Abroad, then the return?
May 8, 2015 8:20 AM Subscribe
Can you provide anecdotes, books, resources that can help us with our mental and actual planning on moving abroad for several years? Specifically on the "what happens when we go home?" part of the equation.
My wife and I are planning on moving abroad for 1-2 years before we start a family.
We've got a good financial savings plan and are on track. We have a date (~15 months from now), we've pinpointed on several countries and identified immigration hurdles. Our biggest stress, however, is how this might affect us when we return with respect to finding employment when return to the US.
This is more important for my wife-- she's an attorney who does not expect to work in the same line (plaintiff's litigation) when she returns. This hasn't been ruled out, however (she is really well liked at her current firm).
She hasn't determined what that transition is yet, but expects to know before we leave. She wants to do something abroad that either doesn't trash her prospects or may even help her transition. We are not looking to be in the same tax bracket when we return.
I work in IT consulting in a market that seems to have no bounds (data-related) and I'm in a role where skills are 'soft', have a great network, and good mid level experience (~7 years). I'm not as worried. (I left the industry for +3 years doing nothing related and got a better job with no interview more or less).
We'll have about 100k saved up (in addition to emergency fund) which we'd only tap in to help contribute to keep our retirement in check and handle any transition period.
Let's assume we'll have VISA issues worked out where we can break even financially in a combination of local work and/or remote work.
My wife and I are planning on moving abroad for 1-2 years before we start a family.
We've got a good financial savings plan and are on track. We have a date (~15 months from now), we've pinpointed on several countries and identified immigration hurdles. Our biggest stress, however, is how this might affect us when we return with respect to finding employment when return to the US.
This is more important for my wife-- she's an attorney who does not expect to work in the same line (plaintiff's litigation) when she returns. This hasn't been ruled out, however (she is really well liked at her current firm).
She hasn't determined what that transition is yet, but expects to know before we leave. She wants to do something abroad that either doesn't trash her prospects or may even help her transition. We are not looking to be in the same tax bracket when we return.
I work in IT consulting in a market that seems to have no bounds (data-related) and I'm in a role where skills are 'soft', have a great network, and good mid level experience (~7 years). I'm not as worried. (I left the industry for +3 years doing nothing related and got a better job with no interview more or less).
We'll have about 100k saved up (in addition to emergency fund) which we'd only tap in to help contribute to keep our retirement in check and handle any transition period.
Let's assume we'll have VISA issues worked out where we can break even financially in a combination of local work and/or remote work.
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-it can be surprisingly hard to keep up with native-speed group conversations when you return home when you're not used to hearing it.
-reverse culture shock was almost worse in that I expected it on moving to Japan but did not expect it when I returned home. Some of the "ugly American" stereotypes can smack you in the face on return. Especially for me was huge portion size and the volume of public conversation.
posted by TravellingCari at 11:35 AM on May 8, 2015 [2 favorites]