Travel and Living in a Foreign Country

Well, for those of you who may not know, I moved to the Netherlands to be with my Husband.  So I thought I would share some expirences with you all about living and traveling overseas.  ((Also Been telling Aballah I would do this article for a while and finally had time to sit down and get it figured out decently XD ))

So:  First off, travel.

From the Eastern Seaboard, or any of the major international airports, you will see approx a6-9 our flight to Europe and 10-12 to the Far East.  Plan accordingly with things to do, because sleep is not always an option.  With small children, plan on brinign at least 2 changes of clothes along with plenty of treats, toys, games, books and their favorite blankie for naps.

Documents:  Minimum of a Passport and Drivers License, small children you may need written permission from their Blood Parent in order to travel,as well as a Birth Certificate.  Some countries still require Visa’s to travel, so check beforehand.  Most of the EU is part of the VWP (Visa Waver Program)  where Americans and EU’ers can come and go without needing a Visa.

Money:  In the EU, exchanges are pretty easy.  No coins or change, so bring bills.  Also, it may be better to purchase/exhange before you reach the airport, it can be more expensive there.  Be prepared for some sitcker shock as well.  Europe is rather expensive compared to the States, especially if you are going to High Tourist areas.

Modes of Trans:  Walking, busses, subways, taxi’s.  The Public transit system is wonderful to use.  And, people are usually glad to help a foreigner.

Language:  While many of the elder generation may still have issues with English, in the EU most people under 45 learned English in school, and speak it fluently, if with some accent.  Finding English speakers is easy, just ask straight away if they can speak english and if not they will help you find someone who can help you.

((More may be added as I think of things ofc ))

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 8:42 am and is filed under Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.