Is this a common mid-life crisis thought? Lately I've been feeling compelled to pick a city in a new country and rent a home for some time.

I could list all the reasons but the best reason I have is "why not". I have three kids ages 11,7,&4 and I know there will always be 100 reasons to not do something.

I feel like the rat race is getting to me and I don't want to die with the idea of legacy I didn't make and the places I never went.

UK, Australia, Asia somewhere, Spain, Portugal. It wouldn't be forever, but I can't help but imagine the adventure and perspective 12-36 months in another country would provide my family and me.

Perhaps try a summer abroad? I know a couple of clients who did it and it was a struggle for a short duration.

Otherwise go for it!

tamc93 said:

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Perhaps try a summer abroad? I know a couple of clients who did it and it was a struggle for a short duration.

Otherwise go for it!

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Wha struggles did they experience? There was another thread awhile back about retirement and the interest in long stays abroad was common.

Ah Mate!

Don't know how old you are but I was 37 when we decided it was time to take the family overseas for what I expected would be 2 years. Daughters were 9 & 12 when we moved Down Under. (Start to finish it took 10 months to get a work visa in 2007)

I wrote my epic novel on things you need to consider here:
https://texags.com/forums/56/topics/3116157

I originally wrote that during early California Covid so I'll re-read it and see if I've got anything else to add now that I'm safely wedged into Texas for the rest of my life.

On re-read, given the fact that we're in a US Election year, expect to get a lot of questions about US Politics. Either about Donald Trump should he get elected or Kamala Harris should she get elected. Foreigners will be curious either way.

I went to Austria in 2003 and moved to Australia in 2007. In both situations, I got lots of questions about George Bush and the war in Iraq.

Otherwise, I can't emphasize enough that you need a plan for how you're getting in - work, school, funding, etc. And also a plan (ironically since I just mentioned the US invasion of Iraq) you need a plan for how and when you're getting out.

Lastly, you need to be committed to the cause. I've seen a lot of Americans go overseas (both to Saudi Arabia and even to Australia) and they don't last a year. First sign of difficulty and they're gone.

I had an American girl in my office in Sydney who couldn't deal and among her complaints were the fact that they didn't have items she was used to like - Crest toothpaste. I really had to keep from laughing on that one.

Another American guy struggled and was gone from Sydney after 10 months because he wasn't committed to building relationships. He expected things to be much more transactional. You put a good business value proposal in front of the customer, they spend a few million dollars with you. And that's not how the Australian culture works. They're not obsessed with the bottom line the way US corporations are.

I was successful in stopping one guy from transferring to Sydney (from our office in KC, MO) once I explained to him that he wouldn't be able to bring his Honda Odyssey mini-van. That was the deal breaker for him. Also, there was the bit about paying $5,000/yr per child for his 5 kids to attend the public school. So he was starting out $25,000 (after tax dollars) in the hole every year as an expat.

Thank you for this. I appreciate the solid recap. You're still in Australia?

You're welcome.
No, I'm not there any longer. I pulled the pin on Australia in January 2020 and moved back to my house in California.
In mid-late 2023, I sold out of California and moved to Galveston.

While I work for a small company now, I come from big big global companies I'd apply to for work abroad if my current company wasn't willing to sponsor me for.

I'm new to the logistics of it all though. If I applied to a role in UK, for example, wouldn't I get put near the bottom of the pile because of the added expense to sponsor me?

That's a good question. It depends on if you have some exceptional skill that they're not able to hire for locally.

In my case, when I went to Australia, I was one of the best people in the world at a particular suite of software. Plus, I had my Los Angeles credentials and it was a transfer with the same company so I had plenty of folks who could vouch for me and my work.

In Australia, there was a shortage of skill and it's the age old debate of do I hire somebody who knows how to do what I need right now, or do I hire somebody and then train them for 6-12 months and hope they get it.

I was looking for the adventure so I took less money to move to Australia than what I was making in LA. And once I understood the taxes and school system in Australia, I was making a lot less money than I was making in LA.

In your case, if you don't have any connection to a particular country/area, I'd network like crazy to find somebody who you know and knows you and your work to see if they have any recommendations. If your wife let's say was from England or the EU, then you'd have a lot more doors open due to not requiring sponsorship.

During my time in Australia, I met a few other Americans and Aggies who had come down there because they had unique knowledge in a specific industry. I met a few other Americans who came down because they were young and unattached and then fell in love with an Australian while they were there.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you're just starting out, you've got more opportunity but probably also lower wages and fewer responsibilities. If you're well established in your career, that's going to be more of a needle in a haystack kind of thing.

Maybe look for an American start-up who is looking to enter a foreign market. At one company I used to work for, they had a number of Americans in Japan who took that route. When the established American firm was trying to make its first sales in Japan, they went over there and just stayed. Took Japanese wives, etc.

They had younger school age children, so the one of the issues was the thrill of abroad vs keeping friends.

Working remote mostly worked out, but there was always a chance of a need for a meeting back in the US.

Aging parents.

One of them tried to only book 30-day stints in places so they could move around/cancel as needed for flexibility.

Overall they generally had good times, but it was not without stress.

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We have thought about doing something similar since our kids our out, but then we have the same if not more of the issues since we own our own business that would require me to be back at least 1-week a month.