revolution breaks out and the ruling government falls. An interim government that is unelected replaces it but elections that are promised to be free and fair are to be held in a few months. Should you [...]

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Is my country safe?

February 14, 2011

One of the elements I stress in my books and on this blog is for expats to think in terms of safety and stability. Many expats move to where they can get the highest salary (I certainly did this) or where they feel they have found the cheapest rent next to the nicest beaches. Then [...]

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Revolution Complete

February 11, 2011

The Egyptian revolution has succeeded in its mission: the removal of Hosni Mubarak from the presidency. It seems that every generation witnesses a string of massive democratic revolutions; I witnessed our first such set in Eastern Europe in 1989, and before that the revolutions across Asia towards communist governments. What have we learned from this? [...]

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