The devil masks worn for the Diablada de Pillaro (The Dance of the Devils) in Pillaro, Ecuador, have spawned a whole school of art. It’s well worth joining the thousands of onlookers to see the elaborate processions that take place each night from New Year’s Day to January 6. The feast of Edina Bronya, which essentially represents Christmas for the people of Ghana, in west Africa, falls this year on January 2.

A new distillery in Dingle, on the southwest coast of Ireland, is putting whiskey in casks now, for drinking in five years. The barley comes from Irish farms, gets milled in County Kilkenny, and the water comes from a spring well in Dingle. You buy a cask (400 bottles) for €6,000 ($8,100). After five years you can have the whiskey bottled and labeled with your name... or you can sell it back to the distillery (with a minimum return)...or you can choose to keep it in Dingle and allow it to mature further.

The number of U.S. taxpayers renouncing their American citizenship or permanent-resident status is accelerating. For many, the benefits of U.S. citizenship no longer outweigh the costs. Whether you are a high-net-worth individual or a young entrepreneur with a lifetime of earnings ahead of you, renouncing your U.S. citizenship is the only way to end your U.S. tax obligations.

The Maltese government had planned to sell citizenship to foreign investors, as part of an Individual Investor Programme. The fact that the government have had to postpone these plans highlights the risks of a program like this and the fact that many of these programs have not stood the test of time. However, the idea of “selling” a passport is not a new concept. Many countries have implemented a similar program to attract foreign investors.

Like many parents, my husband David and I have always told our children that they should follow their dreams. We’ve told them that they can be whatever they want to be and live wherever they want to live, but that, most importantly, they should pursue their passions. Of course, deep down we realized that they were never going to follow our advice when we refused to do so ourselves.

It wasn’t long ago that the major streets in the northern Cambodian town of Siem Reap were unpaved. There were no shopping malls, no cocktail bars…in short, it was a place only the most intrepid expats would consider living in. John McDermott, and Narisara Murray, were two of those adventurous expats.

I have a confession to make. I’m a romantic. Whenever I travel, I look for a hotel or hostel in an old colonial home. When I wake up in the morning, I throw open the shutters or step out onto the balcony imagining I’ve been transported back in time. But there are folks who get to do that every day. And you can, too.

It wasn’t practical reasons like lower cost of living, great—and cheap—medical care, and friendly people that convinced Dave Scott, 65, to move to San Ramón, a town on the western edge of Costa Rica’s Central Valley region.Though the country has all those advantages and more, and while those were factors in the decision, it was something else that drew him.“It was like an invisible string around my neck pulling me here,” says Dave. “It’s more of a heart thing than a head thing. It’s hard to explain. It was just the feeling we had.”