Any American's living Abroad?? Or have lived abroad?

[LovesTimone]

Hi,

There is a possibly that DH and I could be thinking about moving overseas for a couple of years, for his job. Nothing in stone but we are exploring the idea. It is just Dh and I so no worries with littleones.

So if you have, Where did you go?

Did you travel else where in Europe?

And overall how did you like it? Would you do it again?

And really anything that might help us make the right choice? Before we get into something I want real people thoughts, not someone trying to fill a job and will tell you anything you want to hear. So please give it to me straight.

How was the language issue? Driving?

Anything that we need to ask, request, to be put into our package so to speak.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

This question would be a lot easier to answer if you indicated the country you are considering and how old your children are. Do you speak any foreign languages?

 

[LovesTimone]

This question would be a lot easier to answer if you indicated the country you are considering and how old your children are. Do you speak any foreign languages?

Our children are grown and out on their own.

There are offices, all over the globe, We are leaning toward, England, Ireland, Wales, France, Italy if possible

I do not speak a foreign language but am will to learn.

 

[danceintherain]

I studied abroad in Prague and now live in South Korea. The first experience was on my own and the second with the military.

In general, I think everyone should live abroad at least once in their life because it teaches you things about yourself that you would never learn otherwise. It can be hard though, but easier if you have money to support your endeavors.

While we were in Prague, we did run into some frustration with language barriers, because neither one of us learned as much Czech as we should have. Our biggest issue, however, was money. We were completely broke, which limited our ability to travel around quite a bit. Even though we stayed in Prague pretty much the whole time, the experience was totally worth it. We did manage one trip to Paris.

Now that we're in South Korea, money isn't really a problem, but time is. We've been here for over a year now, and have only been able to go on one trip out of the country (to the Philippines) and a few small day trips in the country. We're hoping to fit in a trip to Japan before we leave in a few months. My husband's training schedule is such that a lot of the times we want to go somewhere we can't. Also, since he is working long hours every day his motivation to go on trips is fairly low. The language barrier hasn't bothered me as much here, because we spend a lot of time around other Americans and since I have a kid, the Koreans go out of their way to help me, even if they have no idea what I'm talking about. Also, since Seoul has hosted the Olympics in the past, everything is written in both Hangul and Western characters.

From your list, England, Ireland, and Wales would likely be the easiest, because the people there should speak English, even if they speak another language too.
A little bit of the native language would get you pretty far in the other two countries, but it would, of course, be better to learn as much as possible. I'm terrible at this, and haven't gotten past the usual pleasantries in either language. I've gotten by perfectly fine, so there hasn't been much motivation to try harder.

Driving - Neither one of us drove in Prague, but my husband has driven some here. He had to take a test to prove that he knew their driving rules, but other than that it's basically the same. It took him a bit to get used to it, but now I think he'll have a problem driving normally when we get back home. Basically, you can get used to any strange rules a country throws at you. Also, keep in mind, that Europe tends to have a lot better public transit than most places in the States. This is more true in the cities, but even more removed areas can have decent options. If you take this into consideration, when you choose a place to live in reference to where he works, you may not actually have to drive very much, until you get used to it.

The biggest issue I ran into in Prague was the food. I have a very unsophisticated palate, and it was hard for me to adjust to not having a lot of my staples. A jar of western peanut butter was like $5 and a family sized box of mac & cheese was closer to $9. Here it hasn't been a problem, because the commissary on post has everything I'm used to eating. It's usually best to learn to eat as the locals do, because what they eat will be easier to come by and less expensive.

In general, what's a few years of your life in the grand scheme of things? Even if you hate it, you can say you've done it and rule it out in the future.
Given our experience here, my husband has decided that he doesn't want to live overseas again. I'm a bit disappointed and I hope that I can change his mind once the shock wears off, because I would love to live in Europe again, especially with money to burn!

This may be a given but make sure to verify health insurance information. Just make sure you know what you're getting and if you need to add on anything extra. Our health insurance actually has better dental coverage over here, which is nice.

 

[danceintherain]

Oh, I forgot to add that if you have travel motives for living abroad, discuss them with your husband in advance. I had a specific plan for where and when we were going to go places while we were here, and it fell to the wayside as soon as my husband gave his input. Most of the time he has taken off since we've been here have been staycations, which is nice for him, but frustrating for me. I understand that he needs this down time, but it has thrown a huge wrench in my travel plans, especially since most of it has been while myself and our son are jet lagged (when we've gotten here from the states) so even going on day trips hasn't been an option. As of now, he has 30 days of unused vacation time, and they might not let him take any more before we leave. I'm trying to convince him that going places sometimes won't be so stressful to him if he actually takes all his leave, but it's a slow process. If he didn't have me, he probably would never take a day off unless he was ordered to by a superior.

Basically, make clear your expectations. You will be able to see the place you live fairly well without help from your husband, but if you want to go somewhere else while you're there, make him agree to it as much as possible in advance. Maybe convince him to split his vacation time between what you want to do and what he wants to do, unless you're completely willing to travel alone, or find friends who will accompany you.

It's not a complete waste to never travel anywhere else, but being closer does have it's advantages. I HATE jet lag, and plan to avoid it as much as possible.

 

[AshleeH]

I lived abroad for a semester in high school (my dad was teaching college classes overseas and my school okayed me to withdraw for that amount of time).

We lived in Regensburg, Germany and it was absolutely gorgeous! I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world. We did a lot of traveling (10 countries) - my favorites were England (for the culture), Switzerland (for the scenery), and Austria (for both). Regensburg itself was the perfect "home base" for us - I have great fondness for that city.

Traveling was very easy, from our perspective. We got train tickets and used them every weekend to go to a new country. Transportation was easy too - so many of those cities have so much history that they are set up for walking because they were built long before cars were thought of. We walked pretty much everywhere and when we couldn't, we would occasionally take a cab.

My least favorite: Italy. Specifically Florence (Rome was okay and Venice was pretty). Florence was loud (motorbikes), dirty, and we encountered the most rude people there, so it was not the best experience. It's not a cultural thing - Venice we met some very nice people, so it's all in who you run into. Although England had more people who seemed to look down on Americans (we expected it from France lol! Goes to show, never listen to stereotypes). In spite of that, we did love England - London specifically because of all the history and nightlife.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Paris again. That was the only city we took two separate trips to - intentionally (we passed through Munich, a lot, to swap trains). We went back because we didn't feel like we'd seen everything - that's when my parents took me to Disneyland Paris .

The language barrier was not an issue - I was 15, almost 16, and I picked up German (the basics) quickly, but most people overseas know English - it's taught in schools from a very young age, so we muddled along just fine. I knew enough German to get by and they could fill in the blanks in English. Restaurants, we pointed at what we wanted on the menu - all very easy (that was our most stressful thing when making the decision as a family - could we overcome the language barrier for a semester, but it really wasn't a big deal).

Would I do it again? Yes, absolutely, if all the chips fell into place. This time I would revisit my favorite cities (London, Salzburg, Regensburg) and I would work knew countries in that I didn't get to before and really want to see (Greece, Ireland, Scotland).

Oddly enough, I'm scared to fly now - I was fine at that age, we flew to Europe and Poland and the Bahamas and other places in the U.S. and I never even noticed I'm in the air, but ever since I had kids, I'm terrified to fly. I told my husband that when we have grown kids, I'll take a class to get over the fear and we can go to Scotland (the only place overseas he wants to go), so it's a goal .

Good luck on your decision!

 

[chris31997]

Hi,

There is a possibly that DH and I could be thinking about moving overseas for a couple of years, for his job. Nothing in stone but we are exploring the idea. It is just Dh and I so no worries with littleones.

So if you have, Where did you go?

Did you travel else where in Europe?

And overall how did you like it? Would you do it again?

And really anything that might help us make the right choice? Before we get into something I want real people thoughts, not someone trying to fill a job and will tell you anything you want to hear. So please give it to me straight.

How was the language issue? Driving?

Anything that we need to ask, request, to be put into our package so to speak.

Our children are grown and out on their own.

There are offices, all over the globe, We are leaning toward, England, Ireland, Wales, France, Italy if possible

I do not speak a foreign language but am will to learn.

I second the idea of living overseas. You will learn things about yourself that you never knew. You will also see politics/environment/work/life and the US through differant eyes.

You are looking at Europe. Language, I would say, not a big issue because you are trying for England/area. I would say your issue would be learning to live with in a differant currency, living without the easy of seeing/talking with family, and the cost of things. Another issue could be what are your rights going to be, driving, and safety. You will also need to consider what you will take with you and what you will need to get when there.


We are also Military and live in Japan. We are a day ahead of family. We have to schedule a time when to skype with family and sometimes it is a no go. It is very expensive to fly home to see them and for them to see us. The exchange rate is okay about 79 Yen to the $1, but things in Japan are expensive and it makes shopping out in town expensive. If I want fresh fruit/veggies, that is where I need to go. Not to mention, Christmas girfts are alittle more special from Japan and not the Exchange We live under a special agrrement with the Japanese Governement, it only applies to people here working for the US Government so any other Americans do not fall under this agreement. They break a law or get in a car accident things get tricky for them. But they would not trade it for nothing. Like England we drive on the "wrong" side of the road. At first it was very . I hated driving. The steering wheel was even on the opposite side of the car. But after awhile, it is quite normal. You may not need a car but it might be a factor. We have road tax and JCI here, another when it comes to money. Of course, Yen only. Something we had to get used to was earthquakes. We have had 3 that we felt and 3/4 that we watched for tsunamias. The military recently came out with a butch of forms and stuff that we had to get ready in case of a natural disaster and we had to evacuate. Something we never thought of. Food has be a fun experament because we don't always know what we are ordering. Menus are no always in English, nor cooked the way we are used to.

I tell you all this to get you thinking. I would trade this at all. This is an expierance that our kids will remember forever. They have and will have the opportunity to see and do things that my husband and I never dreamed of. Family is coming out and they are getting to see things. We are better for it.

Rosetta Stone is great in helping you learn a forgein language, if you go somewhere else besided England

 

[katoot]

I, too, say go for it. I spent a year in Japan as an exchange student in both high school and university (about 2 1/2 years total) and I'm currently in my fourth year living in South Korea.

Now, I just guessing, but by the sounds of it, it's not a government job for your husband. I, too, do not have a government job. I managed to get a job working of one of the top companies on Korea, so I don't get the benefit of cheap, Army base prices on "tastes of home." it can be pretty expensive living here.

When I first arrived, I didn't know any of the language, nor the alphabet. Fortunately, at the time, I worked with a bunch of foreigners, so language wasn't an issue. I'm the only foreigner in my office, so that is no longer the case. If you do need to learn a new language, give it time and don't get discouraged.

As for travel, it's my understanding that Europe has, overall, a good transportation system in place, which can make traveling very easy.

 

[Samar]

My husband is from India and said he would consider a job there or in Saudi Arabia where he grew up. I refuse to go along with either job due to living conditions in India (and having to stay with Inlaws) and Saudi because they're utterly ridiculous in regards to their rules with women. Shoot, it's tough being a woman in both countries.

The countries you listed I would totally be on board with. France and Italy might have a smidge of a language barrier but like one PP said, learn the basics of those languages and you're set to go until you get adjusted Make sure you compare your income against the currencies with the style of living you're used to. In India (when we went in 2006) our dollar went far but had we gone to the UK for the same trip, the drastic change in monies would've hampered our vacation slightly.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Despite the fact that my husband has been on active duty in the military for 29 1/2 years, we have never been assigned overseas. However, I have traveled extensively and think living overseas for a year or two would be a great experience, especially if your children are grown, so you don't have to worry about school and other issues.

Out of the countries you mentioned, I'd take France!

 

[rainynight]

I would do it in a heartbeat! In fact, we really hope that by the time our son reaches his teen years that we will no longer be US citizens. I've always dreamed of living in Australia since I was a little girl. So yes, while there are so many wonderful things about the US, I would leave it behind without a second thought. The world is full of many great countries to call home.

 

[mom2girls1974]

I am a Canadian, so not exactly what you asked for - but I have lived in England, Isreal, and New Zealand - all amazing places, and SO glad I lived in all of them. (4 years in all) If I ever had the honour of living in another country again I would jump at it. So amazing, to learn another culture, to eat another way, see another side to life - it was great for me, wish I had the opportunity again!

 

[Sheepdog23]

Definitely! I went to Denmark as an au pair 9 years ago, met my husband and never went back. We now have 3 kids and are living in southern sweden. Here it is not a problem with language since so much is in english, including tv, movies and textbooks at the University. I love that we never have to worry about anything like college tuition or health care since it is provided by our taxes, which are not much higher than what my parents pay in CT when you do the calculations for what is included as part of your taxes. i would really consider going abroad because you will totally see America in different eyes when you get here plus you do not want to have the what ifs later.

 

[esk]

I am military and have lived in South Korea, England and Germany. However, being overseas with the military is not like being there without out (master of the obvious statement, but it needs to be said)

Where I lived in Germany, there were many Americans not affiliated with the government (Chrysler, Honeywell, Siemens) and they got along fine. In Germany, your US drivers license (from some states) will transfer over to a German license. Michigan is one of those states. In Western Europe, almost everyone speaks English. Check the driving requirements in whatever country you are going to, because in France they were cracking down on military people driving without international licenses.

Health insurance is a huge expense....how will you handle that? Will the company foot the bill? Will they move stuff for you or will you just get 2 suitcases each for a year?

My friend went to England with Ford (car company) and lived there 9 months....she loved it but missed American food. I ran across lots of State Dept people while deployed and they used things like netgrocer or even walmart.com, but mailing to a non-US country is crazy expensive. Can you live without peanut butter? Or I should say, it's there in the local stores but can you pay $8 for a small jar?

I loved England and would go back tomorrow. However, a buddy of ours that left the military and got a job in England ended up quitting quickly and moving back home because of money....he had to pay English taxes and it was something like 45% of his paycheck (but he gets free healthcare for life, apparently). Once that was gone, he couldn't afford gas, heat, food, rent....yes, English people can make ends meet but he couldn't...and he wanted to travel and simply had no money. Maybe his phone bills to the US were bigger, maybe he wasn't used to living economically, don't know, but know this --- ALL US Government employees (military and State Dept) get a Cost of Living Allowance for a reason.....it is expensive to live overseas, particularly when you know it's temporary and you won't be living like you live now.

Do you want to work? There may be visa restrictions...military families can work but I don't know if non-military family members can without a work visa. Will the company be sponsoring your visas?

What I'm saying is, look at the salary and benefits offered and make sure it's enough money to live on. Troll ex-pat websites and ask people if it's enough to travel on, to live on, like you want to live. Wouldn't it be a shame to live in France but be so broke you can't afford to eat great food, drink great wine, drive/bus/metro to beautiful places? Even the Louvre costs money to get in....

 

[meggiebeth]

We are actually British so any questions you may have about the British side of it me and my family would be happy to answer.

I would personally go for it but beware that although the UK speaks English it will probably be a bit of a culture shock- we are so different culturally to Americans. I haven't ever heard of paying $8 for a jar of peanut butter though.

With France and Italy you will be quite isolated for a while whilst getting to grips with the language. I think England would be less challenging to try out, since French and Italian culture is extremely different to American culture.

Are you okay with the bad weather in the UK? We are in the South East and get it- it is even worse in the north. We've had a month of non-stop drizzle.

The great thing about England is that you are extremely close to Europe. You can go to France on the Eurotunnel for $100 each way (per car). So whilst you could holiday in Europe, I think England would be the safest bet for permanent living.

Oh, and with relation to money- I think the UK is more expensive to live in than America. Yes, we do have the 45% tax rate, although it depends on what your income is. I believe you are taxed quite a bit more in the UK. Fuel is three times the price in England than what it is in America. (And I think over half of that is tax.) And you do get free healthcare- the National Health Service. However it can be quite inefficient and the waiting lists can be HUGE (months or even years) so I would still consider, if you could afford it, getting private healthcare insurance.

Have you thought about where in England? Personally I would choose close to London. We live in a village in Essex- very historical. We are 20 minutes from Cambridge, a beautiful little city, and 45 minutes from London- which is one of my all time favourite cities.

 

[Qltrgrl2]

We lived in the northeast of England for five years on an overseas work assignment. It was an awesome experience, we traveled extensively both in and around the United Kingdom and all areas of Europe. Go for it but only if you are able to adapt to new situations easily and don't mind alternative to the American way of life. Good luck!

 

[Bonnie151]

I moved to Scotland from Massachusetts in 1990 and I can promise that you will not pay anywhere near $8.00 for peanut butter!

If you move to the UK, you'll be able to drive on your US drivers license for 12 months. After that you'd need to sit the UK exam so I'd take that into consideration if you're looking at moving to the UK and for how long. There are separate tests for just automatic drivers vs automatic & standard drivers.

It sounds as though you'd be doing it through your/DH's current employer? If so, I'm assuming the company offers a package that you can comfortably live on? it's very easy to travel cheaply to the rest of Europe by train or budget airlines.