About caroline tapken
My Story
Starting work after university for a hotel representation company in London, I moved overseas in my mid 20s, to work in a hotel in Anguilla. I absolutely loved it. I was responsible not only for the sales and marketing, which allowed me to travel extensively, but also heavily involved in the hotel operations, guest relations, F&B and everything in between.
My next overseas role was with Amari Hotels & Resorts in Thailand, which is where I met my husband of 25 years. Our two children were born in Thailand, and although I continued to work, I moved with him to Qatar, the UAE, then back to Thailand.
I understand expat life, and hospitality, as I have lived and breathed it for more than 30 years.
I also understand the perils of not carefully planning for life-in-later-years! We had the financials covered, but failed to have the necessary conversations around expectations, and dreams, about our ‘retirement’.
His were quite different to mine, and when we discovered just how divergent our expectations were, it ended our marriage.
I returned to the UK to start over, building a life for myself in my late 50s!
I continued with my travel marketing consultancy, initially established during my years in Dubai, but quickly realised that there were others like me, expats who needed help in planning their return home; expats who needed to talk to someone who understood their unique situation, and challenges.
I bring to a wealth of experience to the conversations I have with clients about planning for retirement, and the challenges of returning home at the end of a successful career overseas, and the knowledge gained from actually doing it myself.
Retirement does not have to be a complete stop – there are so many options available – BUT it is more challenging for expats who may have to leave their host country, returning to a home they left long ago.
I help you work through these unique challenges, identify the type of life you would like to have once expat life ends, and support you in coming up with a plan to achieve those dreams. Should we talk?
book an appointment here
