Guest Blogs
Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!
To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.
We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!
I have been very fortunate to know the Ralda family for more than 25 years. They welcomed me like family when I moved to Geneva in 1992. Since then some locations and contexts have changed but the Ralda family remain kind, considerate and united. It is my privilege to bring you their exciting new project, Ralda and Friends.
Enjoy!
The Ralda family has its roots in Godall, a typical Mediterranean village, where 80% of people in Catalonia with the Ralda surname are from. In keeping with a tradition that has Greek and Phoenician roots and which was introduced by the Romans in their country, they are passionate about our artisanal vocation and, of course, their product: the unique flavour produced by their olive trees. That’s why they invite you to share their passion by adopting an olive tree.
Ralda and Friends was set up with the aim of promoting not just the olive oil culture, but also the values associated with artisanal production principles: quality, traceability, respect for tradition, sustainability and support for small-scale producers. They also want to preserve the valuable heritage of rural areas like Godall, where their olive trees are located, a small village in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia (Spain). So alongside olive oil, they also sell other typical products from the Terres de L’Ebre region, at affordable prices. They want to build a close relationship with customers and friends, and to offer them the chance to adopt one of their olive trees.
By Dean Marriott
One of the things I love about being based in Switzerland is the ability to drive anywhere and everywhere at a moment’s notice. Whether it’s popping across the border into France for a bit of shopping or venturing into the other neighbouring countries of Germany, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein as part of a more comprehensive trip, having a car here is truly liberating.
However, it’s also easy to forget that every time you cross the border, you are entering into a new jurisdiction, not only for your car insurance, but also your car breakdown/recovery insurance. In addition, the rules regarding compulsory equipment that you need to have in your car can differ considerably from one country to another. If in any doubt about what you should have in your car in order to avoid a potential fine, you may find this document from the British Automobile Association very useful: Compulsory equipment for motorists in Europe
by Sara Dubler, www.haut-lac.ch
There are many ways to give your children and grandchildren a head start in life - from applying to the best nursery schools to helping them with their International Baccalaureate preparation. But for many parents and grandparents, the best thing they can do is provide a bilingual education for the young people in the family.
We live in a multilingual world, and that is likely to be true for decades to come. If your children are not equipped with the language skills they need, they will be limited in terms of educational opportunities, career options and even personal relationships. Giving your children the bilingual education they need will help them enormously - not only now but for the rest of their lives.
Bilingual education has a number of important benefits for people of all ages, but learning a new language is especially valuable for young children. While men and women certainly can learn a new language no matter what age they are, the growing brains of young children are better able to absorb those new words, sounds and grammar rules. Study after study has shown that young children learn new languages more readily and retain the information far better than adults.
By Mark Routen, Forth Capital
As the government first announced in the 2013 Autumn Statement and subsequently enacted in the Finance Act 2015, capital gains tax (CGT) applies to non-residents disposing of UK residential property. The tax is levied on gains arising on disposals after 5th April 2015 and only applies to gains made since that date. Before then, CGT did not apply to non-residents, other than those carrying on a trade in the UK, certain temporary non-residents or companies subject to the ‘annual tax on enveloped dwellings’ (ATED) charge.
The extension of the CGT charge goes some way to putting the UK system in line with other jurisdictions that charge tax on the basis of where the property is located rather than where the owner is resident.
By Sarah Santacroce at Simplicity
Yes, LinkedIn might be the Chamber of Commerce of the social platforms, but nevertheless LinkedIn is about building relationships. That’s why your profile picture matters, maybe more so than on other platforms. Read this post on how to get it right.
I’m sure you don’t go to the local networking event with a paper bag over your head. Well, if you don’t have a picture on your LinkedIn profile, that’s the impression you make. People want to see who they are accepting in their network. On LinkedIn more than on any other network. Look at the visual impact of your picture on the infrared shot below:
