Changing out my travel kit

I haven’t been to the Netherlands in a few weeks: I arrived at New Years, but only skipped through Schiphol in a couple of hours, missing a brief trip home.  This would be a bit longer visit, and a break from setting up the QMS paperwork back in the UK.

Since I have all of my clothes and things waiting in Maastricht, I’m able to travel light, even by Ryanair standards.  A carry-on suitcase with a few essentials and room for my shoulder bag and computer.  I always existed carrying bags onto the plane, but was gifted a small hard-side case a few years back that has worked well for me on trips like this.

Well, until this trip, anyway.

The handle fell apart when I extended it to deplane, and I ended up breaking off the handle just to exit.  ‘Headed to Amsterdam for meetings with the accountant, then on the train down to Maastricht, it wouldn’t last long.

I dropped into de Bijenkorf, the major Dutch department store, to see what might be done.  The luggage  section sprawls across a quarter of the floor, so I snag a young, hip salesperson who looks like who I want to be.

It has to fit the carry-on rules.  It needs to be durable and light.  It needs to fit my budget.

He suggested something hard-sided and on-special, the store brand.  Not my style.

One step up.  Soft-sided.  Not Samsonite.

Better alternatives: collections of straps, buckles, and expandable zippers that suggested versatility and exploration-chic.

Executive-style, guarantee…

Price went towards 500 euros, now it was leather hard-shell.  Too much.

I selected a nice soft-side for around 100 euros.  They fellow was willing to dispose of the old case, and I ,move everything to the new.  40 minutes, in and out, back on the road.

Is Road-Warrior still a phrase?

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I’m making one more change, this one more subtle.  For years, I’ve traveled with an MP3 player, loaded with podcasts  that I collect with gPodder.

The problem is that the system is labor intensive and inflexible.  selecting and transferring a selection of  what I do.

If new podcasts arrive, i can’t really sample them easily.

I have a lot of dross taking up space that i should listen to, but don’t.

Realistically, I have a lot of bandwidth, and should treat this more like radio than records.  I should be streaming from a catalogue, rather than archiving and curating.

So, I’ve transferred my subscription to Stitcher, and am experimenting with playlists, shuffles, and accelerated playback.

I like the flexibility, but can’t find all of my usual shows, cant alphabetize within a playlist, and  an;t play a single show.  Stitcher says that these are ‘features’, not issues, when I write support to ask.

Still, I’m liking the alternative, as long as I download before I board the plane and watch my roaming mobile data usage.

Expat financial news and updates

Of all the jobs I have to do as a small business owner, few are worse than quarterly bookkeeping.  I’m good about my daily receipts and ledger, the bank balances and bill payments.  But four times a year it needs to be rolled up and reconciled.  I usually end up with little piles of receipts, big complicated spreadsheets, and a tedious day summarizing it all for my accountants.

This quarter had a lot of unusual travel and expenses because of the funeral in Boulder.  It has all of the complexity of a small wedding, planned ad hoc in moments.  We’re still sorting out the financial and legal details, county certificates and probate processes, that will likely continue until autumn.

It’s a cautionary lesson: ‘good to have your will updated and your account details and passwords cached with a relative who will serve as executor.  I don’t think that we could have ever sorted this remotely for someone living overseas without guidance and a local contact.

Remember, too, that there are special considerations for expats and dual nationals beyond the basics of keeping people informed.  If, for example, you are passing 60, you need to start sorting your pension (Social Security) and health (Medicare) options.  There are steps that need to be taken to preserve benefits, including updating your registration, to avoid penalties and lost benefits.

Congress is also taking up amendments to FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act that has been causing so much trouble between expats and their local banks.  A draft bill would allow for a ‘same country exclusion’ that could simplify and reduce reporting requirements for residents using banks in their resident country.  If you’re inclined to write your representative, this is a good issue that affects your everyday life overseas.

And, somewhat morbidly, Bloomberg has released results of a study of how Americans die abroad.  Based on 8000 deaths from unnatural causes over the past 10 years, they show that biggest peril in Europe is still accidents. 

Except in the Netherlands, where drownings dominate.

And with that, I’m off from the receipts towards a quiet weekend around Poole, reading and getting together with friends for travel, conversation, coffee and beers.

 

‘tis the season for Christmas Markets

The Maastricht city Christmas market opened today, a collection of huts filling the main square.  The best part will be the big Ferris Wheel that can be seen from all over town.

Christmas Markets are a tradition in many cities across northern Europe, and well worth taking a day to visit. I’ve been to the big markets in Koln and Brussels, and wish that there was time to drive to some of the more distant ones in Nurnberg or Prague.  Markets generally feature lots of food and drink stalls, an assortment of crafts and small gifts for sale, holiday trimmings, and entertainment (ice rinks, carousels, and sky wheels).

Each has it’s own personality. The Koln Market, for example, is scattered over a half-dozen venues around the city, and focuses  on crafts.  The Brussels market follows a long, winding path through the streets across the old city center, featuring more food and gluhwijn.  There is also a spectacular light show splashed across the city hall and synchronized to opera.

The Markets get into full swing in the coming days: here are a couple of pointers to a good index of locations, dates, and attractions at Christmasmarkets.com, and to a ‘Top-10’ review that matches my own experiences at travelintelligence.  And the Maastricht Market runs through New Year’s.

Assimilating / accommodating

The psychologist Jean Piaget studied how people develop  knowledge, the ways that we explore our environment to gain better understanding of the world and to acquire more sophisticated  skills.  He identified two types of learning, assimilation, in which we learn how new experiences fit into our existing understanding, and accommodation, in which we adapt our mental models to fit new experiences.  In effect, one’s grip accommodates a stone, while clay is assimilated into our grip.  Assimilation and accommodation work in synergy with one another, like pendulum swings that, over time, advance our understanding of the world and our competency in it. (Boeree)

The first week in a new location is a learning adventure in exactly this way.  Knowledge from Arnhem is certainly relevant to finding my way around Maastricht.  For example, the train station works the same old way, and only the geography changes.  There are familiar names (with familiar functions) everywhere: the Albert Heijn (groceries) and Blokker (housewares), the neighborly Tom Mullins (pub) and the gargantuan Ikea Woonboulevard (furniture).

But there are also unique finds in Maastricht that will change how I live.  There is an amazing bookstore, Selexyz dominicanen, fit inside of a cathedral nave. Finally I won’t have to go to the UK or US for books: a welcome change to my habits.  My new gym, the Il Fiore healthcenter, features a computer system that automatically keeps track of my cumulative activity on every cardio- and weight-machine.  I’m not used to monitoring my progress that way; its a bit like using the casino cards that dispense comps when I’ve lost enough money.

And there are the many changes when learning to live in a new apartment.

Most are just simple adaptations: fitting my morning routine to the new kitchen layout, or boiling hot water instead of getting it from a tap (okay, Arnhem spoiled me on that one), or having to walk to the car parked a quarter mile from the apartment.  Others take some learning: I still stub my toes on things that are out of place in the bathroom, fumble for light switches in unfamiliar locations, struggle to balance heat from radiators absent a central thermostat.

  Stewart Brand’s How Buildings Learn is a classic text that shows how buildings evolve in sympathy with their occupants.  We, in turn are equally shaped by the neighborhoods and services that surround us.  It really is a pendulum swing between the ways we live and the ways we grow.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month

It may seem ironic, but this month is Sudden Cardiac Awareness month in the United States.  Given the crumbling world economy, you may be more interested in preventing the stressful causes of heart attacks than with treating them.  Still, it can affect anyone, any time, and we all need to do our part to help.

There has never been a time when people are more likely to survive a cardiac arrest.  New research has revolutionized the treatment recommendations for doctors and civilians alike.  Emergency Response Services stand ready to help in many parts of the world, aided by enhanced notification and dispatch services.

This is my field of expertise: I have worked for decades to make defibrillators smaller, cheaper, more effective, and easier to use.  You can now find these lifesaving devices in airports, schools, and public arenas throughout the world.   

But, still, too many die who could be saved.

The biggest enemy is time.  Survival decreases 10% per  minute from the moment the heart stops beating.   In these circumstances, every moment counts, and you are their only chance for life.

If you see someone collapse, don’t hesitate!  Call emergency response teams as quickly as possible, giving your location at the outset of the call (they don’t dispatch until they know where you are).

Start chest compressions immediately!  Bystander CPR adds precious minutes to the window where the heart can be restarted.  Take a First Aid course which teaches CPR and defibrillation (it only takes a few hours).

Support your local emergency medical services!  I am always always amazed when taxpayers vote down EMS levy’s, or when they don’t make way for flashing emergency vehicle lights on the highways.

Congress passed a resolution declaring October as Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Awareness Month. SCA can strike persons of any age, gender, race and even those who seem in good health. To help commemorate this first-ever SCA Awareness initiative, the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association invites you to take two minutes to watch our new public service announcement (PSA) with Tom Brokaw of NBC News, view a normal and abnormal heartbeat and download fact sheets to increase your knowledge about SCA and learn how you can help save a life.

For more information visit www.suddencardiacarrest.org.

Cross-border banking, taxes, investments (and learning to read)

'Clearing out a few notes of advice before the start of the new week...

Disclaimer: This essay describes my personal knowledge and experiences with cross-border finances. It is not intended to substitute for getting personal advice from a professional advisor. Getting started, I also recommend reading the US-Expatriate-Handbook, available on-line from the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics.

Banking: Some time back, I wrote of the perils of trying to get transfer accounts set up between US and Dutch banks. A change in our company's payroll system required me to set up a US-based direct-deposit system that could transfer monthly stipends out of the US each month. Washington Mutual and CitiBank could not reliably make regular transfers, and neither Fortis nor Barclay had the necessary US connections.

My solution was an HSBC Premier account, their globally linked accounts system. Once I set it up, it has worked work flawlessly with competitive exchange rates. The account requires a hefty minimum balance with HSBC or a monthly fee, but if your company or employer uses the bank, you can probably access the program for much less.

Taxes: The Economist reports that a new law, signed June 16, will require payment of asset penalties if a US expat renounces citizenship in order to avoid double taxation. This comes on top of earlier changes to the law, limiting US credit for foreign taxes paid.

The net effect is to make life more expensive for working expatriates. There are also much greater chances to make a mistake if you try to do your own taxes. My 2007 tax return is the size of a small novel: to the extent that you can negotiate the benefit, support for preparing and offsetting US taxes should be an essential part of an expatriate contract (or local work agreement).

Investments: US anti-terrorism and money-laundering laws have made it impossible to have European share accounts to invest in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds if you are a US citizen. US brokerages have closed offices, and local brokers screen out US expatriates. This makes it hard to make spare money work for you: European checking accounts pay virtually no interest.

Nonetheless, there is an alternative. Time deposit savings accounts, which pay an interest premium for limiting withdrawals, pay over 7% in the UK at the moment, and have very low minimums. (Barclay's Monthly Savings account is typical). And, as long as the dollar is falling, you get a boost by simply holding pounds and euros.

Learning to Read: Although I am still not able to think fast enough on my feet to keep up a conversational Dutch exchange, I am getting more confident by the month at reading and writing. Not surprisingly, children's books are a great source for getting started.

I have purchased used storybooks from the bookseller, either the "checkerboard" books or others of similar heft. Even better have been the WinklerPrins books sold at discount: the Kinder Woordenboek and Encyclopedie have been great. And I always have the Prisma Miniwoordenboek, available at Schiphol bookstores, close to hand.

Podcasts to go

First, "Thank you, Sinterklaas!".

I've been feeling a bit underappreciated lately, mired in a flood of work that has consumed life in recent weeks. My team surprised me with a small gift and poem for today's eve-of-feast celebration: it made my day.

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I was once program manager of a radio station, and have always enjoyed listening to programs while driving, shopping, or exercising. Dutch radio is completely opaque for me, though, the talk goes too fast to follow, and the music tends towards top-40 hits and oldies.

Podcasts have been a welcome alternative. A podcast is a radio show, distributed over the Internet as an .mp3 file. I They can be easily and automatically downloaded: either install a podcatcher and specify the RSS audio feeds that you want to monitor, or subscribe through iTunes or Podshow, Downloaded shows accumulate in a directory, where they can be copied to an MP3 player weekly. I generally do a bit of cleanup on the file headers, using TagScanner to set the artists and genre consistently so that shows are grouped on my player's menu. That's it: you're good to go!

Unfortunately, there are few instructional Dutch Language podcasts, so I usually just rip language lessons off of instructional CDs. Laura Speaks Dutch and Dutch Grammar Podcast are good shows, but only published monthly. SBS Radio, from Australia, offers daily Dutch-language news and entertainment programs, and there are a lot of home-grown Dutch music and politics programs indexed through Podfeed.nl.

Beyond that, I regularly listen to about a dozen English-language programs, mainly drawn from entertainment, technology, public affairs, and writer's almanacs. I've put a short list of links to some of my favorites to the right of this posting.

And, if overuse and travel abuse damages your iPod, I can recommend a quick fix from UK iPod Repairs. These are good people who can fix almost anything and have been fast, reliable, and fair when I have a problem.