What do building a phone app, developing global mobility policies, and even stocking your pantry have in common? All these projects can benefit dramatically from using a structured approach to complete them.

At Living Abroad, we’ve begun to talk about what’s next for the International Relocation Center, and we’ve found the structured approach of design thinking to be a very useful tool.

Design thinking is usually comprised of these stages:

• Understanding the feelings and experiences of users. Be a good listener and ask good questions.
• Defining the specific problems users need to solve. Identify what it is that users need, and why, very specifically, they need it.
• Brainstorming solutions to those problems. Encourage all ideas in a friendly, relaxed, supportive environment.
• Prototyping one or more solutions. Consider factors like quality, complexity, and cost.
• Testing solutions to see if they meet user needs. Does the solution solve the identified problem? How does it affect the user’s feelings and experiences?

Design thinking stages may overlap, occur out of order, or even repeat. But making specific time for each stage can yield results that are innovative and even offer solutions for the future. They also help us achieve our most important goal: making users feel truly heard and supported.

Want to read more about design thinking? A good place to start is Google’s The Design Sprint, a guide to setting up a five day “sprint” for tackling all sorts of business challenges.

(And if you need a short break between stages: The puzzle game Wordle has taken the Internet by storm, but have you tried Globle? Instead of a five-letter word, you must guess a country by name on an unlabeled globe. As you get geographically closer, the color of your guessed countries gets darker and darker. Just like Wordle, you can share your progression through the game with others every day.)

Written by Erin Fitzgerald, GMS, Content Manager

When is your favorite time to listen to audio?
Is it while commuting, to hear traffic and weather reports? Passing the time on a long trip? While exercising? Playing music in your home? To keep up with news or listen to an interesting podcast?

When you’re traveling, do your listening habits change?

Traditional radio broadcasts, streaming audio services, and smartphone apps provide the soundtrack to our lives, whether at home or abroad. Relocating families often find comfort in listening to familiar programs or series on apps or streamed in the host location.

Broadcasters with global reach make it easy to find their content from wherever you are around the world. BBC World Service, for example, broadcasts over air in many countries, as well as online and via app. iHeartRadio broadcasts, streams, and has an app for music as well as news, features, and hundreds of thousands of podcasts. Based in New York, it has affiliates in Australia, Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Terrestrial radio still enjoys a huge audience. For example, 83% of Americans still listen to it in an average week. While listeners in cars declined in 2020 during the pandemic, the numbers are bouncing back. And all those ears are powerful: local radio in the U.S. accounts for an estimated $12 billion in annual advertising spending.

The sheer breadth of options is astounding. My 91-year-old mother listens to an AM news station on her battery-operated transistor radio, and she also listens to classic radio shows from the 1940s with her SiriusXM subscription. My children favor music on Spotify and podcasts for entertainment and information. Outside of mainstream broadcasts, there are specialty stations and podcasts on every imaginable topic, from religion, politics, and tech trends to true crime, psychology, and extreme athletes.

Fans of public radio often have a choice of national and regional broadcasts.

Around the world, Poland, South Africa, Germany, France, and the United States have the highest percentage of radio listeners, according to Statistica. Countries undergoing instability often rely on radio to stay abreast of political volatility. In locations where censorship is an issue, journalists struggle to convey balanced information to the public. Underscoring the importance of radio for basic safety, it is often the first alert system for a pending weather event or in a natural disaster.

The power of radio is unmistakable. A few years ago, the BBC’s Steve Martin gave an interesting talk about innovative radio stations in Africa. On a lighter note, the movie Pirate Radio takes an entertaining look at the 1960s when the BBC’s exclusive hold on radio prompted unlicensed stations to broadcast popular music from ships offshore in international waters.

Wherever you are in the world, you’ll find audio options in a variety of delivery methods. Living Abroad International Relocation Center subscribers can check out our Media & Communication section for “Media Worldwide” resources.

Written by Ellen Harris, GMS, Product Manager, Content Group

In my household there are three people with three jobs, one car, too many pets, and countless remote and in-person activities and obligations. We rely heavily on knowing who needs to do what, when. After our holiday decorations are put away every January, I turn to a task that takes less than an hour but pays off substantially over the following 12 months: adding reminders and important dates to my new planner, and to our household digital calendar.

Here are some entries to consider making in your calendar every year:

• All appointments scheduled for the new year, that were set up in the previous year
• Expiry dates for identification and documents such as passports, permits, and licenses. (Don’t forget to check estimated renewal times and required validity for travel!)
• Birthdays and anniversaries
• Bill payment dates
• Delivery and subscription dates
• Lease expiry dates
• Commuter pass expiry dates
• Auto registration and inspection expiry dates
• Health, vehicle, and home insurance policy change dates
• Home and host country tax related dates
• Company holidays
• Home and host country national and cultural holidays
• School holidays
• Academic calendar dates for all schools that influence your schedule
• Meeting dates and membership renewal dates for organizations to which you belong
• Reminders to check any of the above if their dates have yet to be determined!

A new addition to your calendar might be COVID-19 vaccination dates. I’ve found that noting them in our calendar makes it easier to keep track of eligibility, and to schedule subsequent vaccination appointments.

If you’re relocating this year, these calendar suggestions only scratch the surface! You should know that Living Abroad’s International Relocation Center offers the indispensable International Move Planner, which is designed to support you through the entire process. You can customize your tasks, select the number of tasks you want to see at one time, sort tasks by priority, and hide completed tasks…in other words, you’ll have the tools you need to master the process, and to create success.

Written by Erin Fitzgerald, GMS, Content Manager 

‘Twas the fright before Christmas that COVID would spawn
with a virulent variant, that darn omicron.

The tunnel had brightened. We all saw the light
at the end that surely meant an end to our plight.

We were traveling again, in the skies, on the seas,
in our cars and on trains or however we please.

Some moves had resumed, and some business travel.
How dare COVID take our plans and unravel?

Well anyone familiar with a certain Mr. Grinch
knows the Whos who refused to give Humbug an inch.

Our industry, also, is tough and resilient.
We’re optimistic, joyful, and many are brilliant!

We’ve HAD to be smart, helpful, hard-working,
and flexible to deal with a virus so irking.

So we puzzle and solve, and we puzzle some more,
And we keep on adapting until we are sure

That we can deal with anything that’s thrown our way.
Global Mobility is changing, but it IS here to stay.

Whatever the holidays look like for you –
whether you’re with a crowd or only a few –

Within your neighborhood or on distant shores,
The warmest of wishes to you and yours!

Happy New Year from Living Abroad!

Written by Ellen Harris, GMS, Product Manager, Content Group 

While international relocations were slow and steady in 2021, a recent survey suggests that by February of 2022, we should begin to see an uptick in global relocations. Based on employee feedback, this is due to pent up demand. Motivation for moving to a new country remains largely driven by work and job opportunities. Top countries most favorable for relocation were cited as the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Japan, and Spain.

Reasons for continuing with a postponed planned move include:  lifted travel restrictions or border openings; personal desire to proceed with the move; plans had changed; a delay was fixed (visa, other requirements met, etc.); and some had no choice but to move.

Based on the survey data, key factors that will influence the timing of a return to global mobility include:

COVID-19:  Host country reaching herd immunity.

Vaccine passport:  Agreement of a standardized passport and vaccination of children.

Shipping Costs:  Costs of global shipping are extremely expensive and need to be reduced.

Container Freight Rates:  Lowering of container rates which have more than quadrupled since the start of the pandemic.

Regional overviews from respondents:

Australia – The Aussie way of life is a huge plus for international moves.  For those choosing to relocate to Australia, 47% of respondents would do so for a better lifestyle.

Hong Kong – Survey results showed an increased desire to move due to COCID-19 related issues.  The most popular relocation destinations cited were United Kingdom (21.7%), Japan (15.6%), and Australia (14.2%).

South Africa – The pandemic was also cited as a reason to relocation. Almost fifty percent indicated they were in search of a better lifestyle and about twenty percent stated they wanted to experience a new culture.

United Kingdom – While the U.K. was the most popular global destination according to the survey, those who wanted to leave the U.K. focused on other countries with lots of sunshine and/or also spoke English.

United States – Those respondents from California and New York were happy to stay in their respective states.

Key points from the survey:

• Reasons to relocate vary across countries.
• Protocols for Covid-19 around the globe affect relocation, but the key consideration for moving remains the same worldwide: job opportunity.
• Some respondents are undeterred in moving abroad, but the pandemic created complacency for others.
• There is more than one reason that people are motivated to move abroad.
• The U.K. is the top relocation destination.

It’s clear that even though career opportunities are still driving an international relocation, remote work is becoming more common.  What this means for global mobility remains to be seen.  Physical offices are no longer a requirement for productivity.  While companies can save money on office space, employees can work and pursue a lifestyle of their dreams.