After working as a stringer for three years, I was promoted to Moscow bureau chief of BusinessWeek in 1996. I was thrilled with the promotion and the recognition, and I was given the full expat package with a free apartment, car and driver, and home leave three times a year. One other important benefit was that McGraw- Hill, the owner of BusinessWeek, offered a “tax equalization” benefit. In other words, the company paid most of my Russian taxes. I owned an apartment in Washington, D.C., and decided to rent it out rather than selling it. I rented it out furnished, and the first tenant stayed for two years. read more »

Patricia

I moved back and forth to Russia two times, and each time was a little different. I continued to pack my bags lightly for the freedom and flexibility of the moment. I had no problem finding cheap yet safe apartments, saved a great deal of money, and took advantage of the tax treaty between Russia and the United States. read more »

Surprisingly, the move from Asia to Russia went very smoothly. I say this as a bit of a “moving expert,” having moved just about every year since I first went to boarding school at the age of fourteen, including moves from Baltimore to Singapore, Singapore to Russia, Russia back to the United States, the United States to London, and finally London back to the United States, not to mention moves within Russia and moves within London. read more »

Perry

After three years in Singapore, I agreed to trade sun for snow and moved to Moscow. Having moved to Singapore, I already had no home, no car, no pets, and no permanent boyfriend, so those were not an issue. It would be hard to imagine a more difficult move, but in some ways, it made the packing a lot easier; read more »

I felt really good about the assignment, but then reality hit. In just three short months I would need to wrap up and transition my current assignments; sort, pack, move, and store personal goods with a relatively new partner of three years; remotely plan a wedding to take place in Miami the weekend before we moved; and continue to make two more Hong Kong—Washington, D.C., trips for a client. read more »