American’s are relocating to cities where there are better job opportunities and or lower taxes. In the past we’ve posted on the Happiest Places to Relocate to in the United States (and in the world). Now we’re posting on the fastest growing cities according to Forbes.com‘s methodology which combines population grow with economic growth to determine the fastest growing cities. Some you might expect to be growing at a faster rate because of lower taxes and a better business environment however, there are also some cities that are growing in spite of their higher taxes due to being popular locations to live.

What are the fastest growing cities in the US?

Here are the top ten fastest growing cities in the United States:

1. Austin, TX
2. Dallas, TX
3. San Jose, CA
4. Houston, TX
5. Salt Lake City, UT
6. Raleigh, NC
7. Seattle, WA
8. San Francisco, CA
9. San Antonio, TX
10. Atlanta, GA

View slideshow with data on each city.

Why are some cities growing faster than others?

Forbes writes “Seven of the top 10 cities are in the South, supporting the idea that low taxes and inexpensive real estate are still drawing jobs and economic activity from other parts of the country.” In addition, 4 of the top 10 cities are in Texas which has no income tax and much lower property values than other states which makes it a popular landing spot for corporations. Also, corporations like that fact that Texas is centrally located in the United States and international airports in Houston and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area offer easy access to new markets in Latin America as well.

Filed under: Blog Post, Social Media, The Best Thinking... |

Business travel is not business as usual. It can be an ordeal where you’re crowded into small spaces, standing in long lines, all the while moving heavy luggage among the masses. Imagine a world where traveling was a lot easier. As many of the executives who read this blog know, relocation and business travel go hand and hand. While the pain of travel may not be completely alleviated there are some things you can do to make it significantly less painful. Recently we wrote about how to deal with jet lag now we want to help you deal with airport security lines making travel effortless.

How to get access to elite or priority security lines at airports

There are several ways to get access to expedited security lines. The most common way is being invited to join by your airline because of frequent flyer status. However, there are other ways to get access through a couple of new programs announced by the TSA. For those that travel internationally several times a year they launched a program called Global Entry. Once accepted into Global Entry you can proceed to the expedited security lines. To get access to Global Entry you must apply through the Global Entry website, pay a $100 background check fee and interview with a TSA agent at an airport on their list near you. In addition, Platinum level and above American Express members can enroll for free (they are charged $100 and then $100 is credited to their account). Using expedited access can significantly reduce the amount time you are standing in line. In addition to getting expedited security access you can speed up your time at the airport by being mindful of TSA guidelines and using their recommended accessories.

What are TSA Approved Travel Accessories?

Here is a list of TSA approved accessories which will help you pass through the airport without issues:
TSA Approved Bag Locks
TSA Approved Laptop Bags which don’t require the laptop be taken out of the bag
And a long list of approved and not approved TSA items

What are your tips to help get through the airport faster? Let us know on facebook, twitter and linkedin!

Filed under: Blog Post, Social Media, The Best Thinking... |

In the past we have posted a number of tools and websites for expats living abroad. Now we would like to introduce you to JustLanded.com! It is a site that is an excellent resource for people on international assignment who are looking for more information about their new destination. In addition to country guides they also have international job boards, expat community message boards, a directory and even a classified section. In addition to the resources listed on the site they have the Just Landed Blog which is frequently updated with articles on different issues that expats face. Here are a few posts which I found interesting: Coping with poverty in your expat destination, and Where is home for third culture kids?.

For more expat resources check out some of the tools and resources we have posted in the past below.

More Tools, Sites, and Blog Posts for Expats

Interactive Tools to Compare Countries
How to Live the Good Life During an International Relocation
How to Deal with Culture Shock
The Best Social Media Tools for Corporate Relocation
Where are the happiest places to relocate to?

Let us know about your favorite tools and resources to use when living abroad on twitter, facebook and linkedin!

Filed under: Social Media, The Best Thinking... |

If your travels ever take you to a land other than your own one of the best ways to enjoy and experience the culture is to take in a soccer (also known as “football”) match. Soccer is the worlds most popular game for good reason. It is a game that can easily be played by the poorest of the poor and the elites a like. Children in the worlds ghettos even play the game without a proper ball if need be, they can take plastic bags and roll them up into a ball to kick around.

Soccer is especially popular in Europe and Latin America but is even growing in Asia and North America (the north american soccer league, Major League Soccer, has just surpassed attendance averages of both the NBA and the NHL becoming america’s third best attended sport). To enjoy the game it is important to explore the nuances of the game as compared to other games you are more familiar with. One major difference between soccer and many other sports is that there are very few stoppages of play, it is a very open free-flowing game. In addition, the game is divided into two halves of 45 minutes each (plus extra time). If the ball goes out-of-bounds the clock will continue running. While soccer players typically do a lot of running in a match (on average about 10 miles a game) often times games are known for being low scoring affairs where one team is trying to unlock the other team’s defense. The pressure of the match will continue to rise until a team scores and the crowd goes crazy.

Among the most watched soccer matches are often played in Europe, where clubs from different countries have the ability to attract the best players in the world with high paying contracts. For club teams the most anticipated competition is the UEFA Champions League where the best teams from each country face off against other teams in Europe.

One of the most important aspects of enjoying a soccer match is seeing and hearing the sights and sounds of the match. In the United States at sporting events it is common to hear the sounds of the crowd intermingled with power audio-visual effects provided by the stadium. However at soccer matches it is more common to hear the supporters sing in organized songs to support their teams. In some soccer environments you might even see or hear fireworks being set off to celebrate the exploits of a supporter’s team.

In addition to aspects of international soccer matches which are generally true, there are also nuances to how soccer is experienced in various countries throughout the world. Recently, I had the opportunity to experience a soccer match in Rome Italy between AS Roma and Udinese, in addition to a great match, during halftime we enjoyed the experience of seeing a full-blown espresso and panini stand in place of the typical concessions you would find in the states. So my advice is when in Rome, drink espresso at your soccer matches!

Soccer Resources

Basic Soccer Rules
FIFA International Soccer Organization
Soccer News, Scores, and Schedules

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Serviced Apartments are types of furnished temporary housing that generally fall into two categories. The first category is Extended Stay Hotels; these typically offer a 24 hour reception desk and are furnished hotel rooms with small kitchenettes. While the second category of serviced apartments is what is called Corporate Housing. Typically corporate housing is for stays of 30 days or more and are often in furnished apartments and include cleaning services, utilities, and local taxes. Extended Stay Hotels often offer cheaper rates than traditional hotels because rates can be grouped into weekly or monthly segments.

The ability to find the perfect place for someone relocating can be difficult, thankfully there are a lot of options to choose from to meet the needs of each person. Below we have listed the 15 largest global serviced apartment companies based on the number of locations and linked to their websites. Each company offers a different approach and even within each company from property to property there might be nuances that are a better match for a particular family.

Global Serviced Apartment suppliers by Location

Please let us know about your experience with a serviced apartment in the comments or on linkedin, facebook or twitter!

Filed under: Blog Post, The Best Thinking... |

Paragon Relocation has for years prided itself on excellent customer service for our customers who we relocate all over the world. Recently, on this blog and internally, we have been celebrating the comments and reviews of our customers who have given us an Excellent rating. (The positive reviews for the month always rotate at right of our blog in the sidebar) now, we also want to spread the news in form of a blog post each month about what a great job our Relocation Consultants are doing. In addition to posting these reviews here, we also post these internally on our Relocation Consultant “Wall of Fame.” Ultimately, Paragon bases our success on if our relocating customers believe we did an excellent job.

Paragon Relocation’s customer reviews:

Paragon Relocation enjoys making raving fans out of their customers. Let us know if you have any other stories where you have received great customer service from Paragon Relocation!

Related Posts:

Paragon Relocation Announces Enhancements to Customer Service
The World’s Biggest Companies Choose Paragon Relocation – HRO Baker’s Dozen
Paragon Relocation Opens New Office in France!
Paragon Relocation Expands Operations Into the Benelux Countries
Paragon Relocation now offers billing in Chinese Renminbi

Filed under: Paragon Relocation's Customer Service |

How do you create a perfect work-life balance in your life? Do you think that relocating to another country might help you achieve that goal? Some of us are so buried in our work, doing the work of several people at once. Maybe a change of scenery is all that is needed to help balance work and life.

In the past we have written about online tools to compare different countries, about the happiest places to relocate, about how to have a good work-life balance while on international assignment, about how to have a good life while on assignment and even a two-part series on why you need to accept that international assignment (part 1 and part 2.) So I guess you could say we’re passionate about the relocation of people overseas. We want people to have the best possible experience while there – we want the experience to be good for them, their family and their corporation.

Recently OCED published their work-life balance index of countries around the world based on a number of factors including housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance. This last criteria work-life balance is determined by “the number of employees working long hours; the percentage of working mothers; and the time people devote to leisure and personal activities” in each country. Overall Australia was ranked with the best work-life balance according to the criteria above. Below you will find how each member country ranked according to their different factors. To read more about the report please click here.

What countries have the best work-life balance?

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Sweden
4. New Zealand
5. Norway
6. Denmark
7. United States
8. Switzerland
9. Finland
10. Netherlands
11. Luxembourg
12. Iceland
13. United Kingdom
14. Austria
15. Ireland
16. Germany
17. Belgium
18. France
19. Japan
20. Israel
21. Slovenia
22. Spain
23. Czech Republic
24. Italy
25. Poland
26. Korea
27. Greece
28. Slovak Republic
29. Hungary
30. Portugal
31. Estonia
32. Chile
33. Mexico
34. Turkey

The truth is that no matter what country you live in you can have a good or bad work-life balance. Therefore it is up to you to develop good patterns from the start. For some it might mean turning the email off between certain hours or scheduling down time. For others it might mean finding a hobby which allows you to get some mental distance away from the issues at work. While for others signing up for an international assignment will provide the perfect opportunity to hit the “refresh” button on their own work-life balance. Do you think that a relocation might be your next step to finding a good work-life balance? Finding a way to balance your life is in your hands. Choosing a work-life pattern that works for you will yield results in both your professional and personal life.

Filed under: Articles, Blog Post |

In the past we have listed a number of web-based tools related to helping employees on International Assignment find information about their destination before they move there. For example we covered the best social media tools for corporate relocation, tools to avoid missing home while on international assignment, information about the happiest countries on earth to relocate to, and even tips about drinking etiquette around the world.

A few weeks ago HSBC launched their Interactive Expat Explorer tool which compares many aspects of expat life in various countries in the world from differences in taxes to quality of life, it covers a broad range of topics in a colorful interactive format.

This tool will help you understand the details of where your relocation is taking you and how that new destination compares to your current location. You can look at how countries around the world compare on a range of topics such as economics, quality life, the safety of children and you can even compare two countries on a more granular level side-by-side.

In addition to the HSBC tool, Lloyds TSB International also has an Expat Tool as well which specifically focuses on comparing International Schools, Property and Cost of Living around the world.

Using these tools before your relocation can will make the experience much smoother because you can plan for your destination before you get there.

Use these Expat Interactive Tools:

HSBC Expat Explorer Interactive
Lloyds TSB International Expat Tool

Filed under: Articles, Social Media, The Best Thinking... |

Whether you are traveling for business or you are taking an international relocation there are a number of different perspectives on drinking alcohol related to both work and life abroad. When is it appropriate to have a glass of wine on a lunch break? Is it always expected that you accept an invitation to after hours libations with co-workers? Answer these questions incorrectly and it could make for a few awkward situations. However, understand some of the drinking habits of your destination before you arrive and you can be ready for most alcohol related social interactions.

A good place to start is to determine where alcohol is consumed most frequently around the world and then compare that with your typical drinking patterns in your current location. Do you drink more often or less often than is average in your new destination?

Which countries drink the most alcohol in the world?

According to this Economist.com map below and a recent Forbes article the leading drinking region of the world is clearly Europe although drinking alcohol is popular in many countries throughout the world.

On a per capita basis here are the top 20 drinking countries in the world:

1. Luxembourg
2. Hungary
3. Czech Republic
4. Ireland (Hello, Paragon Relocation Dublin office!)
5. Germany
6. Spain
7. Portugal
8. United Kingdom
9. Denmark
10. Austria
11. France
12. Cyprus
13. Switzerland
14. Belgium
15. Russia
16. Slovakia
17. Latvia
18. Romania
19. Finland
20. Netherlands

Other countries of note that didn’t make the top 20 list include Italy (24), the United States (26), Brazil (41), China (42), and Mexico (45).

What are the most popular alcoholic drinks in the world?

According to a WHO (World Health Organization) report distilled spirits are the most popular type of drink in the world (followed by beer and then wine) yet this varies significantly by country as shown in the map below.

What is the drinking etiquette in your country?

Because many countries are globalizing today they are assimilating a diversity of ideas about drinking into their culture. With that said there are still many underlying traditions around the world that continue to flourish and it makes sense to understand them before you move to a country on an international assignment.

A few notable examples of drinking traditions include:

Japan: In Japan is not polite to fill your own glass, wait for your table mate to fill your glass. In addition, if you fill their glass it might remind them to fill your empty glass. Filling your own glass announces to the world that you might have an alcohol problem.

Russia: In Russia drinking is often all or nothing, with vodka being a prominent drink of choice. Among many other drinking traditions in Russia, empty bottles should not be placed on the table but should be put on the floor, the first and second toast are the most important, and it is considered rude to interrupt the proceedings between the first and second shot.

Australia: In Australia there aren’t many rules related to drinking other than making it a point to buy your friends a round of drinks. In Australia the name for this tradition is called the “Shout” and often the expectation is that your round of drinks will be reciprocated by others in the group.

China: In China for special occasions its not uncommon to break out the “bai jiu” (translation – “firewater”) which doesn’t have much flavor but delivers quite a punch to your throat. Typically this beverage is enjoyed during meals at which time one of your table mates salutes you with “gan bei” challenging you to drink until both glasses are dry.  During the gan bei it is encouraged for you to keep eye contact with the one who toasted their drink to you as a show of respect.

In addition to the drinking traditions of these countries there are a plethora of resources available on the internet to research the drinking traditions of your destination before you get there. In general we recommend, searching sites like Wikipedia, Lonely Planet and Frommers to discover the drinking nuances of many different cultures throughout the world. In addition to doing research our advice would be to carry with you some level of common sense related to drinking alcohol, if you have reached a point at a social function where you shouldn’t be drinking anymore find ways to communicate that to your friends of another culture without offending them, if possible. Generally speaking, even in cultures with strongest traditions they will respect your decision to stop drinking if you communicate effectively.

What drinking traditions have you observed around the world that are different from your own? Please let us know your stories of international drinking experiences and any advice you have about drinking abroad in the comments on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter!

Bonus: How to say “Cheers” in different languages!

England: ‘Cheers!’ (Good wishes)
Wales: ‘Iechyd da!’ (Good health)
Germany: ‘Prost!’ (May it be good)
Romania: ‘Noroc!’ (Good luck)
Philippines: ‘Mabuhay!’ (Long life)
Turkey: ‘Şerefe!’ (To honour)
Croatia: ‘živjeli!’ (To life)
Poland: ‘Na Zdrowie!’ (Bless you)
Learn how to say “Cheers” in 50 languages!

Filed under: Diversity, Social Media, The Best Thinking... |

One of the advantages of living in a different country is the opportunity to observe different festivals and to share the celebrations with the locals. Conversely one of the disadvantages of an international assignment is that assignees are sometimes away from home when festivals they traditionally celebrate in their home country, take place. One of my colleagues, Amanda Ward reminisced about her assignment to Moscow in the early 90’s. She returned to Moscow in early January after a traditional Christmas home leave in England and celebrated Christmas again in Russia on January 7th.

The Russian Orthodox church uses the old Julian calendar for religious celebration days, hence why Christmas is celebrated by Russians in January. Traditionally Russians do not eat anything on Christmas Eve until the first star has appeared in the sky. They then eat Sochivo or Kutia a porridge made from wheat or rice served with honey, poppy seeds, berried fruit and nuts. In the early 90’s food was scarce in Russia and the local employees were unable to share their family festivities. The assignees decided therefore to bring their traditional Christmas to their host location and each assignee brought an item they associated with the festival i.e Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, crackers when the returned from home leave.

What stories can you share about celebrating festivals whilst on assignments? Should assignees use home leave to return home for tradition celebrations or should they embrace local traditions?

Filed under: Articles, Diversity, The Best Thinking... |

A financial problem that started in Greece has now spread to several other nations such as Italy, Ireland and Spain. The problem is like a virus moving throughout Europe. Even the giant European countries such as France and Germany are not unscathed. The problems have been created by debt. When Greece’s debt was maturing, people realized that a large percentage of Greek debt was due. The debt was in the form of government bonds, which had been given mainly to key European banks, who had sold the bonds to investors. Suddenly, the investors did not feel confident that Greece would pay back their debt. The lack of confidence triggered a debt crisis, which is in reality a confidence crisis. As people talked, the lack of confidence gained momentum. More and more investors chose to get rid of their bonds. The banks that bought the bonds had to pay back the investors who had purchased the bonds from them, with virtually no guarantee that Greece will reimburse. If Greece failed to pay, the banks would collapse.

President of France Nicolas Sarkozy (L), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (R) chat during the EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, 09 December 2011.    EPA/BGNES

Several big European banks were in danger of collapsing. The European Union decided to take action, not only to stop the demise of the banks but to help retain the image of the Euro zone. As there are many countries in the European Union, each with their own priorities, political power and ideas, it took a long time for them to agree on a strategy. Eventually on 9 May 2010, Europe’s Finance Ministers approved a rescue package worth €750 billion aimed at ensuring financial stability across Europe. In October 2011, they agreed to additional measures which they hoped would prevent the collapse of member economies. This included an agreement with banks to accept a 50% write-off of the Greek debt.

The EU leaders continue to meet, to develop treaties which they hope will increase confidence and stabilise the Union. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, refused to sign the latest EU treaty, which has isolated Britain from the other European countries. But that, as they say, is another story.

Filed under: Articles, The Best Thinking... |

Holiday Toy Drives

Coppell, TX

This year Paragon’s California, Illinois and Texas offices each hosted a toy drive to benefit less fortunate children during the holiday season. The Illinois and Texas toy drives both benefited U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program.

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

The California drive benefited Spark of Love, a local charity in which firefighters from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside,

Paragon’s Ervin Walker and Cris Santiago in Warrenville, IL

San Bernardino and Ventura counties along with Los Angeles City firefighters will collect the gifts and distribute them to under-served children in local communities. As evidenced in our photos, each office filled their donation boxes and then some.

Because of the generosity of Paragon’s employees, many children across the United States will have a wonderful holiday!

2011 Giving

Paragon, along with our employees, places high value on promoting and participating in various charitable activities. Throughout the year, Paragon employees have raised monies for numerous charities and each employee donation has been matched dollar for dollar by the Paragon Foundation. Here are just a few of the charities that have benefited from our 2011 contributions:

• American Red Cross
• Multiple Sclerosis Society
• The North Texas Food Bank
• The United Way
• Spark of Love
• Second Harvest Food Bank
• World Vision

Filed under: Paragon Foundation |

Paragon has had a full exhibition schedule this year. Most recently, Paragon exhibited at Worldwide ERC®’s Global Workforce Symposium in Denver, Colorado. Attendees had the opportunity to win an iPad in addition to having the opportunity to hear about Paragon’s service offerings. To finish out the 2011 exhibition schedule, Paragon Relocation, along with Paragon GeoImmigration and GenEquity Mortgage, exhibited at the HR Southwest Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Paragon gave away a set of Dallas Cowboys tickets to one lucky winner.

We hope to see some of you at the upcoming Worldwide ERC®’s Global Workforce Summit in Shanghai, China on March 22-23, 2012. To keep up-to-date with Paragon’s events and conferences in 2012, please visit our Events page throughout the year.

Filed under: ERC, Events, ISM, The Best Thinking... |

Message from Paragon founder and CEO, Joseph Morabito
As we face the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012, it is time to say thank you to our clients and customers who have made Paragon’s growth and development possible. In addition, while we continue to enhance our technology, the dedication and hard work of our staff members is the qualitative difference that sets our company apart. And finally, we work with many partners around the world to extend our reach on behalf of our clients and customers. As such, a heartfelt thank you is appropriate both to our employees and partners who always strive to go the extra mile by providing outstanding service. As a service business, we know that we are only as good as the last move we implemented for one of our customers and their families.

The last few years have been challenging to say the least. Uncertainty in the global economy has made it difficult to plan for the future. Even so, in 2011, we completed migration to our enhanced PRISM 2.0 automated system to track and report on all global moves. Thousands of hours were spent migrating existing clients and adding new ones to our new system. We put the mechanisms in place to bill in additional currencies. We added a Paragon Regional Service Center in France and expanded our current operations in the Netherlands to service the entire Benelux region, as well as grew our business in Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, Ireland, Britain, China and the U.S. We moved into our new 23,000 square foot office in Dallas/Coppell, Texas. We journeyed to the cloud, as we moved our primary data center to an off-site co-location center, while maintaining a completely redundant data center in our Dallas office. We enhanced our Disaster Recovery Plan to make certain that we would be operational in the event of any natural disaster. We added Paragon GeoImmigration to provide worldwide visa and immigration services. We substantially completed the process to provide FHA mortgages through GenEquity Mortgage, our national mortgage company. We implemented and participated in many informational webinars, conventions and seminars. And, while doing all of this, we successfully moved several thousand customers and their families around the world. It was a very busy year.

As we look to 2012, we are in discussions to establish Paragon Relocation boots on the ground in Brazil, Singapore and India, though other locations are also feasible. Plans are in the works that would allow GenEquity Mortgage to offer retail mortgage services to the general public, in addition to the corporate mortgage services we already provide. Additional enhancements will be added to our PRISM 2.0 system to allow for better workflow management and quality audits. Our Learning Resources department will implement additional training and a new certification program to make certain that Relocation and International Assignment Consultants are well prepared to implement our relocation services. More resources will be committed to social media and networking to advance our brand around the world. And, we will unveil PGR Home Caregivers, our newest subsidiary, to offer home care and various real estate services to senior citizens in the United States. And, again, we will do all of these things while successfully moving thousands of customers and their families around the world.

One thing is for sure: despite the uncertainty in the global economy, Paragon never stands still. As we celebrate our 25 year anniversary in January of 2012, we build on our past; but we always look to our future in response to our clients and customers. In addition to the services we provide in the United States, we will continue to see international growth across borders. Paragon continues to evolve as we extend our reach around the world.

Filed under: The Best Thinking..., annoucement |

At this joyous time of year, we are grateful for our work with you, our clients and customers. From each and every one of us at Paragon, we wish you abundance, happiness and peace in a new year filled with hope. Happy Holidays!

Filed under: The Best Thinking..., annoucement |

Do you consider yourself a good tipper? In some countries a tip may be taken as insult in certain situations. Therefore is it best to know what the generally accepted tipping practices are in a country before you travel there for your international assignment. While eating out at a restaurant in North America it is assumed that the patrons will give an extra 15-20% tip based on the service while in parts of Asia it is assumed that no additional tip will be given at a meal and might even be insulting if a tip was given. Below we will offer some quick advice on tipping in different countries from travel supply site, Magellans.com, and an infographic on tipping from personal finance site, Mint.com.

What is the tipping etiquette in…

Asia and the Pacific: Special care must be taken to insure that your well-meaning gesture is not taken as insulting. If you are unsure, it is best not to tip. If possible, observe the locals and follow their lead.

Europe: Many hotels and restaurants add a service charge to the bill. In most cases, an additional tip is unnecessary. If no service charge is added to your bill 10% is the general rule for restaurant service, a dollar per bag will be appreciated.

Middle East/Africa: While your tip will not be seen as insulting, it may be unnecessary. Once again, the best bet is to do as the locals do.

Central/South America: Many hotels and restaurants add a service charge to the bill, and an additional tip is unnecessary. If not, 10% is the general rule for restaurant service, and a dollar per bag will be appreciated.

How much am I expected to tip in countries around the world?

(Click to Enlarge)

Let us know if you have any international travel tipping advice to add to the above!

Filed under: Blog Post, Social Media, The Best Thinking... |