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.
Thank you for saying this. I thought I was alone in feeling like everything was such a chore. Hell, I still haven't mailed anything here yet and only recently figured out how to withdraw and transfer money from the bank.
I would move to pretty much anywhere in Europe in a second (particularly London, which would be good for my career, plus my best friend lives there), but my husband would not. It would be hard for us to both find good jobs in the same place, so it probably is a pipe dream anyway.
There's an island where I'd be super marketable and could make more than I do now while enjoying fantastic hours and much lower taxes. My husband wants us to move there, but I think I'd miss city life/feel isolated. (A close friend lives there, but her dating stories make me feel like it is a very small town of an island!)
3 weeks after I married DH, we packed up and moved to Kuwait. He was finishing up a contract there, so I was the trailing spouse for a 3 months. His employer provided a furnished apartment and a leased car, so we just took a few suitcases. I got involved with a group called Advocate for Western-Arab Relations. Through them, I had a lot of really amazing opportunities to learn about and experience Kuwaiti culture and history.
We loved our time abroad so much that, when DH was looking for a new job opportunity (engineering) last year, we considered moving to Abu Dhabi. I would have loved the expat life again, but I would have wanted to return by the time my oldest went to middle school. The homes are so expensive there that renting would have been a better option.
The job turned out to be more of a lateral move than the promotion that DH was seeking. He took a job in Oregon instead, which seems like a foreign country coming from Florida!
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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.
Thank you for saying this. I thought I was alone in feeling like everything was such a chore. Hell, I still haven't mailed anything here yet and only recently figured out how to withdraw and transfer money from the bank.
Oh god no, this is the main common thread of expat experiences! I think you're in the "everything sucks" stage of adjustment - the newness and excitement have worn off, but you're still not really settled in, so it's the worst of both worlds. Don't worry, it gets better
Post by ellipses84 on Oct 24, 2014 21:12:38 GMT -5
I recently started working for an international company and I definitely don't want to stay in the city I'm in forever. DH and I have both talked about living abroad. We are in the US for a few more years until my stepson turns 18, but after that we would be ecstatic to relocate.
I'd prefer London because I have family there, or Rome because I've lived there for short time and love it. Elsewhere in the UK, Italy, or other places in Europe would be great but probably unlikely job-wise. A co-worker is transferring to London soon. I just found out we have an office in Australia and I wanted to shout, PICK ME! PICK ME! DH has been and loves it, plus year round good weather and tourism mean he could definitely find a great job there. I have dual citizenship for US and Canada so I'm hoping that will help somehow.
ETA: I didn't really go into my experiences of living in other countries. I moved to Canada for a few years and then moved back to the US as a child. I studied abroad in Rome and I definitely considered it living there not visiting since I had my own apartment with a roommate, had to buy groceries, cook at home, take the bus, etc.
Thank you for saying this. I thought I was alone in feeling like everything was such a chore. Hell, I still haven't mailed anything here yet and only recently figured out how to withdraw and transfer money from the bank.
Oh god no, this is the main common thread of expat experiences! I think you're in the "everything sucks" stage of adjustment - the newness and excitement have worn off, but you're still not really settled in, so it's the worst of both worlds. Don't worry, it gets better
So true! Although, I just moved from the west coast to the south in the US and I'm totally going through the everything sucks stage. Considering how much I've moved around, the culture shock was surprising, and the adjustment period was the roughest of any move I've ever done. I think partly it's because I never imagined myself living in the city I'm in and having kids made it more complicated.
I lived in Israel during college and for 3 months in 2007. I chose it after going on a Birthright trip and falling in love. I'd love to live there now, but it will never happen. I strongly considered making Aliyah right before I met my XH. Sometimes I regret not doing it.
At this point, I'd love to live in Tokyo. That would definitely be my first choice if I could go anywhere. My XH is living there now. We had talked about doing it while we were married. Despite my strong dislike, I'm happy for him.
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.
Thank you for saying this. I thought I was alone in feeling like everything was such a chore. Hell, I still haven't mailed anything here yet and only recently figured out how to withdraw and transfer money from the bank.
Totally agree with this. And I have access to the base, where some things are simplified for me! (hello, access to US grocery products!)
But, everything does take a bit more effort. It's not that it's hard, or difficult, but everything is different, and there's a language barrier (here, at least).
I'm one of the non-US folks on the board, so I suppose you could say I've been living abroad since I graduated from college. But, I'm from Canada, so there aren't too many huge differences. Sometimes, though, it still slaps me in the face, kinda like a mental disjoint.
We'll only be in Korea for a short time more, and I'll be glad to get back to the US. I've enjoyed Korea, but DH's boss is making things untenable, so I'd be happy with any change that gets us away from him.
It was amazing & I doubt anything will really top it or compare. I had a 3mo Eurorail Pass & traveled all over Europe. I was so sick of travel by the time I got home, I have had virtually no desire to go abroad since (I have but only once since). I will take my kids abroad as children but I'm in no hurry.
I have no desire to live abroad. I would temporarily in Europe or somewhere for a summer with my family. I have 4 kids & we have an amazing lifestyle here in Colorado we could not replicate most places abroad. It's not that hard in DH/my field to work abroad (Europe or Asia) but it's not something I want.
Oh god no, this is the main common thread of expat experiences! I think you're in the "everything sucks" stage of adjustment - the newness and excitement have worn off, but you're still not really settled in, so it's the worst of both worlds. Don't worry, it gets better
So true! Although, I just moved from the west coast to the south in the US and I'm totally going through the everything sucks stage. Considering how much I've moved around, the culture shock was surprising, and the adjustment period was the roughest of any move I've ever done. I think partly it's because I never imagined myself living in the city I'm in and having kids made it more complicated.
Ha! I had HUGE culture shock when I moved from the Midwest to the middle of South Carolina. I couldn't understand what people were saying for weeks. But I didn't have to worry about housing, medical or transportation since I was 18 and my parents handled all that. It was definitely more culture shock than I was expecting.
DH was transferred to the Barcelona, Spain office in November 2010. Then promoted and transferred to the Amsterdam office in September 2012. He decided to leave the company that brought us overseas that has landed us in Madrid, Spain since December 2013. Both companies are headquartered in the States (Chicago).
He is commited here until December 2015, hopefully soon after that he will be transferred back to Chicago or he will be looking for another job. I think we have both had our fill of living overseas for now, but I can see us doing it again when we are empty nesters.
Living abroad isn't all roses and unicorns (especially if you aren't on a cushy expat package...we had a small package the first year after that we have been on local contracts). That said I am glad we have had this experience.
I spent a semester in Lyon, France and loved it so, so much. I'd go back in a heartbeat. Living abroad is something that I've seriously considered. I wanted to be a foreign service officer. But alas it didn't work our, couldn't pass the damn oral exam. I'm sick of trying now and content with our life in DC.
I've spent most of my adult life abroad, which I'll go into later. It chaps my ass when international students think the US is NYC and LA ONLY. I can't stomach the same BS in the reverse direction.
There are lovely places all over the world, even the UK if you can imagine it!
Lol.
I'm surprised that so many people are interested in living in London based on this post. Well maybe I'm not all that surprised that people would pick London, but surprised that it seemed to be repeated over and over as a top place to want to live.
There are lovely places all over the world, even the UK if you can imagine it!
Lol.
I'm surprised that so many people are interested in living in London based on this post. Well maybe I'm not all that surprised that people would pick London, but surprised that it seemed to be repeated over and over as a top place to want to live.
My hypothesis is that it's on a lot of TV shows/movies so people think they "know" it so feel more comfortable with it/inclined to choose it, when really it's just a lack of knowledge of ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING else that leads them to that decision.
There are lovely places all over the world, even the UK if you can imagine it!
Lol.
I'm surprised that so many people are interested in living in London based on this post. Well maybe I'm not all that surprised that people would pick London, but surprised that it seemed to be repeated over and over as a top place to want to live.
Well, in my defense it would be top destination for me because my skills (which are pretty specialized) would be highly transferrable there. The industry I represent has a huge presence in London, and a lot of my clients are there. Not so much the case for much of the rest of the world. Maybe I'm too practical in my day dreaming, but I'm only going to move somewhere where I can get a great job, and outside of the US those places are limited. (Well, even *inside* the US, there are cities where a lot of the work I do is done, and cities where it isn't really. So I'm limited here too.)
And it is a city I know well (I go every year) and like, which makes it a more realistic option than a city I've never been to. When my recent job search wasn't going well, I was starting to put together applications for jobs in London because I was seeing lots of great postings there, so this *is* something I've thought about. (Idea was nixed because my husband didn't want to move there).
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.
On a scale of 1-10, how bad do you want to go back?
I have been at a 7 or 8 in the past few months. I'm hoping our trip over in Nov will help tamper my feelings because H is not on board; he loves it here.
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.
On a scale of 1-10, how bad do you want to go back?
I have been at a 7 or 8 in the past few months. I'm hoping our trip over in Nov will help tamper my feelings because H is not on board; he loves it here.
Probably a 6. Sometimes it's more but we visit twice a year so that usually reminds me how much easier it is here and my dh has zero desire to go back too!
There are lovely places all over the world, even the UK if you can imagine it!
Thank you!!! Totally agree with you, as always!
We've been in Doha for 5 years now & it's been a great experience. Lots of opportunities to travel, meet new people & save money. We now have zero debt thanks to moving here.
I lived in Australia for 6.5 months while in college. It was the best thing I've ever done. My H is a fireman so no chance of job relocation to do it as adults. We talk about living in different places for 3-6 months at a time once we retire.
I lived in Paris for a summer and that was fun. I have family all over the world and have traveled extensively, but that was the only time we rented an apartment and stayed in one place.
I could probably get a job for DoD in Germany, Italy or Japan. However, the comparable positions are much lower paid outside of DC and DH's job is completely non-transferable.
My mom moved to Central America with my ten year old brother when I was in college. I was always a little jealous he got that experience. She stayed (two different countries) for eight years. My stepdad still has a house down there and I visit so I did get something out of it :-).
Post by mrsukyankee on Oct 26, 2014 7:02:04 GMT -5
I live in London (over 10 years) and it's my first abroad living experience. I moved over for a job (school counsellor in a private school), met my husband (Londoner) and we now own a house. I'm hoping that eventually we can do a stint in Asia or another European city as this is the longest I've lived in any location since I was 18. I'm pretty sure we'll stay in London for life outside of a short stint somewhere and I'm quite happy to do so. I don't have a desire to move back to the US as England is now home.
The first few months were confusing - which I didn't expect in an English speaking country - as things just run differently. Being with a British spouse makes life easier as he 'gets it', so my experience is quite different from many Americans who move over with their American spouse. I also didn't get a huge expat package like some of them.
I've spent most of my adult life abroad, which I'll go into later. It chaps my ass when international students think the US is NYC and LA ONLY. I can't stomach the same BS in the reverse direction.
Now that I'm at my computer...I've lived in 3 countries. Two were through my "de facto" (unmarried) spouse, and one through a student visa. Well, one of the countries I did a semester first, then moved there after college through my SO.
My SO works for a Big 4 consulting firm, which got us to where we are today (Australia). Jobs like that are the ticket to living overseas as an adult. I really want my kids to do a working holiday somewhere cool, but I don't regret doing one myself because I moved out of the US at 24 (30 is usually the max age you can do them). It's such an awesome concept.
My (hypothetical, future) kids will get 3 citizenships by birth so they damn well better make use of them as much as possible!
While in undergrad I spent one semester each in Melbourne, Australia and St. Andrews, Scotland. In law school I spent a semester in Budapest, Hungary.
I spent a year inDubai for work, then 7 months in Ashgabat for work and to meet up with DH, who was working there.
We would love to go abroad again. Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil... We are open :-)
I'm not an expert in your life obviously, but I think you should move to HK. It's easy for US lawyers to get jobs here.
I live in HK and I live it. I've always wanted to live abroad, but was more focused on Europe because it seemed easier. The transition to HK hasn't been that hard though, and I think we have an excellent quality of life (it helps that I don't mind living in a tiny apartment). We also have better jobs that pay more than what we would have had in the US.
I don't really want to stay in HK forever, but I'm not in a hurry to move back to the US either.
Lived in Europe for 5 years. Loved.Every.Minute -- or most minutes
We lived in Switzerland. Switzerland is Utopia -- you can lick the ground the place is so damn clean all.the.time. You can let your kids run free and wild b/c no bad guys live there. You can hope on a train every weekend to see the beautiful country side, b/c they have the best frickin' transportation system in the world. You can pay $5 USD for a glass of tap water at a restaurant b/c you get paid so much money! (And yes, the Swiss charge for tap water so nothing is free in this country!) Did I mention, Switzerland is Utopia!?!