Where to live for a time outside the U.S.?

May 25, 2009 11:04 AM

Mixed-race family of five wants to spend some time as expats. Where?

My partner and I have begun idly considering the possibility of living outside the U.S. for some long (six months to a year, maybe?) but not permanent amount of time. We have three kids who are 8, 5, and 2, but would probably be, say, 13, 10, and 7 by the time we might be able to pull this together.

We wonder where we should be considering, with the following criteria:

1. Majority or plurality black.

2. Reasonably affordable.

3. Bonus if there are industries that might need a software engineer, or opportunities for teaching English or teaching IN English.

4. French, Spanish, or English-speaking.

5. We are homeschoolers so availability and/or quality of schools for our kids is not an issue.

6. Not prone to outbreaks of deadly violence with no warning.

I don't think we need advice at this point about residency, visas, strategies for being able to get into the country, and so on. This is purely in the realm of "if we were going to do this, what places in the world meet our criteria?"

posted by not that girl to travel & transportation (18 comments total)

Well, contrary to what you might be thinking, the Netherlands may be an interesting option. Amsterdam is has a very sizeable African population, is a very multi-lingual place (nearly everyone in capital speaks English, not to mention the other major cities), nice atmosphere, and plenty of opportunities... at least worth thinking about.
posted by mateuslee at 11:13 AM on May 25, 2009

Birmingham, England. Move to Edgebaston and go watch the cricket and hit the pubs and put your kids in an RC school where they will have to wear neckties the lot of them.
posted by parmanparman at 11:22 AM on May 25, 2009

How about Montreal? Do you like snow? I'm not sure of what is allowed for schooling, though, as Quebec is quite adamant about children being educated in French.
posted by x46 at 11:35 AM on May 25, 2009

You could see about getting a temporary position in a Caribbean country like Jamaica or the Bahamas, both of which are majority black. I don't know anything about the Bahamas - I have heard that Jamaica does have a high crime rate, but both countries are politically stable, and have English as the official language. The Carribean is also closer to the US than most black-majority countries.
posted by jb at 11:37 AM on May 25, 2009

Oops - just to show my ignorance: When I wrote "Bahamas", I was thinking of Barbados - which is where one of my childhood friends was from.

Do U.S. citizens from the mainland have right of residence in Puerto Rico, the way that Puerto Ricans have in the U.S.? It's a very ethnically diverse place, and that would mean no visa issues.
posted by jb at 11:40 AM on May 25, 2009

We are a mixed race family in Egypt. I would strongly recommend you consider the Caribbean or sub-Saharan Africa.

Is the language requirement a must? Or would you consider living someplace where one of those languages is widely spoken?

Expats I've spoken to who have lived in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Ethiopia have adored those places. The main language in Mozambique is Portuguese, but you'll find a lot of English in all three countries. Housing can be expensive in large cities, but if you don't need to be near the most popular international schools, you might find rent more affordable.

I haven't been to Ghana, but people seem to like it as well.

There may be other great countries for expats in sub-Saharan Africa, but I don't know which ones to recommend.

Avoid North Africa and the Middle East (which don't fit your criteria anyway, but sometimes have a lot of jobs so can be tempting).
posted by bluedaisy at 11:48 AM on May 25, 2009

Just remembering: I've also heard great things about Uganda and Rwanda. They are both reportedly gorgeous countries. (And also are on my list of places I'd like to live!)
posted by bluedaisy at 11:49 AM on May 25, 2009

Ghana is a great place to live with money (where "with money" is completely within the average North American income): not violent, low crime, friendly to all strangers, very welcoming to mixed race people/marriages. The IT industry here is under massive expansion, so there should be plenty of opportunity for a software developer (although you'll probably be limited to the capital city of Accra which has terrible traffic), and I'm sure an English teacher could pick up work, although I'm not sure how great the pay would be.

Just as a note, Ghana is "officially" English speaking, but a lot of the south speaks one of several Akan dialects; the largest, Asante Twi, is the lingua-franka of Ghana. On the good side, it's a really fun and interesting language, and there are several places in the US where you can learn it. Also, if you do end up in Accra, there are several places there you could learn it. It is possible to get by with only English, but you will get a lot out of at least the attempt to learn, not just personally but in terms of your acceptance into the country/how people see you.
posted by carmen at 12:01 PM on May 25, 2009 [2 favorites]

I know you said you didn't want advice on visas etc., but please keep in mind that getting a work visa for many countries, especially safe economically stable countries, can be extremely, extremely difficult, bordering on impossible unless you have a specific skill or qualification that is lacking in that country. Teaching English is the exception, but it tends to be a single person's game. I know that at least in South East Asia where several of my friends taught after university, English schools wouldn't hire people who wanted to bring their families along, but this might not be true in other parts of the world.

As for software engineering, employers have to jump through tons of hoops to prove they can't find someone locally to do the job, and unfortunately the IT industry isn't exactly suffering from a serious shortage of qualified talent. (on preview, I see that this might not be the case in some countries that are still developing their IT infrastructure).

There are a few options that might make things easier- you and your partner could look for work with US-based companies that have offices in the country you want to live, and apply for a transfer to the foreign office. You could also look for work-at-home jobs that aren't tied to a specific location, or start freelancing or developing your own IT business, so that you can work from anywhere in the world while living there on a tourist visa. Different countries have different rules about the length of tourist stays (the UK, for example, allows stays of up to six months, but if you leave the country for 24 hours you can come back for another 6 months) so you'd need to keep those restrictions in mind when considering your destination.

Sorry if this is unwelcome advice, but since the work situation will require some serious forward-planning, it would be good to get a head start!
posted by Wroksie at 12:07 PM on May 25, 2009

Bermuda! Beautiful island. Great infrastructure. Extremely diverse population. Great opportunities for I.T. / Software Programmers. 2 Hours from NYC. 5 Hours from London. One of the highest standards of living in the world. Majority of the population is black. Plenty of things for kids to get involved in. Ridiculously beautiful beaches. It is very expensive to live here, but if you get a good job, you will make more money than you can imagine. It's tax-free living!!!! Seriously, check it out. I have been here for 8 years and it was the best thing I ever did. Drop me a line if you want to know more.
posted by jasondigitized at 1:13 PM on May 25, 2009

Consider South Africa. It meets all of your requirements. Yes, crime is high in spots but, as anywhere, avoid those spots.

And, it's a beautiful country with great people.
posted by justcorbly at 1:19 PM on May 25, 2009

Forget Bermuda. You won't get a work permit if you have more than two children. Great place, though!
posted by HarrysDad at 1:38 PM on May 25, 2009

I'm going to throw in a vote against the suggestion of Japan. It's expensive, first off, and I've had several friends who have lived there and found their treatment as non-Japanese to be less than ideal. My Mexican-American friend is having an especially bad time there right now, and I had a white friend who was constantly hassled about her size as a tall woman. Both found being female to be an additional handicap in getting respect.

If you're willing to bend on the language issue, Brazil meets all of your other criteria. I know IBM has a big presence there, which may provide opportunities in software engineering in an environment where there will likely be some other expats who speak English. If you know French and Spanish, you could probably learn Portuguese fairly easily. If you did want to learn more about moving to Brazil, I would suggest the forums and newsletter of Gringoes.com (named for the fact that all foreigners, especially English-speakers may be considered gringoes in Brazil, regardless of skin color). Just to be clear, though, I haven't lived in Brazil, just visited.
posted by ishotjr at 1:59 PM on May 25, 2009

Oops, sorry KokoRyu, didn't read your f/u to your suggestion before posting. :-)
posted by ishotjr at 2:01 PM on May 25, 2009

bluedaisy, my partner speaks French, Spanish, and English. I speak English (plus a little Russian and a little American Sign Language--not so useful out of the country!). I will be content if it is merely not entirely uncommon for some people to speak a little English, so that I can muddle about my business with my little bit of [Local Language] and their little bit of English.
posted by not that girl at 7:14 PM on May 25, 2009

Good luck figuring this out--it sounds like a great adventure.

I would try to avoid places that aren't the Caribbean or sub-Saharan Africa where colorism might be an issue, if you're really going for the experience of living in a mostly black country. Yes, there is colorism in sub-Saharan Africa, but what's "light" is a very different thing there than in, say, Asia or the Middle East (with apologies for broad generalizations).

A few things to know from an expat's point of view: you will want to decide if you are doing this for short-term, as a vacation with no work, or if you are in it for the longer haul, and want to find a job, which will often mean trying to get hired from abroad. Often you won't be able to get a job once you are in-country if an employer hasn't secured your work visa. And expat packages can be fantastic--they often include housing and annual leave/airfare back to the US. But they might want at least a two-year contract.

In some countries it's easy enough for a spouse to pick up some work on the side--for example, teaching English or fixing people's computers.

American/international schools are one option, but many of these schools require a teaching certificate and won't bring over a whole family since they might feel the salary won't be enough to support you at a level over than a young, dual-income, childless couple.

One suggestion as you begin your research: google "expat blogs" and you'll find some websites which list blogs by country. This can be a great way to find out about living in different countries around the world as an expat.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:43 PM on May 25, 2009

Yeah basically almost anywhere south of North Africa is gonna work great for you (save DRC, Madagascar - at the moment, and Zimbabwe). I've lived / worked all around these parts (as an expat) so I'll try to give you my by-country overview with regards to your requirements as stated. I'll list the languages after each country and use "LL" for local language where its prevalent.

Western Africa
Ghana (English, LL) - As stated above, for work you'll be limited to Accra. Pretty peaceful and crime doesn't seem to be a major issue, there's a couple parts of Accra you'll want to be more careful with. The bit about traffic needs to be stressed - its atrocious. Massive amounts of people from as far away as Nigeria flood into Accra on the weekends and the city swells accordingly. That said, the country has some gorgeous coastlines and forests to explore.

Senegal (French) - As with Ghana, you'll be mostly limited to Dakar for software work. Its a French speaking country, you will not get on easily there without picking some up yourself. Its one of the lowest crime countries in the world (only Iceland has a lower murder rate). The people here didn't strike me quite as openly friendly as many of the southern / eastern countries I'm more used to.

Most of the other options are along the Blight of Benin, but I'd try to stick towards Ghana as its your most developed option - Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, etc. are all fairly underdeveloped places.

Non-option for WA: Nigeria
(The general problem I have with WA is that its too damn hot and humid - I could never live there long term, I can't stand the climate.)

East Africa
Kenya (English, Kiswahili) - Well developed although significant corruption at all levels is an issue. For software work you'd do well in Nairobi and Mombasa, mainly. Crime, particularly in Nairobi, is a definite real issue to be aware of, but many expats live here and get on just fine. There is definite potential for outbreaks of deadly violence (as with the elections last year) here, so for that reason I'd say axe it off your list. English is a main language here, Kiswahili being the other one.

Tanzania - Similar to Kenya, a bit less developed, but a good deal less worry on outbreaks of violence. Dar Es Salaam will have most of the jobs.

Ethiopia - Similar to Tanzania, a bit more less developed, but a particularly beautiful country as well. Most of the work will be in Addis Abeba.

Uganda (English, LL) - Similar to Kenya, a bit less developed, some petty crime in Kampala (where the work will be, and maybe a wee bit in Jinja). Recurring violence in the north of the country but the south will be quite calm. Traffic in Kampala is also not fun.

Rwanda (French, English growing) - Gorgeous country, crime and potential for violence are now quite low, but there are definite social scars remaining still - you simply do not bring up ethnicity in normal discussions, for instance. I'd say its not worth the headache / worry, as you have better options.

Malawi (English, LL) - Again, gorgeous country, crime and potential for violence negligible, but the country is on the particularly impoverished side. Work will be in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Zomba or Mzuzu (all nice options). Roads are fairly well developed there but other infrastructure is mainly lacking (power is a regular issue, internet is weak, etc.).

Non-options for EA: Somalia, Burundi.

Southern Africa
South Africa (English, LL's) - A great option, beautiful country, no shortage of work to be found in numerous cities - Cape Town, Joburg, Port Elizabeth, Durban, etc.. Very well developed but potential for political instability with the new president (many white SA's have been leaving the country over the past few years). Crime is a very serious issue to be aware of here. Will be very economically favorable for you given the exchange rate with the Rand.

Zambia (English, LL's) - Another good option, not quite as well developed as South Africa but not too bad. Majority of the work will be in Lusaka, a nice town. Zambia's one of the countries that has a noticeably higher cost of living than most I've mentioned so far. Crime / violence much less of an issue here than in SA.

Mozambique (Portuguese, LL's) - A pleasant if more sleepy country, definitely less developed than SA and still dealing with noticeable after effects of the war, although crime is probably a bit less of an issue than in SA. A number of cities with potential work, primarily in Maputo however.

Botswana / Namibia / Angola - Haven't spent much time in any of these so I can't speak to them in detail, I get the impression they'd all be along similar lines to Mozambique, minus the war part. A bit out-of-the-way and perhaps a little slower pace.

Non-option for SA: Zimbabwe (don't give yourself that headache)

All told, I'd point you towards either South Africa or Kenya, especially if you haven't spent much time abroad before. The majority of African countries are a far cry from the lifestyle you are accustomed to in the US, and while you are probably looking for a definite shift, you might not want to try to over-stretch the family - or maybe you do. The infrastructure is largely reliable in either SA or Kenya, and despite the crime issues they are both very nice places to live, have major transport hubs, favorable or at least reasonable costs of living, and good employment opportunities.

Let me know (memail) if you'd like to hear more about any of the options above, or have other questions. I think this is a great idea for your family and wish you the best with your planning.
posted by allkindsoftime at 12:43 AM on May 26, 2009 [2 favorites]

This has all been tremendously helpful. I've found some books as well, and will take up bluedaisy's blog suggestions. Thanks, everyone.
posted by not that girl at 9:19 AM on May 27, 2009