If your dreams of finding a job overseas, complete with work permit, have been dashed on the jagged shores of reality, don’t despair, just develop a little entrepreneurial flair. Change your focus, alter your perspective, and look into being your own boss in another country. You’d be surprised at how many expats are making a living as entrepreneurs. Besides, I bet you’d rather run your own show and make your own hours anyway. Now’s your chance. It may seem daunting to start a business in a foreign country with all the potentially Byzantine rules and regulations to worry about. However, if you offer a service to the expat community outside of the local economy, you will generally not have to worry about this. Everywhere I have lived expats were thriving financially by filling necessary market niches catering to other global nomads, by providing the simple personal services we took for granted while at home, but which become much more significant when we are living overseas. When my hair was starting to get a little scraggly, I was overjoyed to hear about a woman who used to be a hairdresser in Virginia and now cuts hair for most of the men and women in the English-speaking expat community in Ankara. She doesn’t advertise but is booked solid. She works as often as she wants, and earns a good living. If she was overseas without her husband’s full-time job, she could easily support herself and enjoy the pleasures of international life all on her own. Who would have thought that being a hairdresser could be your ticket to a life overseas? Then there is my yoga instructor. Though not as booked solid, she offers three classes a day and has almost 50 clients who come once a week paying $10 each session. That may not seem like a lot back home, but in many places overseas $2,000 a month goes a long way. And how about training to become a professional massage therapist? I haven’t found one in the expat community over here, but I am sure that someone with magic fingers would be an invaluable resource. Being overseas can be stress inducing at times and having a professional ease the tension would be treasured. Trying to undo my knotted muscles, I’ve been pounded into a pulp by a burly Turkish bath attendant, and I’ve also sampled the skills of a local woman who masquerades as a masseuse, but if you have ever had a real massage by a trained therapist, the difference is like comparing a Yugo to a Rolls Royce. Another successful expat service I’ve noticed on my travels overseas are bakers who can prepare pumpkin and pecan pies for Thanksgiving, birthday cakes all year round, Christmas cookies, or pastries for special events. In fact, expat bakers all over the world are raking in the dough baking up reminders of home for their fellow travelers. There is always the dream of getting paid to write about your travel experiences—which is not as hard as you may think. If I can do it, you certainly can! Granted, it took me 10 years to have nine books published, get a magazine column, and become competent enough to sell freelance articles, but if you have a way with words, this is something to try. It’s best to start as a travel writer while doing other work. If you are successful in getting pieces published, you can eventually develop your scribbling into a livelihood. If writing is not your thing, and the expat community is not big enough to support your entrepreneurial spirit, you can always start a business catering to the local community as well as expats. One surprisingly popular way is to open an Irish Pub overseas. One of the reasons this is such a successful way to become your own boss internationally is because of a program initiated by Guinness in 1992 called the Guinness Irish Pub Concept. Deciding they needed to do something about their stagnating sales, Guinness started a program that acts as a venture capital firm lending money to qualified individuals. It helps entrepreneurs establish Irish pubs abroad by bringing together specialists in site location, pub design, staff recruitment, food, and music. Today, there is a pub opening somewhere in the world every five days as a result of this program and Guinness’ sales have soared beyond all expectations, so much so that other brewers—including Carlsberg of Denmark and John Courage of England are following suit. Suffice it to say that there are plenty of ways to make a living as an expat entrepreneur. So if teaching English, serving as a Foreign Service officer, working for the Peace Corps, or whatever else falls through, don’t fret; just combine two dreams at once by being your own boss…and living overseas at the same time.
The Seattle Times has an article about what to do when you purchase a non-refundable ticket and then notice the fare has dropped. Basically, their advice is to ask politely for a refund, and they have a nice round-up of airline refund policies:
•Alaska Airlines/ Horizon Air: Travel voucher good for one year for the difference in fares, minus a $10 service charge.
•Northwest Airlines: Two options: Voucher good for one year, less a $25 service fee. Cash refund, minus a $100 fee.
•US Airways/America West Airlines: Voucher good for one year issued at no charge. Cash refund, minus a $100 fee. Certain promotional fares excluded.
•United Airlines: A United spokeswoman would not respond to phone and e-mail requests for clarification on the airline’s policy.
Information on its Web site says that United will issue a voucher good for one year for domestic flights, and apply a (unspecified) fee on international tickets. Two reservations agents with whom I spoke said the airline would not charge a fee in either case.
•Continental Airlines: Voucher good for one year, minus the normal change fees applicable to the original fare (usually $100 on domestic flights and $200 on international). “However, we work with customers on a case-by-case basis if individual circumstances apply,” said spokeswoman Susannah Thurston.
•Delta Airlines: Voucher good for one year, less change fees applicable to the original fare (usually $50 for domestic flights and $200 on international).
•American Airlines: Cash refund for the difference in fares, less change fees applicable to the original fare (usually $100 for domestic flights and $200 on international).
The airline’s Conditions of Carriage agreement adds, “When reduced fares are for sale for a limited period of time, American reserves the right to decline to issue refunds.”
•Southwest Airlines: Credit for future travel within one year; after that, a voucher good any time. No service fee.
•JetBlue Airways: Voucher good for one year. No fee. If a sale fare applies to a different itinerary or flight times, JetBlue allows customers to cancel the original booking with no penalty and rebook the new flight.
If you’re the type of traveler who just wants a decent place to hang your hat and you don’t want to spend a fortune to do it, here are seven ways to save on your next hotel room:
Be flexible
Hotel rates are based on supply and demand, so be aware of peak periods. If your destination’s high season is from December through April and you’re trying to book near the end of April, you might find considerable savings if you change your travel dates by a week or two. Also, keep in mind that at many properties you’ll be charged peak-season rates for your entire stay even if you straddle the dates between peak and nonpeak seasons. So ask when rates go down.
Use your frequent-flier miles
If you have a credit card that allows you to earn frequent-flier miles for purchases, contact the company (or visit its Web site) and ask about hotel deals or promotions during the time you’ll be traveling. Also check with any airlines for which you have frequent-flier miles. Web sites such as WebFlyer.com track current promotions and offer tips about maximizing your miles.
Check hotel web sites
The large travel-booking Web sites often sell rooms from consolidators who have bought up empty hotel rooms. But the major hotel chains also offer last-minute discounts, and because they’re not paying the middleman (the consolidators), they sometimes have better deals than the travel sites.
Don’t be afraid to haggle
Most people are so intimidated by know-it-all hotel desk clerks that they don’t try bargaining for a better deal. But negotiating for a better deal is often worth the trouble, because most hotel general managers would prefer having a customer paying a lower-than-usual rate to no customer at all. And if you find something on your hotel bill that you feel is unfair — such as an outrageously high phone charge — don’t be afraid to complain about this either. To keep your goodwill, hotels will often reduce or eliminate such charges.
Look for weekend deals at business hotels
High-end chain properties that cater to businesspeople are often busy only on weekdays. To fill up rooms on weekends, such hotels often drop their rates dramatically on weekends. Because many of these places are in leisure destinations such as San Diego, Palm Springs, and Miami, they’re worth considering even if you’re not traveling on business.
Make an online bid
Depending on the destination, you can save 30 percent or more off a hotel’s regular rates by using bidding sites such as Priceline or Hotwire. You choose one or more levels of quality (e.g., two-star or three-star properties) and one or more neighborhoods or cities and then make your bid. You’ll know within minutes if it was accepted (by which time your credit card will have already been charged). One strategy that experienced bidders employ is to target areas on the fringes of popular destinations such as the California Wine Country and Orlando. You can often get a good deal by doing this and still wind up fairly well situated.
Avoid hidden costs
Pricey little extras that hotels never mention can significantly increase the cost of your stay. Don’t let this happen. Find out about resort fees, fees for parking, Internet use, safe-deposit boxes and fitness centers before you agree to stay. And don’t touch the hotel’s phone unless you absolutely have to — the rates at many large properties can be more than $2 a minute even inside the United States. Also, don’t book yourself into a hotel that has amenities, such as business centers or in-room fax machines, you don’t need, because the cost of providing them is factored into your room rate.
