s/o...those of you who have lived overseas

[hz80408]

What did you do for income while living overseas? Where you there for school, volunteering, a job, someone in your family(or SO)'s job?

We would love to live outside of the US at some point, but am not even sure how we'd begin to search/make it happen.

[frlcb]

I spent a summer living with a family in Spain when I was 10 and my brother was 15, so we didn't work, obviously.

I lived in London for 3 years with my dh, who is British, he was working and I got my Masters while there and then had our son and stayed home with him.

If you are thinking Europe it will be infinitely easier to get transfered there than to move on your own simply due to visa issues. Without being an EU citizen it is much more difficult to get a visa to move over and work (in some cases impossible)

[anna7602]

On 3 of my 5 overseas stints I was a student (undergrad and grad school). I was working for a U.S. company starting operations in Spain and was sent over to Madrid expressly for that purpose. I was already with the company.

On our current stint in France, DH was offered an opportunity here through his job in the U.S. and I now work for myself, so I joined him. It would have been a huge PITA for me to get a visa on my own, but I was previously looking at teaching positions and various fellowships.

[dawnyp]

I lived in London for 2.5 years. I was working for the company and a job opened up in our EMEA offices. I applied for the transfer. I had made it known that I was looking to move overseas and when the position opened up I was contacted.

I think it is easier to get a transfer within a company than to look for an international job with a new company. Visas are easier generally for a transfer than if it is a new employee.

[panicked]

I lived in Korea for two years, while my husband was stationed at an Army post there. Because of the very limited job market for American citizens, I did not have the opportunity to work. I volunteered a ton though.

[expatpumpkin]

Spain - 3 years as a student. I did my junior year abroad in Madrid, loved it, and returned to get my master's degree. Studied and worked part-time (sometimes) as a business English teacher.

Mexico - 1.5 years. I married a Mexican and moved there after the wedding. Continued my (self-employed) financial advising on a part-time basis from home (telecommuting) and basically lived as a lady of leisure

UK - almost 2 years (current). DH accepted a job transfer to London. Continue to work part-time as a financial advisor. I'm also working on a new business project.

My best advice for you and your DH would be to put the feelers out at work that you're interested in an international transfer. Then try to get on whatever career path will take you abroad. It's SO WORTH IT and will completely and irrevocably change your life and your world-view.

[Deleted]

I was a student in italy and then i was a teacher in italy for the government.

[mrsukyankee]

I got a visa to work at a school in London. I'm still there.

[mrsukyankee]

And you might want to post on the IN board as some of them might not see it here.

[emilyinchile]

I first came to Chile as an exchange student. I moved back after graduating college and just looked for a job from scratch. Getting a visa is pretty easy here once you have a job, but most companies don't want to sit around and wait for you to get down here. Your tourist visa gives you 3 months, and you can leave the country to renew it somewhat indefinitely, so the real limiting factor on how long you can wait before finding a job is your savings rather than a visa situation.

If you have the possibility of a transfer within your current companies, definitely look into that. Otherwise save up and look at the visa requirements for places you might like to live to see if you could just go and look for work there. You can often get English teaching jobs in non-English speaking countries relatively easily, but I never did that because I would really not enjoy being a teacher.

[librarygirl]

Most of living abroad experiences were in college through study abroad programs. I did a semester in San Jose, Costa Rica, a semester in Seville, Spain and a summer in Seoul, South Korea.

Following graduation from college I spent six months working as a volunteer at a home for orphaned and abandoned children in Cuernavaca, Mexico. I received a small stipend 2x a month but stuff was pretty cheap minus extravagant grocery trips to the local Walmart

I'm hoping to live abroad at some point again. DH has an extremely marketable career.

[juliabug]

Our Kuwait experience was unique. DH got a contract to live there through his job and they provided an apartment plus extra pay for a car and other living expenses on top of his salary. We had just gotten married and I had moved in with him knowing that we were going overseas so I was already not working and did not work while we were there. We had no kids so school was not an issue.

[dulcemariamar]

My 1st year abroad I was a high school exchange student.
Then I went to college abroad for 4 years.
Then I got married to my DH so that fixed my VISA problem.

[expatjen]

I live in India (Bangalore & Chennai) with my H and son. My H is originally from India and we've been living here since 2006. I don't work outside the home, but once my son goes to school full-time, I'll probably volunteer more (I belong to 2 organizations now).

[pittpurple]

Every country has different rules about work visas and spousal work visas. I will reiterate the PPs - it's much, much easier if you/DH can have a transfer within your current workplace. I know the UK has recently changed it's immigration laws and it's almost impossible to get in now without EU citizenship.

DH and I were lucky and did this at the right time. We just wanted to live overseas so once he got his master's degree and we were married (a lot of countries won't let you come otherwise), he applied for jobs in English-speaking cities. My visa was attached to his so I could work anywhere although he had to stay at the same job. We've been here over 6 years now (Edinburgh, Scotland) and it's been the most fantastic experience. I definitely recommend doing this if you have any option - it's just fascinating to totally explore a different culture. Many of the people on the International board are much, much more adventurous but this has worked out really well for us.

[travelingturtle]

My dad was military and I lived between the US and another country growing up. My H works for an international German company. He transferred to Germany and we've been here two years+. We'll likely move several more times before we go back to the states.

ETA: I telecommuted when I first moved here, but recently stopped doing that. I don't plan to work, but I've asked the local government and they said that if I get a job offer, they'll update my status.

[hz80408]

Julia- my sister had a similar experience with her company but only short term, for 7months.

Thanks for all of the insight. It definitely seems that being transferred there via work is the most likely option. Unfortunately, neither of our current companies have international offices. Europe would be our ideal although within Europe we'd be open to countries

That being the case, would you recommend looking for new jobs w/in the US of companies that are international?

Emily, teaching ESL would be intriuging to me, but I don't think I would want to do it forever. I have an engineering degree and would prefer to utilize that. Is it possible to get a visa for to teach ESL and then once there would I be able to look for an engineering job?

[emilyinchile]

The visa stuff completely depends from country to country, so I can't give you a blanket answer. Some work visas are general and allow you to do any job, others are job specific and require you to re-apply if you change positions, and I'm sure some of those have restrictions as to what employers have to do/provide in order to qualify you.

[alleinesein]

Aug 16, 2012 5:10:01 GMT -5 expatjen said:

I live in India (Bangalore & Chennai) with my H and son. My H is originally from India and we've been living here since 2006. I don't work outside the home, but once my son goes to school full-time, I'll probably volunteer more (I belong to 2 organizations now).

I might be tracking you down later with a ton of questions regarding India.

I am currently living in Mumbai and working in our office over here. I go back to the US in 2 months and I do not want to leave! India required a decent amount of paperwork for my visa and my company had to guarantee that they were "financially responsible" for me.

[Deleted]

I wanted to live abroad so I decided to teach ESL. It was a wonderful experience. I taught in Korea. If I had to do it over I would have picked Japan instead.

The ESL program gave me apt, paid utilities, provided a daily maid service and paid for my ticket to and from the US.

I signed a 1 yr contract and stayed the 1 year.

[hz80408]

Aug 16, 2012 12:08:44 GMT -5 neeps said:

Aug 16, 2012 10:43:05 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

That being the case, would you recommend looking for new jobs w/in the US of companies that are international?

Yes.

Companies move engineers. Lots of them. My DH is one. Shouldn't be a problem to be able to use your degree.

Good to know neeps, thanks!

[expatjen]

Aug 16, 2012 11:12:31 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Aug 16, 2012 5:10:01 GMT -5 expatjen said:

I live in India (Bangalore & Chennai) with my H and son. My H is originally from India and we've been living here since 2006. I don't work outside the home, but once my son goes to school full-time, I'll probably volunteer more (I belong to 2 organizations now).

I might be tracking you down later with a ton of questions regarding India.

I am currently living in Mumbai and working in our office over here. I go back to the US in 2 months and I do not want to leave! India required a decent amount of paperwork for my visa and my company had to guarantee that they were "financially responsible" for me.

Not sure I can help, but let me know if you have any questions.

[GilliC]

My first overseas move was a summer internship in Paris. The company I worked for didn't want to deal with getting me a work visa, so they laundered the money through a company that "supported foreign students exploring France." I got enough income to cover student housing, food, and clubbing. In cash. ...I don't recommend this option! LOL!

My other assignments were all above board. 1.5 years in Beijing and 5.5 years in Norway working as an engineer for a company in the oil industry. I originally joined the company because they have a very internationally-mobile culture, so I was expecting an international transfer after a few years' working. FYI, the oil/gas industry is one that has a lot of international transfers, though all companies are different.

If you have a specialized background, you may be able to find a position overseas that will transfer you. I have known ex-pats who were hired from abroad as physicists, immunologists, PR people, software engineers, geologists, etc. It's just a matter of finding the right openings. This is much easier to do in countries like Norway that have a labor shortage or places that don't have the relevant experts locally for whatever reasons. You'll also be competing against a smaller candidate pool if you look at more unusual destinations that might not be on everyone's radar.

Otherwise, I concur with neeps that transferring within a company is vastly easier if you can find the right employer.