With Halloween upon us once again, it’s a timely reminder to consider lifestyle and cultural factors as part of your overseas property buying experience.
Article written by The Overseas Guides Company
There are plenty of things beyond the physical and geographical qualities of a property to consider that will play a considerable part in your enjoyment of the property itself and your overall lifestyle abroad. Holidays and special events are a big part of what makes a lifestyle, so ensuring you buy somewhere that you can enjoy these special events will have a big impact on your overall enjoyment living abroad.
Consider some of the following points in relation to these, and other, major holidays:
Halloween: This is a predominantly American tradition, and many countries only recognise it as a social event, if at all. But if you’re heading to the USA and this is one of the cultural events you’re looking forward to – pardon the pun – sink your teeth into, you’ll want to be sure your future neighbourhood has a low crime rate and is safe for children to go trick or treating.
Christmas: Pretty much all Western nations, and many other countries, celebrate Christmas, and will host many events in the lead-up that add to the atmosphere. Particularly if Christmas is a big deal in your household, check out the local council/authority to see what events are hosted each year. Carols in the park, ice skating rinks – it’s a great way of meeting new people to help you settle in!
New Year’s Eve: Particularly if you’re going for a city lifestyle, you’ll need to consider things such as access, noise and public amenities close to your new home. Any property with a view of the major fireworks event will command a price premium, but there also issues such as parking restrictions, crowds, alcohol-fuelled incidents and the New Year’s Day clean-up to factor in.
Religious holidays: If early morning bells tolling, chanting and singing or street parades (think St Patrick’s Day in Ireland, for instance, or Easter in many European villages) are not your cup of tea, you’ll want to make sure your ideal property isn’t positioned and a major road or beside a place of worship. Then again, if you’re planning to take part in these special events, or at least enjoy watching them from your balcony, then by all means find out their whereabouts so you can get in on the action!
Public holidays: These can vary considerably in both their numbers and timing throughout the year. The constant, though, is the larger than normal volumes of traffic on the roads and at airports of people escaping for a long weekend. Remember too that local amenities, such as shops, restaurants, cinemas, medical centres and so on, can have restricted or no trading hours on holidays, depending on both the country and the state/province you’re in.
For more information about buying property or moving abroad, or to be put in touch with a specialist overseas law firm, visit www.overseasguidescompany.com.
Wherever you buy abroad, using currency exchange specialist Smart Currency Exchange to make currency transfers could save you considerable amounts of money thanks to their exchange rates typically being 2-4 per cent better than banks. You can find out more by downloading their free report here or visiting our Currency Zone.