Expat Life

10 useful tips for visiting drugstores in the Netherlands

July 23, 2023 by Karen Turner 12 Comments

Although you’ve definitely read numerous articles about the French pharmacies (and they are incredible!), I’m here to write about the Dutch drugstores. I’ll be including some tips for visiting the Dutch drugstore, including useful products that you might need with some helpful translations, and some money-saving tips for shopping at the Dutch drugstore.

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Tips for renting an apartment in Amsterdam for first-timers

May 13, 2022 by Karen Turner 50 Comments

I absolutely Amsterdam and I’m so glad that I moved to the Netherlands. Finding expat housing in Amsterdam is hard. When I moved here, I didn’t know how to find an apartment although I’m past apartment #5 already. Hopefully, this helps fellow expats find a room or an apartment to rent in Amsterdam! I include tips for finding an apartment in Amsterdam, rental housing information that you need to know, a free download to keep track of applications, the best neighborhoods to look in, and strategies for finding housing.

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How to work abroad: Professional jobs to help you move abroad

May 27, 2017 by Karen Turner 19 Comments

Wondering how to become an expat? You need to find a job abroad! Here is a list of careers and advice to help you find international jobs! Finding jobs abroad is much easier if you’re a professional with significant job experience and/or have a Masters/Ph.D. Depending on your career, living and working abroad with the right work experience is possible if you’re trying to figure out how to move abroad. Keep reading for tips from real expats!

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Should I elope? Reasons for eloping and 15 best places to elope

July 29, 2017 by Karen Turner 20 Comments

Weddings can be overwhelming, expensive, and exhausting, so eloping with your fiance is a great way to take the pressure off from intensive wedding planning and family stress. (Surprise, I got married!)

Read why eloping was right for us, reasons to elope (or not elope), and about the best places to elope! This is not going to be your typical guide to on how to elope.

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An expat guide to living in the Hague, the Netherlands, including the cost of living in the Hague

May 1, 2020 by Karen Turner 35 Comments

Considering moving to the Hague, the Netherlands? The Hague has been my home for some months now and after having some difficult decisions on where to live in the Netherlands, my husband and I chose to move to the Hague.

Living in the Hague was right for us for a number of reasons, in particular, its low cost of living (for Holland), central location, and its international community. I got into the cost of living in the Hague, how to find housing in the Hague, the best neighborhoods in the Hague, and what the expat community in the Hague is like.

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11 things to consider before traveling and moving abroad with your dog

August 8, 2018 by Karen Turner Leave a Comment

This is a guest post by a fellow animal lover, Maggie. I wouldn’t consider leaving for a week or longer without my dog. He is my companion and I am part of his pack. It takes preparation, planning and research to take along a beloved family member. If you are traveling abroad with your dog, it takes even more preparation. Keep reading for what to consider before traveling with your dog and moving abroad with your dog.

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Tips for traveling overseas with a cat & moving abroad with a cat

October 29, 2017 by Karen Turner 28 Comments

If you’re considering moving abroad with your cat, you have a lot of work cut out for you. Moving from the United States to Europe (Netherlands to Belgium to Romania to France) with my cat has been interesting to say the least. If you want to bring your cat with you when you move abroad, there are some important things to consider. That said, if you’re not moving abroad, but only traveling abroad with your cat, there will be some helpful cat travel tips here.

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Our post elopement party: Tips for holding a reception after eloping

November 13, 2018 by Karen Turner 6 Comments

As many of you know, we eloped last year. It was perfect in its own way, but not being able to celebrate our wedding with our families bothered us. We were saving up for a wedding in the States, but eloping forced us to reconsider our plans.

Our elopement was small, intimate, and romantic, however I knew that I still wanted to have a proper reception and a ceremony despite eloping. I’ll include some lessons learned from our post-elopement party, which was planned from abroad.

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17 things to know before celebrating King’s Day in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

February 15, 2020 by Karen Turner 3 Comments

If King’s Day in Amsterdam is not on your radar, you need to put this Dutch holiday on your bucket list. One day a year, the Netherlands becomes a street party of massive proportions; Amsterdam is the epicenter of this party. Tourists and locals alike take to the canals to drink, dance, and buy/sell goods from the street. This post is full of helpful tips to know before your trip to Amsterdam for King’s Day.

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How to save money for travel: Thirty realistic money saving tips for anyone

March 4, 2018 by Karen Turner 1 Comment

As much as I want to pretend that travel is cheap, travel costs money. As someone who lived close to the poverty line for a couple years, I know how hard it is to save money for travel.

I’ve focused these tips on how to save money for travel for any salary rather than focusing on money saving tips for those who earn enough that a latte each day is something that you can cut out of your budget. Keep reading for my very real and battle-tested tips on how to save for travel… I’ve had a lot of questions on how I save for travel as I’m quite frugal and I hope this answers some of the questions.

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