When Thomas and I built www.globedweller.com we put a lot of effort into the country guide. This made us think thoroughly about what kind of information is essential when someone leaves his or her home country to go live in another for an extended period of time.

We based the guide on our own experiences as well as those of others we talked too. We found that there are some things that most people have been concerned about at some stage in their transition. Some things are simply very practical to know before you arrive.

Upon arrival - and even some time after settling down - having a place to look for information on issues of importance is helpful and reassuring indeed.

The structure of the guide pretty much tells the story, but I will sum it up here and extract some of the ideas into this essay.

[Country]

First of all people are usually exited about their new host country. The want to know the facts about geography, climate and culture, and they want to have an idea about the history and the current situation in their prospective home.

People who actually lived there

We wanted to stimulate and try to satisfy some of that general excitement about a new home, so we made a page for every country giving a short summary of the most wanted facts and further we took care to allow people with the actual living experience of that country to show up on this main page for each country so people looking for information about it would know who to ask. We also linked from the main page to some of the official general sources on the particular country.

For an example, have a look at:
Denmark

You'll find a list of users here at www.globedweller.com who have lived or live in Denmark. You will find a short description of the nation and some facts about population size, religion, capital, government, etc.

Then you will find links to some external sites providing more detailed general information. Finally you will find links to several other pages about Denmark here on globedweller, but more specific pages concerned with particular aspects about Denmark of interest to newcomers.

These specific pages exist for each and every one of our almost one hundred countries in our country guide. I'll go through these now:

Accommodation, property and housing in [country]

If you are leaving for another country finding an actual place to live there is important an one of the main things to keep in mind. So for every country we have looked at the situation. If you go to the Accommodation, property and housing page for a country you'll find some information here and links to external resources that will help you further along.

Communication services

Now a days there are many international calling services available. These services have made our life easier and much more faster than before. You can now be in touch with your family and friends bu using a very simple procedure and at really affordable international calling rates. The companies like Rebtel offer you the best quality calls at the lowest possible rates which helps you to save your money.

Crime and legal system in [country]

Having a basic idea about crime levels. Areas to avoid. Behavior to avoid. And an understanding of the legal system can make your stay much safer. We dedicated a page for each country to this aspect.

Education in [country]

Knowledge about the educational system in a country and the potential to get good schooling is very important to expats who have or are planning to have children. Most countries have international schools and we have linked to those in our pages about education for each country.

Employment and labour market in [country]

Many expats already have work when they arrive, but for those who have not and for those who have spouses who would like to work some knowledge on the job and work situation of the prospective home is valuable.

Expat communities in [country]

Meeting up with other expats can ease the transition and provide support and advice. There are several expat communities in most countries. Both on and off line. We link to some and we also link to blogs for the country in question.

Health care in [country]

Medical insurance and the health care system is a concern of most mature expats so we dedicated a page for each country to this issue. We also inform about the major hospitals and the general level of the health care system for each country.

Languages in [country]

Information about the native tongue as well as facts about what other languages are spoken and what the level of English is in the population. We link to places where you can learn the local language and to dictionaries so you can read it.

Public transportation and infra-structure [country]

Getting to you new country and getting around it is essential. With a good idea about the transportation options you'll much better be able to enjoy the many things your new home has to offer. We focused both on actual means of transport end the infra-structure in general. Car hire and road conditions as well as public transport.

Visa, work permit and immigration to [country]

There are formal issues that needs to be taken care of. We have collected some information for each country about visas, naturalization, requirements, work permits and so on. There are links to official sites and embassies as these subjects are due to change.

That's it

For each country we have ten pages including the main country page. We think we have managed to address most of the important issues when going abroad, but we are always open to suggestions :D