Most Expensive Places to Drive in the World
Written by Alex Bach
Ever since the invention of the Model-T, cars have been front and center in the public eye, only growing in popularity as a means of transportation. They’ve become faster, safer, more reliable, and–of course–more expensive. And that’s not even considering the auxiliary prices of gas, parking and other fees related to your car. The car’s price, fees and availability mean these convenient modes of transportation are not always convenient around the world, and certainly not always cheap.
Here are some of the most expensive places to have a car in the world.
Purchases
The markup for cars in Singapore is incredibly high. Compared to Cuba, where cars are expensive because of their lack of availability and relative poverty of the country, in Singapore, an affluent Asian country, the cars are expensive for different reasons. Like Cuba, cars are not easily available, but that is because Singapore doesn’t want them to be too available, and thus charges extremely high fees: the car is marked up about %150, with entitlement fees anywhere from $15-$20 grand–and none of this includes the cost of importing the car! A $30,000 car in Singapore can cost over $100,000 when all said and done. Many other countries, other Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, North Korea and China, are also extremely expensive, as are Nicaragua, Brazil and Cuba.
(Keep in mind Schumacher Cargo ships cars and other vehicles by the thousands every year; which means it will likely be more affordable to ship your car with us versus buying new.
Parking
You’ve got the car, now where are you going to park it? Parking is another huge expensive when driving in other parts of the world. A major city like New York may charge as much to park your car as it does for your rent (depending on where you live): about $500 per month–and that’s just the average! Other cities, like Sydney, average around $600 per month. Hong Kong averages about $750 and London is the most expensive, costing drivers around $1000 a month just to park your car.
Fuel
Until the proliferation of electric cars becomes more prominent, people are going to have to rely on gas to fuel their vehicles, and gas is not cheap! The cost of fuel prices is another major concern when driving around the world. Hong Kong, Monaco and the United Kingdom, for example, charge roughly $7.27 per gallon. And it goes up from there. Gas prices in Norway are over $8.00 per gallon. Turkey is at at a whopping $9.54 and Eritrea holds the title belt with $9.61 per gallon.
As much as we love driving our cars, it is not always the cheapest mode of expedience when we are traveling. Remember, it might just be cheaper to ship your car, or put it in storage.
Written by Alex Bach
Traveling is often at the forefront of the romantic’s mind: exploring the bounty of the world, taking in new cultures, seeing historic and legendary sights and cities. However, as most can attest to, traveling is not cheap. But what if there was a way you could travel and get paid at the same time? It’s not too good to be true; these jobs will let you work from virtually any country you want and give you a living wage while doing so.
8 Best Jobs For Wanderlust
1. Foreign Service Officer aka Diplomat–As America has 256 foreign embassies located around the world, any of these could become your next office. These jobs allow you to work in virtually any country on the planet and get a taste of the local culture. Although becoming a diplomat is not necessarily the easiest, or safest, job out there.
2. Teacher–Plenty of countries around the world are looking for teachers, mostly in language and science/mathematics. Working as an ESL or EFL teacher can offer many opportunities to teach and live in another country of your choosing.
3. Writer–Depending on the kind of writing you’re doing, most writing jobs are either freelance or work-from-home. While a fiction writer traveling from country might sound like the ideal job, most of those fiction writers who are able to do so have already found success or have another income.
4. Architect–Again, this job will likely depend on where you are in your career, but architecture is the great industrial art form and as there are so many booming cities around the world (many of which are in Asia or the Middle East) traveling for work is a high possibility.
5. Archaeologist–While battling Nazis in the attempt to discover the Lost Ark might not be part of your day to day activities, archaeologists do get to travel all over the world in some of the coolest locations on the planet. You could be unearthing a new dinosaur or breaking into the vaults of some secret pyramid.
6. Event Coordinator–Trade shows, festivals, conferences…these international events don’t plan themselves. This job will likely be a contracted position and likely an intermittent one, but a great way to work and travel nonetheless.
7. Tour Guide–Historic places need people who know history, and usually someone who speaks English to tell it to them. Becoming a tour guide is a great way to work and live in an area of the world that fascinates you.
8. Economist–Economists are sent all over the world in order to compile economic forecasts for their respective countries. This is a great opportunity to travel and take in the culture, although you might want to read John Perkins’ “Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man” before you take the job.
You’ve got the jobs; now it’s time to get the visas and passport renewed and you’re on your way!
Living abroad is one of the greatest experiences a person can have. It opens us up to new cultures and expands our knowledge of life on this vast globe of ours. But living the expat life isn’t always easy, what with language, custom, technology and even measurement barriers.
We can help ship your possessions safely to and from your exciting new residence, and these apps can help you to settle in overseas after the move.
10 Must-Have Apps For Expats:
1. Smart Traveler
This awesome app brought to you by the State Department is a great way to stay safe when abroad, supplying you with embassy locations as well as updates on security alerts and maps. This app will help keep you safe when traveling–which means you’ll be able to convert that worry into fun!
2. HiConverter
This app is absolutely a must-have for expats as it helps convert all the various measurement discrepancies from around the world, telling you their US equivalent. From kilometers and other metric measurements to shoe and clothing sizes, this app helps you put things in perspective and make the right choices, like whether a museum is within walking distance or whether those pants will fit your father.
Homesickness is a common and often unavoidable fact of expat living. While this app won’t replicate your mother’s spaghetti and meatballs, it will let you tune in to radio broadcasts of your favorite home stations.
4. Lingolook Flashcards
Loaded with translations of 500 basic words in seven languages, this app will help break up the language barrier. The addition of a real voice doing the pronunciations versus a robot is a tremendous advantage!
This is the perfect app for large families or forgetful travelers, allowing you to make a list of necessary items to include in your packing. Of course, you’ll still have to remember to check the list.
As bathroom situations are often a high-priority item for travelers, this app helps you find the nearest public restrooms while traveling as well as informing you of their particular “style” of commode.
7. World Customs and Cultures
This is a great app to help keep you from committing a disastrous faux-pas while visiting another country.
An expensive app but it’s like having a personal travel guide with you wherever you go, and without broadcasting yourself as a blatant tourist. What’s also great is that the information is loaded to the app when you buy it so you won’t have to incur roaming or data charges to use it.
9. WiFi Finder
As phone use abroad is expensive, this app is a huge money-saver. With over 650,000 locations, you can find the nearest WiFi spots wherever you are in the world!
Well maybe not a must-have this app is a great way to connect with people back home and send them personalized postcards made from your favorite photos–a good way to show family exotic locations and assure them you haven’t been thrown in a prison.
Written by Alex Bach
Moving is never easy. There’s the cleaning, the packing, the stress, the uncertainty and that’s all before the actual moving day! The difficulties of moving are always compounded when there are kids involved.
A move across town involving a new school can present a whole range of problems for kids; so what do you do when you’re moving not just across cities or states but across countries?
Here at Schumacher Cargo we know moving can be difficult, after all we’ve helped countless families with moving to and from the U.S.and the more that we can help the better. That’s why we’re offering these tips to help get your kids acclimated to the new country and expedite the fun and enjoyment of their new expat life!
Explore!
Almost every kid loves exploring, whether it’s a new house, a creepy basement or a forest. And what better place to explore than in a completely new country! You’ll want to go with your kids, but encourage them to indulge their inner explorers and take walks through the various neighborhoods, countrysides or museums.
Get Involved in Local Culture
No matter what country you’re in, there’s always going to be a difference in culture; but don’t be afraid of the new culture, embrace it! Find out what makes your new country unique and get your kids to participate. If you’re in China, have your kids learn about Tai Chi or local martial arts.
Cook!
Part of local culture is local cuisine and this might be one of the hardest challenges to overcome with kids whose palettes aren’t as open adults. One of the best ways to counter this is to cook local cuisines at home and have them help in the cooking. They’ll be able to see (and choose) what goes into the dish, discarding the scarier items, and the fact that they’re making it will likely compel them to eat the new dish.
Learn the Language
One of the most isolating things about moving to a new country is not knowing the local language. Sign your kids up for classes in the local language; it will get them involved in the culture, give them something to do and look forward to, and help break down the walls between them and their new country.
As we said, moving is never easy, but hopefully these tips will help your kids focus on the exciting aspects of the move and through that become better acclimated.
Written by Jenn Cosgrove
The United States is still one of the most mobile countries in the world:
According to recent surveys, 24 percent of Americans reported moving from their city or area in the past five years. That’s comparable to New Zealand (26%), Finland (23%), and Norway (22%).
New U.S. Census data show that the great slowdown in migration caused by the recession is starting to give way. In 2012, “domestic migration” was as high as it’s been in the past five years,nearly 16.9 million people moved between counties, with long-distance interstate moves accounting for about 7 million of those.
Movement between counties largely reflects people moving because of jobs, demographers said.
Overall, the increase signals both a healthier economy and future growth because it means more workers are being matched with jobs that suit their skills.
Among those moving more were 25-to-29-year-olds, indicating that many young people who were stymied by the weak labor market of recent years were finding jobs and moving on with their lives, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.
The American Moving & Storage Association reports that in January and February, 5.4 percent more households moved this year than last. The report is based on data from the nine largest moving companies.
Americans are also making more international moves. The annual rate of expatriation is growing as over 150,000 Americans moved internationally in the past year.
According to U.S. Department of State figures, between 1966 and 1999 the number of Americans living abroad skyrocketed from just 70,000 to an estimated four million.
Fourteen years later, the U.S. Department of State again released estimates of the number of American expats living abroad.
The new government estimate (January 2013) placed the American expat population at 6.89 million, about a 68 percent increase over the 1999 estimate and a 9.4 percent increase over its 6.3 million estimate in July 2012.
