wherever you are - expat support thread, new or otherwise, sign in here for support/advice/comparing stories etc

[ExpatAgain]

Well, a few of us seem to think this is a good idea, so here goes!

I'm 39, got 2 dc both at school (youngest just half-day though) am "trailing" my husband whose job moved him to Africa 6 months ago..

I love many things about it but am struggling right now as back to being SAHM something I'm not a natural for...Looking forward to developing closer friends here. we've also had lots of security issues which we need to do something about or move house again and dc have been much more homesick than I'd reckoned for.

On the good side, it's great to have ventured out of the UK, it's a fantastic outdoor life in summer, when everything works, i've got time to keep fit, see the kids more.

Hope some of you want to join me on here

[alexpolismum]

Hello, another expat here.

I'm in Greece, and have also spent time in Italy and France, but been here for over 11 years now. I love lots of things here, although I'm not so enthusiastic about the imminent state bankruptcy!

[papooshka]

We are in Singapore, where alot of you seem to want to move to! Been here 9 years, 2 kids aged 4 and 2. Still miss the UK but only really family and friends, and always feel guiilty that the kids are missing their grandparents and cousins.

Singapore is great, we have a good life, but I hate hate hate the way it is so transient, I have had soo many good friends leave and it never gets easier. At the moment I am sick of making new friends, hopefully that will change as I'm sure some new BFF's are right round the corner!!

[wordsonascreen]

IKWYM I think its the same in Dubai...I've noticed when meeting new people the first thing they generally ask is how long you will be here for (weighing up if its worth making the effort !!)

Hot and sticky here today, went for a swim in the pool and it was like bathwater (the chiller costs a fortune might have to resort to the age old DIY bucket load of icecubes in the shallow end trick)

Have spent a happy few hours booking hotels for our England summer holiday

(just over a month and counting..can't wait)

[MightyAphrodite]

I'm in Greece too, and I've been here for nearly 23 years now. I don't think I could cope with the UK for any length of time any more, tbh. There's that part of my expat heart that yearns for the place I grew up in, but everything's changed since I was a kid any way. I love the whole extended family thing here, the fact I still feel fairly safe about letting the dc disappear off all day with friends, and of course the weather and the sea. Not so keen on the education "system" (and I'm a state school teacher) or the fact that I'm probably about to lose all my savings....

[alexpolismum]

Are you in the north or the south? I agree with you totally about the family thing, and the education. And where I live, I can walk down to the sea in no time at all! For me the problem is really the health system, though, and the kickbacks expected at all levels. And after 11 years, I LOATHE the expression 'den variesai'!

[MightyAphrodite]

I'm way down south, so I doubt you can see me wave! I've only really got into expat company in the last 3 or 4 years and have gone a bit native. Yep, health care is a bit hit and miss, I've only ever given one 'fakelaki' (the shame, the shame) when my son needed surgery. I won't bore everyone with details....It's annoying the way medicine gets overprescribed because doctors are under pressure from the pharmaceutical companies, but then again, my mum in the UK can't get medication to improve her quality of life, though not lengthen it, because her particularly health authority is cost cutting. Luckily I know a doctor here who may be able to help

[Horopu]

Hi, am I too late to join?

I am living in Northland, NZ in a small town and teaching at a small school (40 children) in a local village. We moved here January 2010 from London. DH works at the local secondary school and we have 3 sons aged 13,11, and 5.
We have permanent residency so are here for good now. There is a lot about the UK I miss but we are settling in well here. I have thrown myself into being useful in the community to try to make friends - I am now on 4 committees and have never baked for so many cake sales in my life!

[TheMostBeautifulPoster]

Wondering what you all get from mn, specially if you have no regrets? Is there no southern hemisphere time adapted mn type site?

[TheBride]

Wondering what you all get from mn, specially if you have no regrets? Is there no southern hemisphere time adapted mn type site?

Not in Asia. There is Asiaexpat and Geoexpat/Geobaby but the forums are quite slow and dominated by very very few users, and most people know who the other posters are in RL. Geobaby has also been hijacked by the natural birth brigade who turn every thread into a diatribe against HK healthcare.

Other HK mums might want to take a look at a new site- SassyMama. It's got a lifestyle focus and doesn't have a forum but they do arrange meet ups.

[BlameItOnTheBogey]

I have no regrets about my travelling life style but am an expat and not an immigrant here therefore I identify most with British sites where people have a similar approach to parenting as I do. Plus in Africa, most people don't even have the internet so the idea of a forum like this would be unthinkable.

[ExpatAgain]

No regrets?! i've had a few, but then again too few to mention....

seems we've all had quite different takes on this - some clearly don't miss the UK, others do. Must say i'm still getting real pangs of homesickness less than 10 months in,think (hope) it's normal. I regret giving up my job/not seeing friends/family regularly/taking the kids away from somewhere so safe & away from their friends, Christ, of course! It's not as if it's a holiday, is it? It's real life, warts and all..

As for time difference, there hardly is one for us so MN works fine for me and i enjoy the debate/info exchange and views from home.

[ExpatAgain]

Meant to add the positive - in spite of the regrets, I'm glad we finally "lived the dream" and made the move overseas as we had always planned to do so. I'm glad the kids are seeing so much more of life - inc grinding poverty and questioning why, for example, some people live in shacks when they don't..Hope this sets them up better for adult life ..Glad we live the outdoor life much of the year, glad we seem to be meeting people with much more "get-up-and-go" than seemed the case in our home town..

[natation]

Portofino, you must have been where we were on thursday too...even went back there yesterday, today is Walibi.... total outlay a few euro in diesel as we have a season ticket and bring our own food and drinks..... yes we like it here too... just one thing making our life in Belgium very very difficult right now which we are desparately trying to forget.

[4pinkbabies]

Hi everyone
I am in Shanghai, DH and I both secondary teachers. We have 4 DD's aged 2, 5, 7 and 9. We moved here last summer, nearly at the end of our 1st year now. Things are going pretty well now, the DD's are settled and happy, in fact their life here is pretty amazing. Off to Thailand in 3 weeks and then back to the UK, just for 2 weeks, to 'tick that box'. The thing I miss the most is not driving and fresh, safe milk. Really love this thread...makes me feel sane to hear of others in the same position. Just done the weekly Skype call and had to yet again bite my tongue after hearing another negative story from my Mum about China..she cuts them all out of the newspaper and reads them out to me. Today it was the exploding watermelon story..yes, we heard it weeks ago. :o

[bedubabe]

[alexpolismum]

you gave a fakelaki? I refuse! It really annoys me!

I don't have any expat friends at all here. I am aware of some other British expats of course, but I don't know them. My friends are mostly all Greek. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a friend from Blighty, to have a good old moan with to chat in proper English with, but it's not really important.

4pinkbabies - I get all the negative press reports from my parents as well. Unfortunately with the Greek debt crisis and recent events, there is certainly no shortage!

[barbie1]

Hello fellow expats

Still no news on our possible move to K.L. I hate being in limbo.

Dubai is starting to look like a ghost town as the mass exodus begins for summer!

4pinkbabies Why do people do that? you know, just have to tell you about all the crap bad things they read in the papers about your country of living. The daily mail must write something negative about dubai at least every week, i get emails from friends telling me we should think about leaving as it's such a horrid, depressed state

I like it, and the way of life...So stick your rain and wind swept England while i go and have a swim in the pool

[TanteRose]

hi all - I'm in Japan, so you can imagine the negative press reports over the past 3 months

actually, I have been completely calm about everything (as we are so far from the disaster area), so my parents/family haven't panicked really.

I was actually quite miffed that I didn't get more messages on Facebook after the earthquake in March You know who your REAL friends are, when they post a quick message to ask if you are OK after a Magnitude 9 quake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown

been here 20 years now - left Blighty in 1991...MN is great for keeping up with British culture. Thanks to MN, I know who Jordan, Cheryl, Nigella etc. are!

[safran]

The news stories thing makes me laugh - of course Korea gets its fair share of them especially as technically we're still at war and the whole bombing of Yeonpyeong Island thing earlier this year. But because of course some people only have a vague idea of where Korea is so I get all the Japan, China and "anything sort of over there in Asia" stories as well!

[MumOfStan]

I'll also join in! I'm in Dubai, early thirties, one nearly five year old boy. Moved three months ago, husband got job first, I was lucky to find one too. Working full time in a nice company, overall happy with life, but son has struggled to settle in school, and so we're tackling almost daily complaints about his behaviour and his academic skills (or apparent lack of, according to the school). Oh and I hate the driving and bore all my colleagues with daily horror stories from Sheikh Zayed Road. Think this is a nice idea - as it's always good to be able to talk through the specific issues we face being far from home.

[efeslight]

hello to everyone, what a lovely read this thread makes! I'm in cologne in germany, been here for nearly 4 years, also lived in istanbul for a year and a half.
have a little boy, and now am a sahm, am a teacher in real life!
stay away from those beansprouts everybody!

[spoiltexpatbrat]

Just checking my new name change

[chinchin123]

I'm in Singapore, have two children in infant school. Have been here 6 months, and it is my first move abroad. DH working (a lot!), I'm not - gave up work to move here.

I love our life here and feel very fortunate to be able to live abroad, and in a place which provides such a cosseted lifestyle! I don't know what our long-term plan is - still early days - but I feel a little all over the place at the thought of our summer trip back to the UK.

I think I'm worried that we'll go back and find our 'old' life too comfortable, then feel unsettled when we come back to Spore. I'm especially worried about the DCs, and how they'll react after seeing their grandparents, cousins and friends.

But hopefully all will be well

[frakyouveryverymuch]

I'm in the bit of France next to Mauritius with a military DH, baby DS and next round of postings coming out Friday. I can't decide if I want to stay or go back to mainland France or what! Just as long as it's not New Caledonia....

Having spent a fair while ranting and raging about being here I'm finally fairly settled. In some ways it's the best of both worlds - lovely weather, lots of extreme sports for DH, a language I know, good state benefits - but in other ways it's the worst - far away from family, French bureaucracy, hideously expensive and very isolated!

emmanicole I had DS under the French system so any questions about pregnancy/birth in France feel free to ask.

[MightyAphrodite]

A question for you all....who'd rather their children went to school in the UK, whose children attend international schools, and who thinks the schools in their adopted countries might actually be better than back 'home'? We're thinking long and hard about this as our eldest starts secondary school in September.

alexpolismum - it was eight years ago, and I never did it again . We've been as far north as Serres (love that town) and Halkidiki. Have you ever been down to the Peloponnese?