Steenie Harvey
International’s Living’s Roving Euro Editor, Steenie Harvey also frequently travels throughout Asia. She has researched and written a number of IL’s European Owner’s Manuals as well as the Import/Export Kit and the Work Overseas Kit. Other publishing credits include three books for Avalon Travel Publishing as well as numerous articles for U.S., British, Irish, Australian, and German publications. Along with travel and real estate, her writing interests also include European history and folklore. In addition, Steenie also teaches at travel writers workshops organized by the American Writers and Artists Institute. Born in Britain of English and Latvian parents, Steenie made the move to Ireland’s County Roscommon some 17 years ago. She has first-hand experience of life as an expat: how to rent and buy property, pass the Irish driving test, cope with a new tax system–and put a daughter through convent school.
Articles by Steenie Harvey
In 19th century New Zealand, I’m sure, speaking like that, I’d have been understood. After lengthy voyages, its early immigrant settlers were undoubtedly familiar with jackspeak—sea-faring slang. Not far from Auckland, the Riverhead is a historic tavern whose walls are adorned with bizarre nautical sayings. Most of those sayings have long vanished into the vault of forgotten phrases.
If you’re in love with classic Europe and its history, romance and culture, take heart: Spain, Italy and France aren’t only for the vacationer who saves for months just to visit. Each one of these three countries has numerous small towns and villages that lie under the radar—places with enticingly affordable properties to rent or buy
After a day’s hiking in Abel Tasman National Park, I need a night in. A bottle of $8 Sauvignon Blanc is chilling in the fridge. Perfect with these fresh mussels I bought—amazing value at $3.15 for 2.2 pounds. As my accommodation has a fully-equipped kitchen, they’re simmering in a wine and cream sauce.
Cheery waitresses in dirndl frocks. Wooden chairs with carved-out hearts. Walls of glassy-eyed hunting trophies, a stuffed bear included. If seeking a traditional Black-Forest restaurant, seek no farther. But now I almost regret finding the Jägerstüble, a wood-panelled inn under the Marktplatz arcades in Freudenstadt—home to Germany’s largest market square and a werewolf legend.
New Zealand is one of the most scenically gorgeous countries on earth. For most people, it’s either the trip of a lifetime or a destination to only dream about. Not for me. I went there for the second time last November. A long way to go—but it’s not too bad when you can break the journey. This time around, I chose to stop off in Hong Kong—and of course I had to take in the harbor light show…
I get to see a lot of the world. New Zealand… Spain… Ireland… Turkey… Germany… Thailand. I love being on the road. But what makes these adventures extra special is this… I don’t have to pay a penny for any of them.
If Walt Disney, an Indian rajah, and Salvador Dalí had ever met in an opium den, they might have designed something like the Pena Palace. With its pink turrets, daffodil-yellow tower, and monstrous gargoyles, it’s Sintra’s most visually striking landmark. Gothic-gone-mad Sintra is a 40-minute train journey from Lisbon, Portugal’s capital.
It’s sunset at Waihi Beach. Earlier, its six miles of glorious beach were almost as white as sand could get. Now the sky’s reflections are brocading the wet shoreline into orange and blue, pink and lilac. One of New Zealand’s North-Island gems, Waihi Beach is a laid-back community on the Bay of Plenty.
I’ve long been a fan of haiku poems, those little word-paintings that capture fleeting moments in time and nature. But Katikati, a small country town in New Zealand, isn’t the obvious place to find a haiku pathway. Home to around 4,000 people, Katikati is only a speck on the North Island map. Yet it’s well worth a stopover if you love poetry, art, and nature.
Photographers call the last hour before sunset “the magic hour.” In Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, the luminosity is extraordinary. Traditional tiled houses dazzle. Pastel pink and yellow facades blush and glow. Glasses of vinho verde, a quaffable white wine, prism into silver half-moons on table tops.
“Don’t you want to kiss him goodbye?” asks Ronnie the deckhand. Er, no. Not really. Although I’m sure this handsome lad is incredibly tasty, size matters in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. The snapper I’ve reeled in doesn’t quite meet the legal minimum length of 27 centimeters (10.6 inches). So back into the Pacific he goes.
I never associated the Art Deco movement with New Zealand. It always conjured up notions of French Riviera resorts—or of Miami Beach, New York and Chicago. It’s King Kong clutching Fay Wray on the Empire State Building. It’s bootleggers, transatlantic liners and flappers in fringed dresses. Yet Napier is also an Art Deco gem. On Hawkes Bay, on the east coast of NZ’s North Island, the city’s 1930s heritage…
Known in Ireland as “the Kingdom,” County Kerry is spellbinding. A land of legends, lakes, and mountains, it comes with color-drenched little towns and craggy promontories that jut into the Atlantic. Fishing boats return at evening with catches of haddock, mackerel, monkfish, and scallops.
I’m just back from New Zealand and the lazy days of early summer in the southern hemisphere. I’m wishing I could have stayed the entire season. No apologies for using capitals: This was The Best Trip Ever. Right now, I’m longing for another day on a fishing boat and lunch under a winery’s leafy trellis. I want to loll in a hot pool listening to the birdsong of the bush…
I’m not lost. More like slightly astray. I don’t know how, but the main road from Tralee vanished a few miles back. The map shows I’m on the longer route to Listowel, a market town with a fascinating literary heritage and an annual Writers Festival. And it passes through some villages that weren’t on today’s travel plan.
In Lakeland counties and villages along Ireland’s longest river—the Shannon—numerous properties are now selling for under $150,000. The starting figure for cottages with a small piece of land is down to the $67,000 level. With the euro tail-spinning, Ireland now looks temptingly affordable for buyers with dollars. A year ago, a 100,000 euro property would have cost $145,000. At today’s exchange rate, it’s $128,000.
Some things don’t change. Friday night’s throb of bodhran drums in Cryan’s bar. The …
Great weather, golden beaches, outstanding culture and a low-cost lifestyle make southern Spain a prime retirement choice for Europeans. With a wide choice of properties now on the market for under $100,000, it could be the perfect place in the sun for you too.
Beaches, mountains, flowery countryside; history, art and opera under the stars; delectable food and wine—Italy offers the lot. Even glorious Tuscany has its undiscovered places where you can still bag bargain properties for full or part-time living—discover how affordable ‘La Dolce Vita’ can be.
From gastronomic pleasures to the world’s best health care, France is all about the art of living well. Even renowned locations such as Paris and Provence can be more affordable than many people realize. And if you’re entranced by rivers, castles and fairytale market towns, bargains abound in the countryside of the Dordogne.
Great weather, golden beaches, outstanding culture and a low-cost lifestyle make southern Spain a prime retirement choice for Europeans. With a wide choice of properties now on the market for under $100,000, it could be the perfect place in the sun for you too.
Great weather, golden beaches, outstanding culture and a low-cost lifestyle make southern Spain a prime retirement choice for Europeans. With a wide choice of properties now on the market for under $100,000, it could be the perfect place in the sun for you too.
Beaches, mountains, flowery countryside; history, art and opera under the stars; delectable food and wine—Italy offers the lot. Even glorious Tuscany has its undiscovered places where you can still bag bargain properties for full or part-time living—discover how affordable ‘La Dolce Vita’ can be.
Beaches, mountains, flowery countryside; history, art and opera under the stars; delectable food and wine—Italy offers the lot. Even glorious Tuscany has its undiscovered places where you can still bag bargain properties for full or part-time living—discover how affordable ‘La Dolce Vita’ can be.
From gastronomic pleasures to the world’s best health care, France is all about the art of living well. Even renowned locations such as Paris and Provence can be more affordable than many people realize. And if you’re entranced by rivers, castles and fairytale market towns, bargains abound in the countryside of the Dordogne.
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