How to be an Expatriate – Living and Working Overseas: Expat Family

As part of Angeles Xtra’s, ‘How to Be an Expatriate’ article series, here we look into a topic that all want-to-be expats should consider carefully – what living and working overseas actually involves; specifically, how it effects your life as an expat both at work and, just as important, what your living and working overseas means to your expat family back home.

Living and Working Overseas

Although a perceived high expat salary is one draw to life as an expat, actually living and working overseas is seen by many as a great adventure, so a good reason for some to want to join the expat family and live overseas. However, to be able to enjoy living and working overseas, you must accept that life as an expat it is not all high expat salary and an expat lifestyle of sand sea and surf. Depending upon your circumstances, you may find that life as an expat has some drawbacks that even a high expat salary may not fully recompense.

Separation from Family

One aspect of life as an expat that many find extremely hard to endure is enforced separation from their ‘expat family.’ Unless you are one of the lucky few for whom life as an expat means that your expat family accompany you to your work overseas, separation from family, and how both you and they can cope, is an important consideration in deciding whether life as an expat would suit your circumstances.

What you must consider is how your family members can cope, both with day-to-day situations, and those all too regular problems that crop up. You must also consider how you yourself could cope with separation from family; such as accepting that you may become frustrated at being unable to help out or arrange things as you do while at home.  

One trap that many ex-military expats fall into is in falsely believing that an expat’s separation from family is the same as the enforced separation from family they accepted during military service. If you feel this way, you must understand that as an expat your family does not have the same support system they had as a military family. They no longer live in or have access to a closed community where help, advice and assistance are just a quick call or visit away. 

Failure to take into account the effects of separation is a major cause of problems for new expats. While modern communications are available in many countries, in many other countries the quality, cost and ease of access to international communication can be much lower than you are used to. In these cases many expats feel frustration and some have discovered that daily international calls to loved ones can take large chunks out of even the highest expat salary.   

Life as an expat living and working overseas

If you plan on life as an expat, as part of learning how to be an expatriate you should understand what is involved with living and working overseas, and the effect it has on your expat family life.

Consider selecting expat contracts to ensure the jobs you apply for are in a location that suits both your needs, and the needs of your family. Too many people have found that life as an expat in the wrong location or in the wrong job is not what they expected when they signed an expat work contract. Always keep in mind that by itself a high expat salary may not be the only thing you need from your job!

About the Author

Live and work abroad was Tom Henry’s plan, and he has been a successful expat for more than three decades. He learned how to be an expatriate by trail and error and, apart from many manuals and training books, he passes on his experience as the author of both The Philippines Expat Survival Guide and the Papua New Guinea & Port Moresby Expat Survival Guide. 

Related Articles

How to be an Expatriate – Expat Taxation

Being an Expat 101 – Expat Basics

Being an Expat 102 – Rotational and Residential Contracts

Being an Expat 103 – Contract Twists

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