Amanda, an American, gave birth to her two children in Dubai, and then moved to the UK. Intrigued with the way they see the world, she hopes their expat experience will give them a broad acceptance of the world, while still understanding their place in it. Here's her story, which is an extra from the book Do they eat soup in England?, available from Amazon:

When we moved to Dubai, I gave up my career to support my husband's promotional opportunity. I arrived in a new country and culture without a plan for myself, but having a family seemed to be the natural step, especially as Dubai is family-friendly. Leaving my career was hard to do at the time, but it's been a wonderful experience and allows us great flexibility as a family.

I was lucky to have both my children in a country with excellent quality private healthcare. While many women choose to return to their home country for birth, that wasn't an option for me due to a 17-hour flight and high-risk pregnancies.

Different parts of the World have visitor peaks at different times of year. You make your decision on a summer or winter vacation based on whether it’s in the northern or southern hemisphere. If you want the soft powdery snow you probably won’t head to the European slopes in July. And if you want to enjoy a glass of something crisp, white and fruity in the warm sunshine of a rose garden, you’ll probably check the weather forecast first. But while important, weather doesn’t always dominate our decision making process when it comes to travel destinations.

So how else can we make a decision? There are endless adventures to embark upon so how can we choose where to go next? Here are some alternative tips for taking a trip: