So my husband may have an opportunity to work overseas for up to 4 years, which would involve us (and two kids currently 4 and 7) relocating to a mainly non-English speaking country for that time (though there is a large expat community). When that contract ends then there would likely be another contract in a different foreign city/country, again relocating us all.
Do we consider this? Is this too disruptive for our kids or is it an amazing opportunity for us all?
To put some context to this -
-we have our own home (mortgaged), which we would keep and rent out, and therefore have somewhere to come back to if necessary
-we don't have a lot of family and those we do have aren't close
-we already do everything with no help (as in it's just me and hubby and kids, no babysitters etc), so we're used to doing everything ourselves
-our oldest will be in year 2 this year and does very well at school, seems to make friends easily. Youngest starting school this year.
-if we were to do this we don't want to delay the opportunity until kids are older, and more difficult to change schools ect (high school exams and so forth)
Has anyone done something like this? Was it successful or a disaster? How did the kids handle it? I know everyone is different etc etc but would love to hear some experiences.
This position would be my husbands absolute dream job and travelling etc has always been part of ours and our kids lives. But living someone else is just a whole new level. Thanks
4 Replies
I’d go for it!
Hi, from my own experience over the last 18 months I would say "GO" - don't let the opportunity pass you buy. We moved to Austria last year, we didn't speak German, my kids were 13 and 10 and truthfully it has been the best experience of our lives.
I am not going to lie, it's challenging, but as long as you tell yourself that it's an adventure and that you have the option to moving back, and try to appreciate all the adventures your family will have (believe me, sometimes even going to the supermarket can be a huge adventure!), you'll be fine!!!
My kids go to a local school, they've learnt German, they are extremely independent nowadays, resilient, open minded and willing to give everything a go. At the beginning it was difficult, they missed their friends, school etc - but my kids were considerably older than yours, I believe that if we had done it earlier we wouldn't have struggled as much with missing home because kids are more adaptable when younger.
There will be days when you just want to pack your bags and move back, but the adventure, the sense of discovery, the possibility of being anonymous and not having to comply or follow anyone else but your heart and your decisions is very liberating. It brings your family closer, you rely more on each other but also create forever memories between just the 4 of you.
I've made many friends via expat communities and I've even created an expat page on Facebook and ended up getting to know some amazing people - we are all on the same boat. I guess it all comes down to "you get what you're looking for" - if you move feeling blessed with the opportunity and a sense of adventure, knowing that some days will be challenging nonetheless, you'll make your days whatever you want it to be.
We've traveled extensively through Europe, they can ski well now, they have friends from all sorts of nationalities, they are more confident, resilient and overall different kids. Sometimes the "Australian Bubble" doesn't represent the reality of the world we live in, and as much as it's a nice bubble, I wanted to give my kids a different perspective and a sense of adventure and I think I've managed it so far. To the point were nowadays they say that it will be hard to move back and leave their friends behind here, also they say they might come back to study at university here...
In Summary... It was the best decision we've ever made!!! I couldn't live with myself constantly wondering "What If" had I decided not to move overseas.
Good Luck.
I know a family in my community that have travelled a lot for work, lots of non English speaking countries too.
Their kids are so well rounded and cultured, the 2 oldest speak 5 different languages (how impressive is that! I barely manage with English most days 😂).
It sounds like an amazing opportunity, what do you have to lose? There's always the option to go home of you really hate it too. I say give it a go!
I’d go for it!