Introductory Poll

[mrsrotty]

I know there's a pinned post. But that shit is old. And I don't feel like looking through it for familiar names. So, I propose a new poll

1) where are you currently?
2) how long have you been there?
3) where are you from originally?
4) something you love about where you live now.
5) something you miss about living in the states.

[mrsrotty]

1) we're in Germany. A small town outside Ramstein-Messenbach, Germany.
2) we're about 1 month into a 4 month stint
3) We moved from California but we're originally from Oregon.
4) I love how accepting people are here a how much everyone does. There's something to do every weekend. Its awesome.
5) the easy shopping. I'm tired of resulting to Amazon. But if that's my only complaint, I'm pretty lucky.

[origami]

1) Seoul, Korea
2) 4 months
3) US (Michigan)
4) Great public transit, lots of things to see/do, great travel opportunities, int'l school for my kids that I love, wifi everywhere, helpful and friendly people
5) out of season fresh fruit and veggies being sold all year round, garbage disposal, free/easy parking, cheap gas, websites I can read that work on every browser and aren't full of horrible malfunctioning flash, GPS that doesn't suck, fountain soda with free refills, cheap beef, Cheerios, all other good cereal, getting a credit card in 5 seconds at a cash register...Wait was I supposed to only list 1 thing? Lol

[GilliC]

1) Oslo, Norway
2) 7½ years
3) US (Indiana) but I haven't lived there since university
4) small income gap
5) Alamo Drafthouse cinema

[mrsrotty]

Hahaha. I'm lucky we get gas on base

[Shreddingbetty]

Oct 17, 2014 8:17:41 GMT -5 mrsrotty said:

1) where are you currently?
I'm in Colorado (I'm a reverse expat)
2) how long have you been there?
since I came her on a college exchange program at age 17 (24 years ago...)
3) where are you from originally?
Netherlands
4) something you love about where you live now.
love the climate, the awesome snowboarding
5) something you miss about living in the Netherlands. 
Not a ton actually since i can get a fair amount of goodies here, but I mostly miss some of the chocolate and other types of goodies as well as some of the food (most of which isn't actually Dutch such as shoarma, satay, rijsttafel, bitterballen, filet américain ). Can you tell I love food?

[orriskitten]

1. Currently in Iceland

2. We've been here for 4 months

3. Originally from New York

4. I love the land and nature. It is really amazing to have mountains and lava fields around. We can drive 15 mins and be in an area that has few enough lights so we can see northern lights. It's incredibly family friendly and the schools are great. I could go on and on.

5. I miss cheap things and amazon. And coffee mate lol.

[fbf2006]

1) where are you currently? London
2) how long have you been there? 2 months
3) where are you from originally? Nigeria, but lived in the US (Atlanta, Boston, NYC) the past 16 years.
4) something you love about where you live now. A) The transportation system makes it so easy to move around, even easier than Boston and NYC. B) I like that the neighborhood we live in has so much free stuff to do with kids...stay and plays, library story times, parenting classes, etc. C) ability to travel around Europe.
5) something you miss about living in the states. Cheap clothes, honey wheat bread.

[dorothyinAus]

1) where are you currently? -- southeast of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

2) how long have you been there? -- since January 2011

3) where are you from originally? -- New Orleans

4) something you love about where you live now -- being able to walk everywhere

5) something you miss about living in the states -- biscuits; breakfast biscuit sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, biscuits with fried chicken, and most especially, refrigerator biscuits in the can or frozen biscuit dough and biscuit mix like Bisquick (related to that, the easy availability of shelf stable shortening)

[aMrsin09]

Oct 17, 2014 8:17:41 GMT -5 mrsrotty said:

1) where are you currently?
Far North QLD Australia

2) how long have you been there?
4 years

3) where are you from originally?
Michigan and DC

4) something you love about where you live now.
I'm not allergic to dogs in Australia so I have two huge beasts.

5) something you miss about living in the states.
Choices when shopping.

Sent from my SM-G900I using proboards

[rupertpenny]

1) where are you currently?
Hong Kong

2) how long have you been there?
Since March, so about 7 months.

3) where are you from originally?
We both grew up in Florida.

4) something you love about where you live now.
I love the travel opportunities, living in a walkable neighborhood, access to great public transportation, amazing restraunts from super cheap neighborhood places to 3 star fine dining, the multicultural aspects, cheap health care and child care, and the fact that H and I both have great jobs and make a lot more money than we would in the US.

5) something you miss about living in the states.
They apparently don't believe in online shopping here, it's annoying. The lack of convenience, there is nothing close to one stop shopping. I also really, really, really miss Chipotle.

[jennybee1018]

Whoop! Way to get it going mrsrotty  :-)

1) where are you currently? Doha, Qatar
2) how long have you been there? Since August 2009
3) where are you from originally? Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA). DH is originally from Montana, but we met in Pgh.
4) something you love about where you live now - We have cheap gas, great food options (anything from Indian to Lebanese to Greek) and warm climate. We're also lucky that we've made great friends, so we fill up our weekends with lots of fun things!
5) something you miss about living in the states - At this point, it's really just authentic Mexican food (tamales!!!). Doha imports a ton of US and UK goodies so there isn't much we want. We're also lucky enough to have US shipping through our main office in the US, so we're able to shop online and not pay exorbitant shipping fees.

[mrsukyankee]

Oct 17, 2014 8:17:41 GMT -5 mrsrotty said:

I know there's a pinned post. But that shit is old. And I don't feel like looking through it for familiar names. So, I propose a new poll

1) where are you currently? London, England
2) how long have you been there? a bit over 10 years (I can't believe it)
3) where are you from originally? PA
4) something you love about where you live now. It's London. History, food, things to do, free museums.  Seriously, it's an amazing place.
5) something you miss about living in the states. slightly easier access to family 

[brainie]

Oct 17, 2014 8:17:41 GMT -5 mrsrotty said:

1) where are you currently? England
2) how long have you been there? Nine years
3) where are you from originally? San Diego, California
4) something you love about where you live now. seasons, NHS, maternity leave, sticky toffee pudding
5) something you miss about living in the states. my family, the beach, and fish tacos

[potatopie]

1) where are you currently?
Cape Town, South Africa

2) how long have you been there?
4 years

3) where are you from originally?
Midwest (WI) / Chicago area

4) something you love about where you live now.
Beautiful landscape, fantastic weather, ease of living, great food, affordable childcare, affordable healthcare, more vacation days & maternity leave.

5) something you miss about living in the states.
access to family and friends, online shopping, customer service, one-stop shopping (Target!).

[wise_rita]

1) where are you currently?
Brisbane, Australia

2) how long have you been there?
2.5+ years (but I've been out of the USA for 7 years)

3) where are you from originally?
BFE, Midwest, USA

4) something you love about where you live now.
Every-damn-thing. I'm not leaving for the foreseeable future.

5) something you miss about living in the states.
My friends and family, especially the kids who've been born. Nothing else, really.

[wise_rita]

Oct 18, 2014 1:20:25 GMT -5 aMrsin09 said:

Oct 17, 2014 8:17:41 GMT -5 mrsrotty said:

4) something you love about where you live now.
I'm not allergic to dogs in Australia so I have two huge beasts.

Wait, what?

Does this imply you are allergic to dogs elsewhere?

[pittpurple]

1. Edinburgh, Scotland

2. 8.5 years

3. was born in Israel, grew up on Long Island but was living in Pittsburgh, pa for several years before moving overseas.

4. We both have great jobs, nice walkable city, maternity benefits, flexible working

5. At this point it's just family and Mexican food! We've totally adapted otherwise.

[azure]

I haven't posted in a long time.
1. South of France, moving to Canada in 2 weeks!
2. France for 6 years, before that Vietnam for 7 years.
3. Originally from Canada
4. I love being by the sea. The nice weather. The food. The wine.
5. Being so far from family (a main reason of moving away)

[lovebeingmama]

Hello, everyone!

I am brand new to this board. I currently live in the US with my husband and two young sons (2 and 4), but my husband's company has asked him to transfer to Amsterdam for a two year project. I am terrified of this - it is way outside of my comfort zone. We haven't decided for sure if we will do this, so aside from our families, we haven't told anyone IRL yet. I hope I can hang out on this board, and possibly ask questions to help ease my mind about the possibility of living overseas.

Thanks!

[GilliC]

Oct 20, 2014 17:40:12 GMT -5 lovebeingmama said:

Hello, everyone!

I am brand new to this board. I currently live in the US with my husband and two young sons (2 and 4), but my husband's company has asked him to transfer to Amsterdam for a two year project. I am terrified of this - it is way outside of my comfort zone. We haven't decided for sure if we will do this, so aside from our families, we haven't told anyone IRL yet. I hope I can hang out on this board, and possibly ask questions to help ease my mind about the possibility of living overseas.

Thanks!

Welcome! A lot of us have transferred with companies, and quite a few have been trailing spouses, so you can get a lot of first-hand insights! Feel free to ask away!

(FWIW, It's a really great experience, and I would definitely recommend it! Even if it's tough and you don't love it, it still gives you a lot of interesting new perspectives!)

[rupertpenny]

Oct 20, 2014 17:40:12 GMT -5 lovebeingmama said:

Hello, everyone!

I am brand new to this board. I currently live in the US with my husband and two young sons (2 and 4), but my husband's company has asked him to transfer to Amsterdam for a two year project. I am terrified of this - it is way outside of my comfort zone. We haven't decided for sure if we will do this, so aside from our families, we haven't told anyone IRL yet. I hope I can hang out on this board, and possibly ask questions to help ease my mind about the possibility of living overseas.

Thanks!

Two years is not that long in the grand scheme of things, I think you should go for it!

This is a random anecdote, but I was in Europe for a conference last week and met a Canadian who had just moved to Rotterdam. She kept going on and on about me living in HK and saying it must have been a huge change and how did I manage etc. but when I said "well, you just moved to a different continent too!" she shrugged it off. She said everyone speaks perfect English and that it was a very, very smooth transition. I haven't been to the Netherlands, but it seems like it would be one of the easier places to move.

[pittpurple]

Oct 20, 2014 17:40:12 GMT -5 lovebeingmama said:

Hello, everyone!

I am brand new to this board. I currently live in the US with my husband and two young sons (2 and 4), but my husband's company has asked him to transfer to Amsterdam for a two year project. I am terrified of this - it is way outside of my comfort zone. We haven't decided for sure if we will do this, so aside from our families, we haven't told anyone IRL yet. I hope I can hang out on this board, and possibly ask questions to help ease my mind about the possibility of living overseas.

Thanks!

There have been a lot of people on this board throughout the years who were in Amsterdam or other places in the Netherlands and had a wonderful time. I currently have 2 (British) friends living in Leiden. They don't speak Dutch and just had their first baby. She had all her maternity appointments in English and they even have an English parenting class and health care visits. It's definitely one of the easiest places to be as an expat.

[poisonkisses]

1) where are you currently?
Geilenkirchen, Germany

2) how long have you been there?
Almost 4 months

3) where are you from originally?
Halifax, Canada

4) something you love about where you live now.
Being so close to so many places, how much easier it is to travel, especially since we live on the border. Free satellite tv from the UK! Groceries are cheaper, especially alcohol. We haven't experienced it yet, but I'm told the winters here are very mild and that people are able to just sweep their driveways instead of shovelling them, so I'm excited for that. Also, I enjoy being able to actually bike places without worrying about drivings running me over or massive hills to go up.

5) something you miss about living in Canada.
Things being open on Sunday and being open later in general during the week. Living in a city, which isn't really country specific, but is something I miss. How much friendlier people were in general in the maritimes. Thankfully most food I miss I can buy at either the NATO base or the American base nearby, which makes me feel spoiled.

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2014 8:17:41 GMT -5 mrsrotty said:

I know there's a pinned post. But that shit is old. And I don't feel like looking through it for familiar names. So, I propose a new poll

1) where are you currently? Paris
2) how long have you been there? 4 years
3) where are you from originally? Texas
4) something you love about where you live now. The food!!!! I also love the 5 weeks paid vacation
5) something you miss about living in the states. The tex-mex

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2014 8:17:41 GMT -5 mrsrotty said:

I know there's a pinned post. But that shit is old. And I don't feel like looking through it for familiar names. So, I propose a new poll

1) where are you currently?
2) how long have you been there?
3) where are you from originally?
4) something you love about where you live now.
5) something you miss about living in the states.

I just posted an introduction with a question, but as we are getting ready to move abroad, I will be frequenting this board more often. 

1) Currently in California, but moving to the UK in January.
2) We've been in CA for 3 years, previously in Ohio, and will be in the UK for 3 years. 
3) I am from Ohio, H from New York.
4 and 5 I cannot answer, but I know I will miss my family the most. We are currently across the US from them, so we are just moving in the opposite direction, but adding an international aspect makes things interesting. 

[expatjen]

I haven't posted in ages! But...here goes.

1) where are you currently? Bangalore & Chennai, India
2) how long have you been there? 8.5 yrs
3) where are you from originally? Hawaii (lived in San Francisco for 6 yrs before moving to India)
4) something you love about where you live now. My household help.
5) something you miss about living in the states. The convenience of things like one-stop shopping and organized driving.