So, while working on my last post, I found a cool tool I didn’t mention – it’s the National Atlas. You can click on a state and show its cities, counties, population, or even bodies of water. In fact, you can even display levels of arsenic in ground water, if you’d like, and you can mix and match any of the display items you’d like. There are also specialty maps showing additional information in a map format. Above, I’ve shown the distribution of zebra mussels in the US as of 2003, and if you’re interested you can check the progression from 1989 through the present. Amazing.

Now, it’s just for the US, but for anyone who needs a good online reference to regions or who is trying to review demographics and distances it’s an awesome tool. If, like me, you just like maps it’s just a whole lot of fun.

image public domain, nationalatlas.org

Post from: EveryJoe

I love maps

This blog isn’t really about politics, but a recent statement about Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin struck me. Apparently, she doesn’t need foreign policy experience because Alaska is so close to Russia, with variations on the theme citing from seventy to 300 miles or so. Without even addressing the validity of that logic to begin with, it got me thinking – just how far is Anchorage from Moscow, where the real seat of Russian power lies? The answer to that (and any distance questions) is here, at the Distance Calculator.

Apparently, Anchorage is about 4,350 miles from Moscow, only about four hundred miles closer than Philadelphia, where I’m writing this. I guess that means I’m almost qualified to be vice president. The Drudge report had a different take on this line of argument, but either way the distance calculator is kind of a cool tool.

image in the public domain, from nationalatlas.gov

Post from: EveryJoe

Proximity breeds knowledge, or does it?

The results of the poll: people in Egypt, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Indonesia, the Palestinian Territories, plus the Muslim population of Nigeria in general are very favorable towards globalization and international trade, with 63% saying that globalization is good for their own country.

This may come as a surprise to some who think of Muslim countries as trying to protect themselves against “western” influences, but it makes perfectly good sense to me. Globalization in general tends to be balancing global wealth, in effect a bit like Robin Hood, taking jobs from the rich countries and giving them to the poor countries. (Ok, I admit the analogy is not great, since we all know that global wealth is still very concentrated in the hands of a few, but middle classes are growing stronger almost everywhere.) The fact that globalization brings jobs to developing countries would tend to make people in those countries see globalization favorably; anti-globalization movements, on the other hand, mostly come from developed countries who are adjusting to job losses in some industries.”It’s the economy, stupid.”

To view the complete report, visit this web page.

Post from: EveryJoe

World Public Opinion Poll on Globalization

But how can average realtors in the US attract foreigner buyers? One way is to have the listings translated so that foreigners can easily search for what they are looking for. Immobel, based in South Carolina, is specialized exactly in that area. Immobel works with hundreds of thousands of real estate agencies and translates listings into 12 languages.

The Immobel site itself is not exactly state of the art. Only properties in the US, France and Poland were listed. The search function was easy enough to use, but I didn’t see any photos and the Comments section was not translated.

It’s a step in the right direction, however, for your average buyers and sellers who are looking for something a bit smaller than the Chrysler building in New York City (just sold to Abu Dhabi).

Image from america.gov

Post from: EveryJoe

Real Estate Listings Go Global

Post from: EveryJoe

They’re looking for you

The International Herald Tribune, my favorite international daily newspaper, is offering free trial subscriptions in Spain, Italy, UK, Germany and France. The paper will be delivered free of charge for 28 days to the address you specify.

Each country has their own URL:

• Spain: offer.iht.com/global1
• Italy: offer.iht.com/global2
• UK: offer.iht.com/global3
• Germany: offer.iht.com/global4
• France: offer.iht.com/global5

Enjoy!

Image from wrh.noaa.gov 

Post from: EveryJoe

Get the International Herald Tribune for Free

Ernst and Young just recently released their latest survey on FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), where they rank the attractiveness of investing in foreign countries. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) dominated the ranking, although Western Europe still receives a large share of foreign investment.

Which three countries are the most attractive investment locations in the world? (Multiple answers possible. Survey of 834 companies.)

1. China (47%)

2. India (30%)

3. Russia (21%)

4. USA (18%)

5. Poland (14%)

6. Germany (10%)

7. Brazil (10%)

8. Japan (7%)

9. Czech Republic (5%)

Reference: Sueddeutsche Zeitung, 6. June 2008

Image shows “Outlays for New Investment in the US by Direct Foreign Investors, 1980 to 2005″, www.bea.gov. 

Post from: EveryJoe

BRIC Still Highly Attractive

Summer is just around the corner and if you work in the US and are planning a vacation, you should consider yourself lucky: unlike Europe where 25 or 30 days paid vacation are required by law, US employers are not obligated to grant paid vacation days or sick days and many do not.

David Moberg has written an excellent article published at “In These Times” about America’s vanishing free-time and offers some insight into why paid time off is a standard benefit in all industrialized countries except the US.

Any more questions about why I choose to live in Europe?

How many paid vacation days do you get?

Refer to my earlier posts for (1) a comparison of sick days in the US and Europe and (2) an explanation of how different benefits affect the cost of doing business in different countries (comparisons with burdened rates).

Image from usaghessen.eur.army.mil 

Post from: EveryJoe

Vacation plans?

When I travel on international business, I try to adapt to the surroundings and “do as the Romans do”. Wearing the right outfit, as Chris noted in yesterday’s post, is a part of this process.

Five or ten years ago, there used to be some regional differences in business fashion you could count on, but with fashion trends rapidly spreading around the globe via the Internet like everything else, a lot of these stereotypes have broken down.

Business fashion stereotypes:

• UK is the home of pinstriped suits. The wider the stripes, the higher up in the hierarchy. Black shoes in the city, brown shoes in the country. (For more on shoes, refer to Will at A Suitable Wardrobe.)
• Italy prefers a certain reddish-brown color in leather shoes which is hard to find outside of the country.
• Sweden was once very fond of plaid and tweed jackets.
• The old Daimler-Benz in Stuttgart, Germany was also partial to plaid, while BMW has always been a black suit area.

Casual Friday has not necessarily been adapted around the world. Even in the US, people struggle with the definition. I found a fun interactive game which teaches you the difference between mainstream casual and traditional business.

What is traditional business attire in Iceland? Can you eat Cheerios during a business breakfast?

Image from nga.gov 

Post from: EveryJoe

Dress for Success

Post from: EveryJoe

More b5 resources