Rock-n-voll's gorgeous flat (and too much House Hunters International) has me all daydream-y about packing up and moving overseas.
If you've lived (or are living) abroad, how did you do it? As a student? Trailing spouse? Company move? Married an exotic foreigner? Peace Corps?
If you were going to move abroad, where would you live? Would you buy or rent? Would you want to stay forever? Raise children abroad? Or just stay for a bit before returning home?
I've been Googling real estate in the UK city where I went to grad school, and imagining how cute my kid would be growing up with an English accent...
I'd love to move, but I have no idea how we'd do it. I'm not in a particularly high-demand job like engineering or medicine, I've aged out of most student/young person work abroad programs (and if I haven't, they don't allow you to bring children), and we're not independently wealthy, so pretty sure we're not just going to live anywhere without working.
Post by crashgizmo on Oct 24, 2014 11:09:16 GMT -5
DH and I would really love to live abroad. At this point, we are aiming for early-ish retirement and a move to the Carribean. Neither of our jobs have international options, although our fields do....so that's a thought.
I'm just going to hang out here to see what other people have to stay.
I have not had the opportunity to live aboard, but it's something I would love to do. I think of the opportunity was right, I would be open to most of Europe or Asia. I'd probably prefer Europe if I was to be honest, just because I naively think that the transition might be a bit easier.
I don't think I'd want to stay forever, so renting would be the best option. If we had kids, I think it would be a great way for them to learn about other cultures and how the world works outside of the American bubble.
I have not lived abroad, unless you count the 5 weeks I spent studying abroad in Brazil. I don't think 5 weeks is long enough to count as "lived".
If I could move abroad - I'd probably want to move to England. London specifically. I thought that when I visited last year, because it seems like a really great city and there is no language barrier. And culturally I think it would be easy to adjust. I think I'd have a harder time somewhere where the culture was very different or I couldn't speak the language (I struggled during my 5 weeks in Brazil).
Then, I started dating someone from London! And we're in love So hopefully someday we'll get married. He is pretty happy in the US and has no plans to move back (and his career credentials probably won't easily transfer since training is very different there), but the option is there. He'll be a citizen in the US next year, but will keep duel citizenship which makes it possible for us to leave for a couple of years if we wanted to without jeopordizing his status here. I think if we were married I could move anywhere in Europe with him (right?) fairly easily. So that's cool.
I guess my daydream is that we'll get married and someday move somewhere in Europe for a couple of years. I don't think I could leave my family this far behind FOREVER, but I'd love to spend enough time over there to really get a good sense of what life there is like, and enough time to travel everywhere (or almost everywhere) I'd want to in Europe. There are so many places I want to see over there, and with limited funds and vacation I don't know when I'm ever going to be able to. I would LOVE to have that kind of access to those places.
Post by daisypaloma on Oct 24, 2014 11:18:36 GMT -5
DH and I plan to retire abroad, likely in Costa Rica. We hope to retire early enough where we can still do a lot of fun things (surf, hike, etc.), but it all depends where we are at financially in the next 10+ years.
If DH were on board, I could pretty easily get a job in Germany. It's something we've talked about on and off, but never really considered. I have a lot of coworkers that have worked in Germany, Brussels, and Qatar.
We would probably do a couple years and then come back. I don't know that we could do long term being away from family (although God knows my mom would be visiting regularly). Also DH would probably be a SAHD and I know that's not something he wants long term.
Honestly now that I'm into a supervisory role at work, this would be the perfect time to do it and get more experience. Then when we came back I could have a better chance at the next promotion.
I always say that I wish I had studied or lived abroad, but now I don't know if I could do it. I get antsy when I'm away from home for too long, and I like being in an area where almost anything I want is accessible.
I really liked our trip to London, and I also like Montreal, so right now if I had to choose I'd pick one of those places.
Non-abroad locations ... if I were making a big move, I think I could enjoy living in/near Chicago or Boston. But I really don't see myself leaving New Jersey, or even North Jersey. My "big dreams" for the future basically just include a shore house for the summer, and even that's a big maybe.
Mainly I just want the money/career/lifestyle that would allow me to say, "Hey, let's go visit XXX next month" and then just be able to book it without worrying about shuffling money around or paying it off. I'd like to do several spontaneous trips throughout the year, instead of spending a whole year saving and planning for one trip that's not even that "big" by most people's standards.
I lived in London on a young person's working holiday visa. I worked for a PR agency, and while I made peanuts and lived in an incredibly tiny studio flat with two roommates, I adored almost every minute of it. Also, I lost a lot of weight because I could only afford to buy either drinks/cigarettes or food, and I often chose the former (ftr, no longer a smoker, but I was young and in Europe).
I returned to the States for less than a year, and then moved back to the UK, this time to Leeds, to attend grad school. I tried to get a job after school, but no one wanted to sponsor an American for an entry-level marketing job. I can't imagine why!
I also lived in Lyon, France during undergrad for a French study abroad program. It was fun, but very structured, and I lived with a French family, so it didn't feel quite as much like truly living abroad....more like an extended guided vacation (with studying bits in between). I met a nice French-Algerian boy, and had a LOT of fun - we actually continued to date when I moved back home, and he came and stayed with me for about a month. I daydreamed a bit about marrying him, mostly so I could live in France, HA. Honestly, he spoke, like, zero English, and my French was spotty enough that half the time I had only a vague idea what he was talking about. I kind of kept in touch when I moved to London the following year, but then met someone in London and lost touch. We reconnected on Facebook, he now has a stunning French wife and they live in the Alps with a supercute French bebe.
I have not lived abroad, unless you count the 5 weeks I spent studying abroad in Brazil. I don't think 5 weeks is long enough to count as "lived".
If I could move abroad - I'd probably want to move to England. London specifically. I thought that when I visited last year, because it seems like a really great city and there is no language barrier. And culturally I think it would be easy to adjust. I think I'd have a harder time somewhere where the culture was very different or I couldn't speak the language (I struggled during my 5 weeks in Brazil).
Then, I started dating someone from London! And we're in love So hopefully someday we'll get married. He is pretty happy in the US and has no plans to move back (and his career credentials probably won't easily transfer since training is very different there), but the option is there. He'll be a citizen in the US next year, but will keep duel citizenship which makes it possible for us to leave for a couple of years if we wanted to without jeopordizing his status here. I think if we were married I could move anywhere in Europe with him (right?) fairly easily. So that's cool.
I guess my daydream is that we'll get married and someday move somewhere in Europe for a couple of years. I don't think I could leave my family this far behind FOREVER, but I'd love to spend enough time over there to really get a good sense of what life there is like, and enough time to travel everywhere (or almost everywhere) I'd want to in Europe. There are so many places I want to see over there, and with limited funds and vacation I don't know when I'm ever going to be able to. I would LOVE to have that kind of access to those places.
I didn't know your BF was from London! I'm sort of weirdly jealous, ha! In all seriousness, I'm glad you're so happy with him
Post by UnderProtest on Oct 24, 2014 11:30:13 GMT -5
I'm here in London too. Moved over with my husband and kids about 8 months ago for his job. We are renting as we could never afford to buy a place on our own. While the cultural adjustment was much harder than I expected, I do like it here. I wouldn't mind staying indefinitely, but his assignment is 2.5 years.
I have not lived abroad, unless you count the 5 weeks I spent studying abroad in Brazil. I don't think 5 weeks is long enough to count as "lived".
If I could move abroad - I'd probably want to move to England. London specifically. I thought that when I visited last year, because it seems like a really great city and there is no language barrier. And culturally I think it would be easy to adjust. I think I'd have a harder time somewhere where the culture was very different or I couldn't speak the language (I struggled during my 5 weeks in Brazil).
Then, I started dating someone from London! And we're in love So hopefully someday we'll get married. He is pretty happy in the US and has no plans to move back (and his career credentials probably won't easily transfer since training is very different there), but the option is there. He'll be a citizen in the US next year, but will keep duel citizenship which makes it possible for us to leave for a couple of years if we wanted to without jeopordizing his status here. I think if we were married I could move anywhere in Europe with him (right?) fairly easily. So that's cool.
I guess my daydream is that we'll get married and someday move somewhere in Europe for a couple of years. I don't think I could leave my family this far behind FOREVER, but I'd love to spend enough time over there to really get a good sense of what life there is like, and enough time to travel everywhere (or almost everywhere) I'd want to in Europe. There are so many places I want to see over there, and with limited funds and vacation I don't know when I'm ever going to be able to. I would LOVE to have that kind of access to those places.
I didn't know your BF was from London! I'm sort of weirdly jealous, ha! In all seriousness, I'm glad you're so happy with him
Thanks! Yep, he grew up in or near London (moved around a bit) and moved to the US when he was about 22-23. So he's been here a while, but still has an accent and some funny British phrases and great stories I am totally jealous of him for growing up there. Then he lived in LA when he first moved here, so he's basically had a way more interesting life than midwestern born and bred little old me.
I lived in London on a young person's working holiday visa. I worked for a PR agency, and while I made peanuts and lived in an incredibly tiny studio flat with two roommates, I adored almost every minute of it. Also, I lost a lot of weight because I could only afford to buy either drinks/cigarettes or food, and I often chose the former (ftr, no longer a smoker, but I was young and in Europe).
I returned to the States for less than a year, and then moved back to the UK, this time to Leeds, to attend grad school. I tried to get a job after school, but no one wanted to sponsor an American for an entry-level marketing job. I can't imagine why!
I also lived in Lyon, France during undergrad for a French study abroad program. It was fun, but very structured, and I lived with a French family, so it didn't feel quite as much like truly living abroad....more like an extended guided vacation (with studying bits in between). I met a nice French-Algerian boy, and had a LOT of fun - we actually continued to date when I moved back home, and he came and stayed with me for about a month. I daydreamed a bit about marrying him, mostly so I could live in France, HA. Honestly, he spoke, like, zero English, and my French was spotty enough that half the time I had only a vague idea what he was talking about. I kind of kept in touch when I moved to London the following year, but then met someone in London and lost touch. We reconnected on Facebook, he now has a stunning French wife and they live in the Alps with a supercute French bebe.
It's a small world, I did my MA in Leeds too!
Really? How long ago, if you don't mind my asking? Would be funny if we'd been there at the same time! I guess I assume you're American, and if so, I at least know you weren't on my program - I'm the only one!
My husband did a semester in Germany, and he also did a post-doc in NZ (for about 14 months). I haven't lived abroad, but after my last trip, I fantasize about retiring and getting a cute little house in the Belgian countryside. Or in Scotland.
Really? How long ago, if you don't mind my asking? Would be funny if we'd been there at the same time! I guess I assume you're American, and if so, I at least know you weren't on my program - I'm the only one!
I'm a random non-American around these parts - I was born in the Uk but my family moved to Jamaica when I was a kid. I went back and did my undergrad and post-grad in the Uk and worked there for a while and am now back in Jamaica. I was in Leeds in 2000/2001
Close! I was there a couple years later. How fun! I loved Leeds, such a fun experience. I lived in Headingley, right next to the cricket grounds...there was a recent Buzzfeed piece about Leeds, it got me feeling all nostalgic for my student days.
Post by alleinesein on Oct 24, 2014 12:17:52 GMT -5
I've lived in India in Mumbai and Bangalore. Mumbai was when I was working for a US company with an office in BKC and I am currently wrapping up my Bangalore experience with a few weeks of travel around India.
I spent just under 6 months living and working in Mumbai and 9 weeks doing volunteer work with an NGO in Bangalore.
I would be perfectly happy spending 3-5 years living in India (either Mumbai, Jaipur or possibly somewhere in the state of Kerala) but I will never permanently relocate. There are too many things that I miss about the US and there is some stuff here in India that drives me utterly insane.
I was spoiled while living in Mumbai since our company chose to house us in a 5 star hotel b/c it was cheaper than getting apartments. In Bangalore I lived in a 4 bedroom apartment with a bunch of other expat volunteers in a very conservative Hindu community; we were only allowed to use the pool during the day when the men were at work!
Theoretically, I would still love to live abroad and have that experience. Mr. Pom could do so with his current company or recruiters are in touch with him regularly about various opportunities in different companies. But with Mr. P's dad and my parents' situations, we are bound here for the foreseeable future. I will have to live vicariously through all of you.
We lived in Germany when I was little (1-4 years old). I'd love to go overseas, but I'm picky when it comes to which country. Europe would be my first choice, but all of the positions there that are still with my organization are for more senior folks.
I took a break from med school to do international public health work abroad. I worked for a NGO with offices throughout southern Africa and I was based in Cape Town. The position paid for my housing for 1 year, then I found my own place to rent for 6 months.
I loved it and it was a great experience. Obviously Cape Town is gorgeous, probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, so that was wonderful. Plus all the traveling I got to do was priceless. I think I've now been to 10 countries in Africa. But I wouldn't want to live there forever though. Being an expat was somewhat difficult, not in that I was homesick, but everything seemed to take more mental energy. Getting a bank account, having to renew your visa, mailing things, etc. It's nice to be back in the comfort of my own country knowing how things work. But I'm definitely open to living abroad again in the future after residency.
Also, the organization is hiring, so if anyone is interested in living abroad, let me know
Post by Velvetshady on Oct 24, 2014 12:55:23 GMT -5
We have a dream that DH invents a needed-by-all-wineries software program and we move to Tasmania where he helps their emerging wine industry grow (because we've researched enough to know his IT skills linked with the wine industry would make getting the needed paperwork/approvals easy there). My company does have an office in Hobart and, in theory, I could work there (but in reality, my skill set is 90% focus on the US Govt so what I would do is questionable).
In theory, I could have the opportunity to move most anywhere with my company, but I'd need a role change to do it. DH would have to change employers. We'd both consider it short or long term, depending on where it was, and depending on the restrictions on bringing our cats along (yes, a real issue for us). I grew up living overseas and we both love traveling and visiting new places so we'd enjoy the opportunity. We don't/won't have kids so not a consideration--if we did/were going to have kids, I'd actually be more actively looking for opportunities to live overseas.
Lived in London for 3 years, my son was born there, my husband is British. We have been back here 6 years but there is a chance we can go back overseas at some point. My son still speaks with a weird british/american hybrid accent.
Post by hopenotlost on Oct 24, 2014 13:04:18 GMT -5
I moved overseas when I was 10 because my dad is a DoDDS teacher. We lived in Bahrain (a little island off Saudi Arabia) for 6 years, and then we moved to southern Spain. I was there for 2 years before I graduated high school. I came back to Iowa for about two years and then moved back with my dad for about a year and a half to do some college. He still lives there, but comes home in the summer.
I loved living overseas, but I didn't appreciate it as much as I would as an adult. I saw so much, and I am thankful for all of that, but I think being young made a difference.
My husband and I are planning on taking our three girls in June 2017 to Spain to visit my dad. I want them to see where I lived. Part of me really wants to move back overseas, but I am so used to being around family now that I'm not sure I could do it. My dad is going to be retiring in 2018 so it's hard to leave again after being away from him so long.
I plan to live abroad within the next 20-25 years. And then likely retire abroad as well. Not sure specifics on location.... Either Europe or tropics. Depends.
But I'd like to work internationally within the next 5 years.
I lived abroad in Scotland for 2 years and will be moving back indefinitely next year.
I cannot recommend it enough. If any of you have teenage children please encourage them to get a working holiday visa somewhere and have that experience.
I am seriously counting the days until I will be back in the UK.
Post by redredwine on Oct 24, 2014 13:57:12 GMT -5
I lived abroad in Germany my junior year of college. I spend the first 6 weeks living with the cutest family, in an apartment above their garage in a tiny little town attending language school during the day. I spend the remainder of the year in a shitty dorm, where I had my own room but shared a TINY common kitchen and bathroom with 3 boys. It was a ghetto dorm, but yet, I loved it because I loved the town and the people and the experience. I LOVED living abroad.
It's been my dream to do it again and have day-dreamed for years of living abroad with work. My current company (who'd I'd stay with forever as long as they'd have me) has a secondary headquarters in Europe, in a country I'd totally live in. There are a number of people who move their, who moved back here, etc. It's possible to move there in my current line of work, but I'd need to be another level or two up before they'd pay my reloc expenses.
When I met my H, I asked him if he'd move abroad someday (not forever, but a few years) and he said yes...so I joke about it but I'm serious about wanting to move there (kids or no kids). He works at the same company, so that's a positive.
Last week, I was back in Europe for the first time since I lived abroad (12 years ago!) and that's it. I need to live abroad again. I fell in love with Europe all over again...so I'm seriously starting to slowly meet with people in my line of work who live there or have lived there.
There would be opportunities to live/work in other countries, however; Europe is really the only place I'd want to relocate to on a more permanent basis.
Post by emilyinchile on Oct 24, 2014 14:07:30 GMT -5
I'm primarily from the US and live in Chile because my H is Chilean. I studied abroad here, met him and came back. I also lived in the UK for the first 4 years of my life since my dad's English (I'm a US/UK citizen), but I don't have too many relevant stories from that time period
In terms of logistics, it's pretty easy to get a work visa in Chile, you just need a job offer, so I moved here on a 3 month tourist visa and found work. I spoke fluent Spanish already, which is almost a necessity. We own our apartment because we thought it would be a good investment, and so far it's greatly increased in value. We're trying to decide right now whether or not we'll move back to the US - I feel like either we do it in the next year or we stay here for the foreseeable future. Both have pros and cons, but one con is that I don't love the education system here. There are some quality schools, but there is a whole upper class social component to them that worries me a bit. We are not interested in living in any country other than Chile, the US or the UK because three countries with family and friends is plenty for us!
Being an expat was somewhat difficult, not in that I was homesick, but everything seemed to take more mental energy. Getting a bank account, having to renew your visa, mailing things, etc. It's nice to be back in the comfort of my own country knowing how things work.
This is totally true. That said, I've been in Santiago for 7 years now, so I don't go through it much anymore. I am actually more worried about how we'll do this kind of thing in CA if we do decide to move back. I've never been an adult in the US!
Post by sillygoosegirl on Oct 24, 2014 14:20:56 GMT -5
I hope to spend some time in the PeaceCorps in retirement, as well as a lot of extended vacations where we have an overseas home base for 2-3 months at a time, but for right now, I wouldn't want to move abroad because I don't want to leave my support network behind a this point in my life (about to have babies, both of our fathers have cancer, and although both are expected to be fine at this point it has caused us to prioritize time with family more than we did in our 20s). There have been some potential opportunities in DH's and my field that we haven't pursued in Europe, the Middle East, and Hawaii (okay, not quite abroad). We've talked about pursuing them and probably would have pursued them if they'd been available to us 3-5 years ago... because it would have probably been pretty awesome.
I took a break from med school to do international public health work abroad. I worked for a NGO with offices throughout southern Africa and I was based in Cape Town. The position paid for my housing for 1 year, then I found my own place to rent for 6 months.
I loved it and it was a great experience. Obviously Cape Town is gorgeous, probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, so that was wonderful. Plus all the traveling I got to do was priceless. I think I've now been to 10 countries in Africa. But I wouldn't want to live there forever though. Being an expat was somewhat difficult, not in that I was homesick, but everything seemed to take more mental energy. Getting a bank account, having to renew your visa, mailing things, etc. It's nice to be back in the comfort of my own country knowing how things work. But I'm definitely open to living abroad again in the future after residency.
Also, the organization is hiring, so if anyone is interested in living abroad, let me know
We plan to retire abroad. We hope to retire within 10 years (early 50's). The only way we can retire that early is to go somewhere with a much lower cost of living. Most likely, we will retire somewhere in central Mexico.
I took a break from med school to do international public health work abroad. I worked for a NGO with offices throughout southern Africa and I was based in Cape Town. The position paid for my housing for 1 year, then I found my own place to rent for 6 months.
I loved it and it was a great experience. Obviously Cape Town is gorgeous, probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, so that was wonderful. Plus all the traveling I got to do was priceless. I think I've now been to 10 countries in Africa. But I wouldn't want to live there forever though. Being an expat was somewhat difficult, not in that I was homesick, but everything seemed to take more mental energy. Getting a bank account, having to renew your visa, mailing things, etc. It's nice to be back in the comfort of my own country knowing how things work. But I'm definitely open to living abroad again in the future after residency.
Also, the organization is hiring, so if anyone is interested in living abroad, let me know
Do they only work with healthcare workers?
Nope it's not a clinical organization at all, only public health and education. The 2 positions they are looking for are a marketing position in Cape Town and a business development position in Zambia.
Most of the work is done by local people but they do hire Americans and locals with higher degrees at the head quarters offices.
I lived in London and Dublin for about a year right after graduating from grad school. I would love to move back to London for a couple of years, but I don't know that I'd like to live abroad for the rest of my life.