Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Moving to Corpus Christi Texas!

66 replies

weechops · 19/09/2017 10:44

Does anyone live here or even in Texas who could give me some advice or reassurance?

My husband has a job offer which will last approximately 6 years. So he wants us all to go with him. We have 4 kids - 11,7,3,8 months.

I'm really apprehensive. Big worry is how we will cope with the heat! Also schools- how do they work for each age?

actually my head is a bit of a mess! Has anyone gone and loved it?

OP posts:
OlennasWimple · 21/09/2017 20:50

Honestly, I would doubt very much that the move would help re-kindle your relationship.

Moving overseas is hard, really really hard. DH and I have a rock solid marriage, but it really takes its toll to uproot everyone and go somewhere completely different. We have had more arguments in the last few years than we have had over the entirety of our relationship, and this is echoed by almost all the ex-pat couples that we know.

BoreOfWhabylon · 21/09/2017 21:11

This is a fascinating thread, I am learning so much from all the knowledgeable posters.

OP, listen to the wise women on here, please. I think this from Expat sums up my thinking on this:
Your last chance to try involves you moving across the world and being completely dependent on someone you can't trust? Absolutely not and if he tries to make you feel guilty about it, for not 'giving it a chance' or any other bollocks, you remind him that he is the one who destroyed it so he is the one who should be doing all the work to repair things.

expatinscotland · 21/09/2017 21:22

I hear ya, Panda. Charity is also often linked to churches and places of worship and benefits tend to be in the form of tax breaks for working parents and state programmes to allow children of indigent parents to obtain medical care rather than cash payments and limited amounts of assistance with food in the form of grocery cards with restrictions on what you can purchase. Even if you could start off on your own there, which you wouldn't be able to due to visa restrictions, there's zero way you would be able to stay at home with your kids and not work unless your husband agreed to fully provide for all of you financially and probably provide health insurance for the kids, too. There's no income support because you have young children, you would have to work, which again, you won't be able to do until after a not insignificant time there as his dependent.

Panda is 100% spot on, that's how it is for citizens, but for foreigners who have no legal right to be there? The best you'll do is a flight home, without the kids.

And the custody laws are such that, well, I have two friends there, Americans, of course, who divorced other Americans and they are stuck in another state they don't want to be in because they cannot move out of that state with their kids. I have another two dual-national friends (US/UK) who are stuck in the US due to marital breakdown and joint custody. They're free to move about, of course, but they can't take the kids who were born in the UK and also UK/US nationals. It's not like here where the mom can just take off with the kids and get benefits - the custody laws there usually favour both parents doing 50/50 custody and the parents providing financially for the kids.

If he tries to tell you all this information is bullshit, well, he's lying. And you can't trust any agreement he makes because he can renege on them without any repercussions. Even my h wouldn't think of going with me to the US permanently (not that it was an issue) until we were married long enough for him to be eligible to enter as a so-called green card holder in his own right and I don't blame him - I could have just dumped him with no recourse and he'd have had to leave without his kids, who were born in the UK but are US/UK nationals. Similarly, I cannot decide to leave the UK and go and live with our kids in the US without his permission. It works both ways! I even carry a notarized letter from him with permission to take the kids to the US on holiday.

I'll bet if you Google, you'll find forums full of people stuck in countries due to custody laws and/or facing removal without their kids.

Don't be one of those people.

And again, I say this as someone who loves my home state of Texas and my family there. I would never, ever have dreamed of putting my husband in a situation that your h is wanting to put you in because I love and respect him and want him to feel safe and secure.

mathanxiety · 23/09/2017 02:37

I am here for the foreseeable thanks to exactly the circumstances Expat describes.

If I want to even take the DCs to the Indiana Dunes for a day at the beach I have to get exH's permission first.

weechops · 24/09/2017 20:24

Sorry I haven't replied sooner, the baby's been pretty ill.
I've done nothing but think about all this.
I feel like I have a bloody split personality when it comes to dh!! One half wants more than anything to forgive him and move on because I do still love him. We do have some sort of relationship left, something to build on, there's no bad atmosphere, shouting, nothing like that.
The other half is horrified and just can't get over how awful he treated me while I was pregnant.
It's a long shitty story from the second I found out til a few months ago,
Before this we had literally no trust issues, hardly argued (only daft things) , never any hint of not being madly in love!! Then when I found out he completely changed into a stranger. He caused me so much anxiety and I still to this day can't believe the way he was! My bloody perfect husband turned into an arsehole!
I think math anxiety said I'm not dealing with a grown up - it's so true. He will not talk about this. hr won't acknowledge my feelings are still screwed up.
Expattrailingspouse - I will take notice of your situation and won't do anything to be like that. I am so so sorry for what you've gone through. Misplaced trust isn't it, and all because we think love is enough.
Expatinscotland - I've seen your replies to posters on other threads before and always liked your no nonsense advice and approach! You're totally right, I know you are. I don't know if I'm holding on to hope or what. But I'm realising I can't blindly trust him any more.
As of tomorrow he's actually going to be working closer to home for a while so home every night, occasionally weekends off. Not done this for about 8 years!! So maybe we will have a decent chunk of full/time time together after all.
With regards to qualification- we just can't afford for me to do a course with OU, no childcare to attend college (or money to pay childminder!) I have actually started s little business recently. Not much but it's something I'm good at and can potentially grow as the kids get more independent.
So although this started as a Texas help thread, it's turned into a relationship one!
Thanks for this because I don't speak to anyone really about how I feel now.
I may have more questions though!Smile

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 24/09/2017 20:28

'I think math anxiety said I'm not dealing with a grown up - it's so true. He will not talk about this. hr won't acknowledge my feelings are still screwed up. '

Because he wants you to forget about it. He's doing nothing to save this, he's expecting you to do that, after he fucked it all up.

At any rate, do not move with this man. It would be absolute folly to do that at best and at worst you could lose your kids for good. That's the truth.

ExpatTrailingSpouse · 24/09/2017 20:35

agree with the other expat. if he refuses to talk about it and won't acknowledge your feelings, forget it. from pretty bitter experience, you'll never be able to gain that trust back. read the book by chump lady - while it advocates ltb, it also helps you recognize behaviours that you (the "chump") do to enable the cheater to minimize.

weechops · 24/09/2017 21:01

Yeah I can see that I probably do allow him to minimise. I'm really not a confrontational person and if I'm very honest I just want a quiet life, MY quiet life that I know, that my children know. I guess I feel that they don't deserve to lose out because of a shit thing their dad did.
I literally have no support. I've thought long and hard about what a split would mean. Financially it would only be do-able if he paid maintenance, but who knows what would happen if he worked abroad permanently. If I can't rely on him to pay the mortgage we'd need to sell (no equity) and I'd be dependent on the council. I've thought and thought about jobs I can do around the kids, but I'd never be able to afford the mortgage on my own. Growing up poor, my house is my security net and I want to hold onto it desperately.
I thought that if he went to Texas, we went for a couple months, I tell him we hate it, we come home and just get on with our lives. You know, as I'm writing this I can see I'm just putting it off and putting it off - the discussion. I try to talk to him, he shuts me down and I just let him instead of shouting and making myself heard. I miss the relationship we had I really do. I feel lonely. I don't want to let my guard down with him again which is shit. If he'd only bloody accept responsibility and accept I'm entitled to feel this way!!
No I will not be going to Texas. Who bloody knows if he will either!!? He had us all moved to Singapore about 6 months ago! That's another rant.
Sorry I feel like I actually am just ranting.

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 24/09/2017 21:10

www.survivinginfidelity.com/articles.asp

Here's a site you might like to look over.

ExpatTrailingSpouse · 24/09/2017 21:14

Does he work for a certain company with offices in leatherhead? (Singapore just makes me wonder).
Cos if that's the case you will get ZERO help for sure from the company in the case that it all goes wrong. HR won't even speak to me so I can find out about my visa or what benefits I might be entitled to.

weechops · 24/09/2017 21:16

Thank you mathanxiety I'll have a read through that

OP posts:
weechops · 24/09/2017 21:21

Expat no it's not that one. The company he's with just now are Aberdeen based, the Singapore one was a small company (so he says) that were willing to pay for him but not us, also no relocation package. And he still thought that was a viable option! Confused
The Texas one is the same company he worked for in Indonesia last year, its huge.

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 24/09/2017 21:23

I am so glad you won't be moving. Stay and grow your business. Maybe use money from your business to do a course?

Maybe post on Relationships too? You will find much support there, and maybe some good advice on how to deal with your H.

weechops · 24/09/2017 21:36

You know I think I might actually post in relationships. Just tell the whole shitty story. Can't hurt right? Smile

OP posts:
weechops · 27/09/2017 09:57

Hi just popping on to say that after all the angst, the job has fallen through! Offer rescinded for whatever reason. Can't say I'm not relieved!! Although it has prompted me to want to properly talk to him.

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 28/09/2017 04:03

Great news Flowers

I would post this in Relationships all the same.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page