Are we there yet?
How to join the great escape
Welcome to my website, A Desk In The Sun, which I hope will become a valuable resource for people who live and work abroad or who are planning to live and work abroad. Although intended for British expatriates, hopefully it will also prove to be a valuable resource for citizens who were not born in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A Desk In The Sun was the name of a column I wrote regularly for The Guardian newspaper’s monthly Business Sense section. This charted my experiences since I moved from Scotland to live and work on the Spanish island of Ibiza in 2004. Unfortunately the Business Sense supplement was dropped by the paper and my column went with it. Instead, I started writing The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad which you can order by clicking on the advertisement to the left of here.
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We’re selling our gorgeous Ibiza home
Why?
You might well ask
Both Barbara and I had lived all our lives in cities until we moved to Ibiza five years ago. Now we feel ready to return to a little of the noise, rush and buzz of an urban existence. In an ideal world we would keep this house and have a little apartment in Ibiza Town if the tranquility here got too much.
Unfortunately our combined income would not be enough to support two properties in Ibiza as well as our little dog Lilly after whom the house is named. Incidentally, the name ‘Casa Lilly’ isn’t official. It’s just convenient when selling a place to call it something when there is no street number.
You may well see the property on the websites of various Ibiza estate agents. We are, of course, more than happy to sell through one of them. They are all good and reliable.
In Spain, however, there is a substantial commission to be paid. The average is 5%. Yes, it is the seller who has to fork out, but what we are interested in is the final amount of cash we receive from the sale. So if you approach us direct without going through an agent there is more room for negotiation.
That certainly does not mean you should not employ a good lawyer. Spanish property transactions are complex and you really do need an expert to lead you through the minefield. The good news is legal expenses are generally reasonable in our experience.
Anyway, enough of worrying stuff. Most of the pictures on this site were taken in November 2009. So you’ll see some flowers in the garden, but not as many as you would in spring and early summer. Still, I was wondering round in shorts and a t-shirt as I took the photographs, which certainly wouldn’t be the case in the UK or anywhere else in northern Europe.
Also, I shouldn’t really say this, but if we don’t receive a reasonable offer to buy Casa Lilly before the end of spring 2010 we may well rent the accommodation on a weekly basis for the summer months. If it isn’t available we would be happy to recommend a wide variety of other properties ranging from compact apartments to luxurious mansions. Just drop us an email.
More importantly, you know you want to buy our lovely house. It won’t be available for ever so get in touch now.
The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad
I’m back in action for what I’m afraid are wholly selfish reasons. What I’m trying to do is flog copies of my book ‘The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad’. It’s aimed at people who are thinking about working abroad, but aren’t sure where or, perhaps, why. To be honest if you’ve already made up your mind which country you want to relocate to you’d be better off spending your money on a book focused on your new home nation.
But if you do decide to fork out the equivalent of the price of a couple of glossy magazines to buy a copy of ‘The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad’ please click on the ad to the left of here. It won’t cost you any more, but I get about twice as much.
It’s one of the wonders of online capitalism: I get roughly the same money if somebody buys any book from my Amazon bookshop as I do when somebody buys a copy of ‘The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad’ from somewhere else.
I’m embarrassed to say how little that is. Suffice to say I look with envy at the pay packets of people flipping burgers at our local McDonalds here in Ibiza.
Are you ready to live and work abroad?
Take the quiz
Moving to another country is a massive decision. For some people it’ll be the best thing they’ve other done. For others it’ll be a complete disaster. The aim of this simple quiz is to make people think about whether emigrating is really for them.
Go on. Click here and try the quiz. It’s fun
Visit the living and working abroad bookshop
In association with Amazon I’ve created a bookshop specialising in books for people who live and work abroad or are considering the move.
Click here to go straight to the Desk In The Sun bookshop
Partners needed to sponsor or work on this website
This website could be the start of a great adventure for you as well as me. And I’m not just meaning the people who’ll make their escape to the sun in the coming months. I’m talking about the partnership opportunities this provides for sponsors, advertisers and those of you that have overseas experiences to share.
From a commercial point of view, expatriates and potential expats represent a large and lucrative market. They are major consumers of financial services and advice for pensions, investments, foreign exchange transfer, health insurance, taxation, property sales and mortgages.
I can’t provide all the answers to queries from potential expats and those that already live and work abroad. But maybe you can. As the site develops and the income begins to flow in, it is my intention to employ experts in each of the main areas with a large British population. I can’t afford it at the moment, but with luck over the next few months it will be possible and until then I’d be delighted to hear from you and to see your contributions to the discussion forums which I’m putting on this website.
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Why you need a high-quality writer for your web content
Many thought the need for good writing would die as the internet became popular. They thought the ready availability of video, streamed radio, podcasts and the like marked the end of quality text content. In fact, the opposite has happened.
On the one hand perhaps the most successful business to come out of the internet revolution is a bookshop, Amazon. On the other, despite the sophistication of its technology, Google finds it very hard to index anything which isn’t based on words. It stands to reason really, what else would you type into the search box?
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Estate agents can help you. Really. They can
The idea of the estate agent who acts in the interests of the buyer may seem to defy logic, but bear with me for a few sentences. I’ll explain why both sellers and property purchasers are taken in by a delusion. And it’s the same whether you’re buying a home in the UK or overseas.
The basis for the illusion is straightforward. In a property transaction it’s the seller who pays commission to the estate agent, after their home’s been sold. “He who pays the piper calls the tune,” as the old saying goes. But in this case it’s wrong.
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Why regular bar visits are a vital part of searching for your perfect home in the sun
Before you buy a home abroad it is really important to get to know the area. But, apart from exploring and generally having a good time what should you do? Ask around. You might find the house of your dreams without looking in an estate agent’s window. Let me explain.
People will generally talk to their friends and in local bars about selling their home long before they actually get round to actually putting their property on the market. Indeed, they may welcome a reasonable offer for their apartment, house or villa if it avoids the hassle of going through the commercial selling process.
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Introduction to accounts packages for personal computers
We all hate doing it, but if you run a business, no matter how small you have to keep track of money coming in and going out. A software package for a PC can make life easier and helps to promote a little self-discipline.
As soon the initial finance for my first company landed in the bank I went out and bought a copy of Sage Line 50 Accounts. I did it, almost without thinking, on the recommendation of our bookkeeper.
This was unusual for me. Normally if I’m using market-leading technology it’s because I’ve blagged a free journalist’s review copy. Otherwise I’ll search the internet to see what users say will do the job most economically.
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