Simply Better Living

Why learning the language is about far more than words.   If you've been following this series, you'll know that we've already looked at three important lessons about moving abroad. First, don't be afraid to start over. Second, remember that wherever you go, you take yourself with you. Third, don't just plan the move—plan the life that begins afterwards. That naturally brings us to one of the biggest myths about moving abroad. Most people think learning the language is mainly about communication, and that is if they don't find excuses for not learning it. It isn't. It's about understanding another way of seeing the world. I was reminded of that recently while selling some furniture from our apartment in Berlin before moving permanently to Spain. Among the items was a simple laundry basket. A gentleman—let's call him Lars—contacted me online. His German was impeccable. So was mine. He immediately agreed to pay the full asking price withou...

The first thing most people get wrong about moving abroad.    If you've read my last two articles, you'll know that this short series is really about starting over . Sometimes that means changing careers. Sometimes it means changing relationships. Sometimes it means questioning assumptions you've lived with for years. And sometimes it means moving to another country. Having now lived in Britain, Germany and Spain, I've discovered that one of the biggest mistakes people make isn't choosing the wrong country. It's expecting the move itself to do most of the work. Sixteen years ago, my wife and I packed up our lives, sold our house, and moved to Berlin with our four children. Like most people planning a move abroad, I spent months thinking about practicalities. Where would we live? Could we find work? How difficult would the paperwork be? How quickly would my family learn German? Looking back, none of those turned out to be the greatest challenge. The biggest chall...

A new country can change your surroundings. But only you can change yourself.  If you read my last post, Starting Over , you'll know that I argued we don't have to spend our lives living by assumptions that other people have handed to us. Sometimes we really can choose a different path. This article is the first in a short series about one particular way of starting over: moving abroad. Having now lived in Britain, Germany and Spain, I've learned that changing countries can be one of life's greatest adventures. It can broaden our horizons, introduce us to wonderful people and force us to grow in ways we never imagined. But it also taught me one of the most important lessons I've ever learned. Changing countries is much easier than changing yourself. When my husband and I finally decided to leave Germany after almost sixteen years and begin a new chapter of our lives in Spain, it felt like the culmination of months of planning. The EasyJet flight landed in Mála...

It's never too late to question the assumptions that shape your life   A friend once told me a story about a mother who always cut the end off a roast before putting it into the oven every Sunday. One day her daughter asked why. "I don't know," she replied. "Because my mother always did it." Curious, the daughter asked her grand-mother. The answer was simple. "We had a very small oven." What had begun as a practical solution had quietly become a family tradition. Three generations were cutting perfectly good meat from their roast for a reason that no longer existed. We smile at stories like that, but many of us do exactly the same thing with our lives. We follow rules that nobody consciously chose. We accept limitations that may once have been true but no longer are. We inherit assumptions about what people like us can do, where people like us belong, and what is possible at our age, income level or stage of life. Sometimes the most important quest...

Crucial tips on handling your money Most of us were never formally taught at school how money works. We learned from our parents, friends, newspapers, social media and life experience. The problem is that some of the most common beliefs about money are either incomplete or simply wrong. Here are seven money myths that may be affecting your financial decisions without you even realising it. 1. If the Economy Is Growing, You Must Be Getting Richer You often hear politicians celebrating economic growth and rising GDP (Gross Domestic Product). While economic growth can be good news, it doesn't automatically mean your personal finances are improving. House prices, energy bills, rent and food costs may rise faster than your income. In other words, the economy can be growing while your own financial situation remains unchanged—or even worsens. Better approach: Focus less on national statistics and more on your own income, savings rate, debt levels and long-term financial goals. 2. All De...

The goal of life is not merely to work well, but to live well. There is a belief, deeply embedded in many cultures, that success comes primarily from working harder. Work longer hours. Take fewer breaks. Push through the exhaustion. Sleep less. Do more. Yet a growing body of research suggests that the relationship between work and achievement is not nearly as simple as that. In fact, happier people often achieve more. That may sound like wishful thinking. Surely success makes people happy, not the other way around? The reality appears to be more complicated. Human Beings Are Not Machines One of the great mistakes of modern life is to treat people as if they were machines. Machines can often produce more simply by running for longer. Human beings do not work that way. We need rest, purpose, relationships, recognition and a sense of control over our lives. Without these things, performance often declines long before effort does. Many people know this from personal experience. Have you e...

 Why I’m Eating Less Meat as I Get Older For most of my life, I never seriously questioned eating meat, dairy, and eggs. Like many people of my generation, I simply grew up assuming this was normal, healthy, and necessary. But over the past year, I’ve gradually begun changing my mind, not only because of concerns about animal suffering, but also because of health and environmental issues that become harder to ignore as we get older. I am not writing this as a strict vegan or as someone trying to lecture others. But I do think many of us could benefit from moving towards a more Mediterranean, pescatarian, vegetarian, or partly plant-based way of eating. And perhaps especially in later life. Health as We Age One thing becomes increasingly obvious after 60: our bodies no longer recover as quickly from years of excess. Many doctors and nutritionists now agree that diets rich in vegetables, legumes, olive oil, nuts, fish, and whole grains are linked to: better heart health lower blood p...