Guides
Practical relocation articles: residency, rental, banking, pets and moving step by step — facts, not promises.
Taking a pet to Bali: timelines and documents
We moved to Bali with a dog and, a week before the flight, learned pets aren't allowed in directly. Here's how importing animals into Indonesia actually works — the route via Jakarta, an ISO microchip, the rabies titre test and quarantine — and where Grand Life stepped in.
Visas and residency in Bali: an overview of grounds
We flew to Bali for two weeks and ended up staying — and the first wall we hit was visas. We tell it from our own experience and by the facts: short-stay visas and the visa run, KITAS types and the sponsor, the Second Home Visa. With no promises of outcome.
Bank account in Cyprus: documents and timelines
We came to Cyprus for a week and got stuck opening an account at a local bank. Here's the first-person version of how it actually works: documents, compliance and source of funds, a resident versus a non-resident account, timelines and reasons for refusal — with caveats, and no promise the bank will say yes.
Residency in Cyprus: grounds, requirements and timelines
How our ten days in Cyprus turned into a move — and what we had to get through along the way. The real grounds for residency, income requirements and investment thresholds, timelines and pitfalls: as facts, from our own experience, with no promises of outcome.
Renting in Greece for relocators: contract and AFM
We flew to Greece for ten days and stayed because of an apartment — that's how we learned how renting in Greece really works. Long-term rentals, the lease, the deposit, the AFM and Taxisnet, tenant rights and the traps. Step by step, honestly, with no promises.
Residency in Greece: grounds and where to start
Our move to Greece told first-hand, plus a fact-based residency breakdown: where to start (AFM), the Greek golden visa and income-based grounds (FIP, digital nomad visa), thresholds, documents and timelines. Treat figures as a guide to reconcile when you apply; the state decides the outcome.
Moving to Spain: a step-by-step checklist
How a short trip to Spain becomes a move: NIE, empadronamiento, a bank account, a rental and residency. The real order of steps, timelines and pitfalls — from a family that went through it.
Renting in Spain: contract, empadronamiento, timelines
We flew to Spain for a tour and stayed because of an apartment. A first-person take on how long-term renting in Spain really works: the NIE, the LAU contract, the fianza deposit, empadronamiento and legal checks. Facts and a step order, with no promises of outcome.
Bank account in Thailand: what to consider
We winter in Phuket, and a local account held up our whole move-in: the first bank turned us away on a tourist visa, the second asked for a Certificate of Residence we didn't have. Here's how opening a bank account in Thailand actually works in 2025 — why a tourist visa isn't enough, which banks are friendlier to foreigners, and what to prepare in advance. Facts with caveats, no promises.
Taking a pet to Thailand: certificates and permit
We flew to winter in Phuket with our dog and nearly wrecked the move — we woke up to it three weeks out. Here's the honest version of how taking a dog to Thailand works: the DLD permit, the chip, the rabies shot, the titer question and quarantine — and where we almost tripped ourselves.