Moving Overseas Questions

[Aquatica]

Hi everyone. I'm moving out of the country in a few weeks and had some last questions. I'm going from the US to S.Korea, will have access to a military base, and taking what will fit in suitcases on the plane.

-What US items did you miss that you couldn't buy overseas?
-How long did it take to adjust to the time zone and climate?
-How did meal planning/grocery shopping change?
-Any suggestions for where to visit/travel while in the area?
-Any phone apps you recommend?

@kid related:
-How did you start introducing a new language? Did you enroll your kid(s) in a bilingual school or just Korean? DD will be 3 next month so I was thinking of enrolling her in a Korean preschool to help her learn the language since we will be here for 3 years. H and I are planning to take classes too.


Thank you in advance!

[Deleted]

Jan 8, 2019 2:17:22 GMT -5 Aquatica said:

Hi everyone. I'm moving out of the country in a few weeks and had some last questions. I'm going from the US to S.Korea, will have access to a military base, and taking what will fit in suitcases on the plane.

-What US items did you miss that you couldn't buy overseas?
-How long did it take to adjust to the time zone and climate?
-How did meal planning/grocery shopping change?
-Any suggestions for where to visit/travel while in the area?
-Any phone apps you recommend?

@kid related:
-How did you start introducing a new language? Did you enroll your kid(s) in a bilingual school or just Korean? DD will be 3 next month so I was thinking of enrolling her in a Korean preschool to help her learn the language since we will be here for 3 years. H and I are planning to take classes too.


Thank you in advance!

We lived in the UK (also military), so a little different, but not too different.

1. What did we miss? Honestly not much. With the BX/Commissary and Amazon shipments to APO we could usually get what we needed, though it took more planning.

2. Time zone and climate? Time zones take about an hour a day to adjust to. East vs West can affect people differently, but usually after the ordeal of travel and a little sleep we were just fine. This was pre-kids, so I can’t speak to that part.

3. Meal planning/grocery shopping didn’t change much. We bought staples at the commissary because it was cheaper, but found produce to be much higher quality in local markets and farmers markets. British cuisine isn’t that different from American, but we did start making some brutish dishes and usually bought those ingredients from our local market.

5. All of our friends that have been to Korea have used it as a jumping off point for travel all over the Pacific — Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand. When you get there, talk to others about trips they are going on and you’ll get a good idea of what would be fun.

[Aquatica]

Jan 8, 2019 5:05:49 GMT -5 @villainv said:

We lived in the UK (also military), so a little different, but not too different.

1. What did we miss? Honestly not much. With the BX/Commissary and Amazon shipments to APO we could usually get what we needed, though it took more planning.

2. Time zone and climate? Time zones take about an hour a day to adjust to. East vs West can affect people differently, but usually after the ordeal of travel and a little sleep we were just fine. This was pre-kids, so I can’t speak to that part.

3. Meal planning/grocery shopping didn’t change much. We bought staples at the commissary because it was cheaper, but found produce to be much higher quality in local markets and farmers markets. British cuisine isn’t that different from American, but we did start making some brutish dishes and usually bought those ingredients from our local market.

5. All of our friends that have been to Korea have used it as a jumping off point for travel all over the Pacific — Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand. When you get there, talk to others about trips they are going on and you’ll get a good idea of what would be fun.

Thank you! Now that it's so close I'm starting to get nervous. It's good to know the base may have what I need or I can order online.

[Deleted]

Jan 9, 2019 0:07:56 GMT -5 Aquatica said:

Jan 8, 2019 5:05:49 GMT -5 @villainv said:

We lived in the UK (also military), so a little different, but not too different.

1. What did we miss? Honestly not much. With the BX/Commissary and Amazon shipments to APO we could usually get what we needed, though it took more planning.

2. Time zone and climate? Time zones take about an hour a day to adjust to. East vs West can affect people differently, but usually after the ordeal of travel and a little sleep we were just fine. This was pre-kids, so I can’t speak to that part.

3. Meal planning/grocery shopping didn’t change much. We bought staples at the commissary because it was cheaper, but found produce to be much higher quality in local markets and farmers markets. British cuisine isn’t that different from American, but we did start making some brutish dishes and usually bought those ingredients from our local market.

5. All of our friends that have been to Korea have used it as a jumping off point for travel all over the Pacific — Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand. When you get there, talk to others about trips they are going on and you’ll get a good idea of what would be fun.

Thank you! Now that it's so close I'm starting to get nervous. It's good to know the base may have what I need or I can order online.

I would imagine that it depends on where in Korea you are going. I’m assuming Osan? If so, you should be GTG. They won’t have everything, and might have limited brands available, but it’s a good place to start. A lot of companies ship to APO (Old Navy, Bed Bath and Beyond, and lots of Amazon products), and in our experience it could get to us in 7-10 days (also my experience in Afghanistan).

Do you have a sponsor or know people who are currently where you’re going? That might help give you a better idea of what to expect, how to maximize packing, what your housing/school options will look like, how to take care of everything when you get there to get settled quickly, etc.

[flatlan]

Congrats on moving to Korea! I have lived in Suwon for almost a year but will be going home at the beginning of March. I teach English and have no access to the bases here so my experience is a little different than yours. I do know some people with base access and as far as food and groceries you should be fine.

As far as sightseeing, if you are at Osan or Camp Humphreys then you are very close to Seoul. Korea has an amazing public transportation system and Seoul has a lot to offer. The palaces like Changdeokgung are very interesting, Namdaemun is a huge traditional market close to Seoul Station, Namsan Tower is a very beautiful landmark, Hongdae(Hongik University Station) is a very vibey college area and if you are craving lots of different food Itaewon is the “foreigner” district. You can also visit Busan and Jeju Island in the south part of the country.

Enjoy your time! Korea is a very safe and fun place. I would be happy to answer other questions you have and also recommend a great hairdresser if you are going to be in the. Osan/Humphreys area.

[puglife]

My husband and I taught English in Korea for three years. We loved Korea! I still miss it several years later. We used Costco for a lot of cooking and that helped a lot! We didn’t have access to the base so I can’t really speak to that. It’s a beautiful safe country.

[origami]

Hi! I recently lived in Seoul for 3y and loved it. We aren’t military though so our daily living was probably a lot different than yours will be.

-What US items did you miss that you couldn't buy overseas?

I can’t think of anything that you wouldn’t have access to. I don’t know if you have kids but we struggled every Christmas/birthday because their toy selection is awful compared to amazon. We had to suck it up and pay to ship stuff but you won’t have that problem, hopefully. I’m a weird size and no clothes or shoes fit me over there so I stocked up on clothes. But I’m assuming the base carries US sizes. I missed Wheaties and snacks like cheese-its and double stuff Oreos, but you’ll actually be able to buy that. Western foods are generally very expensive in Korean grocery stores (eg I paid $15+ for strawberries) so I can’t imagine shopping there over what’s on the base. I went to Costco as well but for the most part it was larger quantities of what was in Korean groceries, not a ton of western items. They had some canned goods like diced tomatoes, frozen veggies and blocks of cheddar. But no frozen chicken, no breakfast sausage... it’s hit and miss but what they sold changed over the years so it’s possible it’s better now. FYI you can use a Korean Costco card in the US and their membership fee is cheaper but the credit card restrictions are not the same so if you don’t have the right card prepare to bring a lot of cash.

-How long did it take to adjust to the time zone and climate?

The climate is better than my home state so that was no problem. I’d say it took me a week to get fully adjusted to the time zone. Each night was progressively better.

-How did meal planning/grocery shopping change?

Not sure how much you’ll actually be affected but for us we had very little variety because my kids are picky and the western options were limited. I bought what I knew they’d eat and it was significantly more than what we would have paid in the US. But it was fine. You get used to it. I took Korean cooking classes and that helped but it’s not my style of cooking so we mostly stuck to what was easy for me to cook. The biggest change for us was dropping most red meat because it was so outrageously expensive. We also werent allowed to grill outside in our complex.

-Any suggestions for where to visit/travel while in the area?

Japan, China, Southeast Asia. It’s so close and so reasonably priced to get there compared to trans-pacific flights. Travel was by far the best part about living there. Vietnam and Thailand were our favorite SEA countries. Japan was our favorite northern Asian country. In Korea we went to Jeju island, Busan, seoraksan/sokcho (for hiking), nami island, the DMZ, and some random other places. I’ll warn you that hotel rates in Korea are very expensive. Budget travelers often stay in pensions, which might require a Korean speaker to book. The base near me (Yongsan) had a travel agency (IIRC) so that might be an option for you. But also I’m sure people living on your base will have advice too.

-Any phone apps you recommend?

We used kakao for messaging and taxis, Naver maps, google translate, and one that was better than google at translating photos of text (forgot the name tho). I’m sure people on base will have more up to date advice. Some apps that used to be Korean-only now support English so that will make it better.

[Aquatica]

Jan 9, 2019 7:31:14 GMT -5 @villainv said:

Do you have a sponsor or know people who are currently where you’re going? That might help give you a better idea of what to expect, how to maximize packing, what your housing/school options will look like, how to take care of everything when you get there to get settled quickly, etc.

I'm going to be near Humphreys and living off base. My husband is already there securing our apartment and getting it set up for our arrival. Since we're off base, I'm assuming we'll have a Korean address and not an APO. It's our first overseas move so the whole process is new to me. 

I'll check into getting a sponsor! We tried at our last base and no one contacted us :/ My husband has been there for 8 months and made some friends so we will have some people to brain pick once there too

Thank you for the tips and advice!  

[Aquatica]

Jan 9, 2019 8:14:29 GMT -5 flatlan said:

Congrats on moving to Korea! I have lived in Suwon for almost a year but will be going home at the beginning of March. I teach English and have no access to the bases here so my experience is a little different than yours. I do know some people with base access and as far as food and groceries you should be fine.

As far as sightseeing, if you are at Osan or Camp Humphreys then you are very close to Seoul. Korea has an amazing public transportation system and Seoul has a lot to offer. The palaces like Changdeokgung are very interesting, Namdaemun is a huge traditional market close to Seoul Station, Namsan Tower is a very beautiful landmark, Hongdae(Hongik University Station) is a very vibey college area and if you are craving lots of different food Itaewon is the “foreigner” district. You can also visit Busan and Jeju Island in the south part of the country.

Enjoy your time! Korea is a very safe and fun place. I would be happy to answer other questions you have and also recommend a great hairdresser if you are going to be in the. Osan/Humphreys area.

Thank you! My husband mentioned wanting to go to Jeju Island and I'll add your suggestions onto our travel list

I'll be at Humphreys and would love a hairdresser recommendation if you'd like to PM me!

[Aquatica]

puglife I've been creeping online to see what Costco has in Korea and can't wait to hit up the food court already.

origami Thank you for the info! Odd question but is there anywhere that sells coffee syrups like Torani? I live in WA where I have Cash and Carry to get a bottle of coffee syrup for $4. I will have to take some cooking classes or search YouTube since I want to cook with local product/items to keep our grocery costs low. Thank you for the app suggestions

[dcn]

My friend moved there this summer, her H is military and she has two kids and I know she lives off base. Would you like me to connect you? You can pm me if you want with your email or fb.

I know she’s baffled by the teeny tiny oven she has Hahahaha.

[origami]

Jan 9, 2019 19:37:05 GMT -5 Aquatica said:

puglife I've been creeping online to see what Costco has in Korea and can't wait to hit up the food court already.

origami Thank you for the info! Odd question but is there anywhere that sells coffee syrups like Torani? I live in WA where I have Cash and Carry to get a bottle of coffee syrup for $4. I will have to take some cooking classes or search YouTube since I want to cook with local product/items to keep our grocery costs low. Thank you for the app suggestions

Im not sure about coffee syrup because I didn’t drink coffee there. I would say that if you’re partial to a certain brand, and you can’t get it from amazon, to play it safe and stock up. Because while you might find syrup, it might not be a brand you like. Or they’ll have 1 flavor you don’t like. I could get raspberry jelly, for example, but not smuckers.

Your grocery costs might be lower on base even if you cook with local items. It depends on what you make though. Some veggies can be cheap, but not all. What frustrated me was that in order to buy ingredients for 1 Korean dish you end up having to buy enough for a full week because of the packaging. So if you really plan ahead and use it all up then it can be economical. But if you just want enough to make 1 meal it’s not cheaper. But you’ll figure it out the pp reminded me about the oven. I assumed you’d have US appliances but if you’re living in a Korean apartment you’ll need smaller cookie sheets and baking plans. I could fit a 9x12 IIRC but not a roasting pan. The plus side was that we had 3 refrigerators and 2 freezers! Also you’ll need to ask for power transformers in your lease, if you bring US appliances. (This is normal for landlords who rent to foreigners.) another weird thing was that our walls were cinderblock so normal picture frame nails couldn’t be used. We had to get special cement ones. And finally, if you are interested in Korean cooking I highly recommend you visit a pottery village and snag some Korean dishes. I liked Yeoju’s pottery village but there are quite a few. Don’t buy them in Seoul where they’re overpriced!

[Deleted]

Aquatica, you can (and should!) get an APO address anyway. It’s an on-base Post Office Box. You’ll definitely need it for l receiving US mail like bank statements, insurance, absentee ballots, etc. I highly recommend your H get one set up before you move out there, if he hasn’t already.

You can mail stuff ahead to your APO box that you don’t want to carry in your luggage but don’t want to wait 4-6 weeks for in your unaccompanied baggage or household good shipment (I like the flat rate priority mail boxes for this — you’ll get reimbursed up to what they government would have paid to ship your belongings as long as you’re not overweight, so keep the receipts because they will have the weight on them).

[cattledogkisses]

Our situation was a bit different since we were at a "remote" posting at an embassy, not a base, but we had a DPO mailbox at the embassy for our mail, and I'd assume you can set up the same thing to have an APO box at your base. You'll want one, because APO/FPO/DPO is considered a domestic US address and you don't have to pay for international shipping. Amazon was a lifeline for us, since we didn't have any local access to products from the US, but it does take some planning ahead and allotting for extra delivery time (our mail from the US could take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to reach us).

I honestly feel like the best thing we did for ourselves was to take language lessons. Having even a basic grasp of the language made life so much easier, and if that's an option for you it's something I highly recommend.

[Aquatica]

dcn I'd love to! I'll send you a PM the email for my FB.

origami Thank you! I'll have to check Amazon and have my H look around for syrups.

I'll add power transformers onto my list! We're renting a partially furnished Korean apartment and going to use government loaner furniture for the whole 2 years. I'm bringing some electronics with me so I know we'll need a converter for those items.

@villainv Thank you, I'll have my H set it up. He should get it done today so I can start putting in our forward/changing addresses on everything. Unfortunately, this move is on us so no reimbursement. H moved us to his follow on with a partial-DITY and then changed his mind about wanting us to come over. At least we know for next time what not to do (eg. move ahead).

cattledogkisses Thank you for the suggestion! We plan on getting a tutor as soon as I get there to learn the language. I've been using Duolingo as soon as I found out I'd be going.

[rupertpenny]

I probably have a different perspective because I'm not military and not in Korea, but I'll post anyway.

Here in Hong Kong I can get almost anything I want or need. I do still buy deodorant in the US because the brand that works best for me isn't sold here. I also like to buy Halls cherry cough drops, canned chipotles, and boxes of Zataran's jambalaya and some other really specific things like that when I go home. Nothing I can't live without, but I like having these things on hand. You may be able to get all of that at the commissary though.

Adjusting to the time change only took a few days. We arrived on a Friday night and I started work on Monday so I didn't really have a choice. Climate was similar to Florida, where we came from, so not much adjustment. I will say it took my immune system some time to adjust. I generally never get sick but I got sick a LOT my first year abroad. Nothing serious, but I think the slightly different bugs plus increased crowds were hard to adjust to.

Meal planning changed because I can't do it anymore. I never know what will be in stock at the stores. Everything here is imported though, so YMMV. I miss American grocery stores SOOO much. More than anything else. One big adjustment was that our first place had no oven and only two burners so that definitely influenced the way we cooked. We do finally have a normal oven again though and three whole burners!

Travel is the best part of living in Asia! So far our favorite place is Vietnam. We've been four times and are thinking of going for a few days at CNY just because.

I think apps are pretty location specific but I like xe for currency conversion. It's nice to not always have to do the math in my head. Also, get everyone back home to download whatsapp so you can stay in contact that way. You can do text, video, or voice calls and probably everyone you meet in Korea will use whatsapp instead of normal texting.

You should definitely enroll your daughter in Korean pre-school if you can. That's a great opportunity for her. I would probably at least start with bilingual if it is available, then maybe move to full immersion if she does well. To be honest we haven't put our kids in Chinese language schools for a variety of reasons, but I would be more interested in it if we lived somewhere besides Hong Kong. Among other things, having a child learning to write Chinese is basically another full time job for the parents and I am not cut out for that.

[NomadicMama]

We moved to Germany when my son was 2.5 years old. We enrolled him in German Kindergarten so that when he turned three he was all set to attend. Honestly, his Kindergarten experience was great! He made friends, learned the language and it gave us a connection to the community. It was one of the best aspects of our time abroad.

Plus side, we were able to enroll him in a partial immersion German program when we returned to the States to help DS maintain his second language.

Best of luck with your move!!

[Aquatica]

rupertpenny Thank you for your response! From the videos of our new apartment, it looks like the oven is small (definitely won't fit a turkey in it), and about 2 or 3 burners. That will change the way I cook too. Thank you for the travel rec, I can't wait to explore other countries! I'll look into the whatsapp, so far I've been using Facebook messenger for calls/video chats. Thank you for the recs on pre-school. We're still researching in the are but I will look for bilingual before full Korean to help ease her into it.

NomadicMama Thank you! We'll be in Korea for a minimum of 2 years so I want her to try to fit in as much as she can and play with others. Glad it went well for your son!

[origami]

Aquatica My kids went to an intl school so I'm not personally familiar with this process, but I heard that it's a huge PITA to get into local schools (aside from the foreigner-friendly korean daycares). I don't want to be a debbie downer - but I just want to pass along what I heard so you aren't surprised when you get there. There are wait lists you'll have to get on for every good school, and it's (sort of) lottery based. You'll get extra points for being a foreigner, but that doesn't mean you'll get in. All of my korean friends complained about how short the school day was. I think you can pay for full day (maybe?) but it's not like the intl schools that will keep your kid a full day automatically. That's why so many little kids go to hagwons before/after school. The teachers very likely won't speak english so you'll need to have a korean speaker to translate what they say/write. Also the registration process is likely to only be in korean so you'll need someone to help get you on the wait lists (and also explain which schools are good). Somewhere in this process you might need an ARC number (aka the foreigner's visa), but military families don't get these due to the SOFA. So you might have to go deal with an immigration office to figure that out. It's possible there's a korean school near the base that is used to military families and more capable of helping navigate the process, but that was not the case in Seoul (except for daycares) so every foreigner I knew, incl military families who didn't use the schools on base, were at private intl schools. My kids' preschool was english-based + some mandarin but the vast majority of the class was non-American so they were still exposed to Korean and other languages. But definitely not immersed and they didn't pick up much, unfortunately.

[Aquatica]

origami

You're definately not a debbie downer on this. I'd rather be prepared than not and set my expectations low so I'm not too disappointed.

I'll see what type of visa number I need to enroll her. When we get there, we apply for an A3 visa and get the SOFA stamp. Mostly I'm prepared for her not to go to any program at all since at our last base I couldn't even get hourly care.

[mrsukyankee]

Aquatica, have you moved yet? If so, how are things going?

[Aquatica]

Jan 25, 2019 8:28:53 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Aquatica, have you moved yet? If so, how are things going?

Not yet, I fly out Monday!

[mrsukyankee]

Jan 25, 2019 10:28:19 GMT -5 Aquatica said:

Jan 25, 2019 8:28:53 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Aquatica , have you moved yet? If so, how are things going?

Not yet, I fly out Monday!

How exciting! Looking forward to hearing how things go!

[origami]

Jan 17, 2019 11:16:42 GMT -5 Aquatica said:

origami

You're definately not a debbie downer on this. I'd rather be prepared than not and set my expectations low so I'm not too disappointed.

I'll see what type of visa number I need to enroll her. When we get there, we apply for an A3 visa and get the SOFA stamp. Mostly I'm prepared for her not to go to any program at all since at our last base I couldn't even get hourly care.

fingers crossed!! Good luck with the move and have a safe flight!

(Oh and I’m pretty sure A3’s can get an ARC card/number. Just need to apply separately.)

[klingklang77]

I am not military (have friends with access to the PX and commissary, though) and I don’t live in Korea. I’m in Germany. 

The commissary is great for all your American food. However, I noticed that the shelf life is quick, so I wouldn’t buy too much there at one time. An APO address is helpful for packages, but you don’t need it for your absentee ballots; you can get that in your regular mail. 

You are going need to food shop much more often. 

I don’t have kids, but a lot of expats use international schools. If I had kids, I would just send them to a local school because it’s cheaper, and SO is German, so why not? 

[Aquatica]

We made it! It was a very long 18 hours of flying. I had no idea I would have to go solo from the baggage claims. I had two carts, 7 checked bags, a car seat, exhausted toddler, and 2 carry ons. A family helped me push my second cart until I could get to my husband, it was so nice of them. I'm enjoying the food so far and meeting with our realtor for dinner tonight.

Thank you for all the tips and advice! I'm so excited to start this next adventure

[rupertpenny]

Jan 29, 2019 11:27:48 GMT -5 klingklang77 said:

I don’t have kids, but a lot of expats use international schools. If I had kids, I would just send them to a local school because it’s cheaper, and SO is German, so why not? 

If I were in Europe I’d use local schools too. It’s a different ballgame in Asia though. Schools here are much more focused on rote memorization and the competition is intense. Many kids take several hours of private tuition a week starting at preschool age. It’s more pressure than American schools and way more than European schools. I don’t want to subject my kids to that kind of environment if I don’t have to.

But I agree with your other points. OP will likely have to go grocery shopping much more often, and you can have an absentee ballot sent to any address.

[origami]

Jan 30, 2019 7:48:28 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

Jan 29, 2019 11:27:48 GMT -5 klingklang77 said:

I don’t have kids, but a lot of expats use international schools. If I had kids, I would just send them to a local school because it’s cheaper, and SO is German, so why not? 

If I were in Europe I’d use local schools too. It’s a different ballgame in Asia though. Schools here are much more focused on rote memorization and the competition is intense. Many kids take several hours of private tuition a week starting at preschool age. It’s more pressure than American schools and way more than European schools. I don’t want to subject my kids to that kind of environment if I don’t have to.

But I agree with your other points. OP will likely have to go grocery shopping much more often, and you can have an absentee ballot sent to any address.

ditto all this.

I had forgotten this but my city clerk emailed our ballots. It was so convenient. We had to print them to mail back. Only weird thing with that is that mine had to be printed on 8.5x11 paper, which of course I couldn’t find. That’s something helpful to know before you land (damn). That and envelopes. Korean ones don’t seal on their own so you have to buy separate envelope glue. (Also they’re sized for an A4) Hopefully this is sold on base. Or hopefully it won’t be something you even need to use.

[cattledogkisses]

Jan 30, 2019 2:13:53 GMT -5 Aquatica said:

We made it! It was a very long 18 hours of flying. I had no idea I would have to go solo from the baggage claims. I had two carts, 7 checked bags, a car seat, exhausted toddler, and 2 carry ons. A family helped me push my second cart until I could get to my husband, it was so nice of them. I'm enjoying the food so far and meeting with our realtor for dinner tonight.

Thank you for all the tips and advice! I'm so excited to start this next adventure

This was like me arriving at our destination, lol.  H had gone on ahead so it was me traveling alone with the dog, and I was trying to juggle two giant suitcases, a backpack, my guitar, and the dog in her crate (she came out on the baggage carousel, which I was not expecting!).  I had to wave over a security guard to help me through customs. 

[4speedy]

I am so sorry that I didn’t see this until just now. We’re expats living in Seoul. We’ve been here about 6 months and I absolutely love it. We’re here for a total of 2 years and I already know that will be way too short for all the things we want to do. I live directly next to Yongsan. Once you are settled and would like to venture out, I would be happy to show you around Seoul. I think you might have access to the shuttle that runs between the bases.

I can’t type much now because we leave for a ski trip in Japan tomorrow for Lunar New Year and I haven’t started packing yet.  I check back in a few days, in case you have any more questions since arriving.