Long distance move

[rodubls]

What's the longest distance that any of you have moved for a job?

I have an opportunity within my company for a transfer to a new office in another country and I am very interested but I have grown up, gone to college, and lived in the same 150-mile strip of TX for my whole life. It is a good opportunity but I don't really know anyone who has taken that kind of a risk before.

And even if you haven't made that long of a distance move but just started out somewhere totally brand new, what are some things to consider maybe mentally or logistically that you didn't think about ahead of time.

[Antimidas]

800 miles and it was not an easy decision.  Moved from the big city of Indianapolis to a town of 900 in north central Minnesota.  Not an easy decision at all.  Left everyone I knew behind.  But 50% pay increase was hard to say no to.  Now I make 4 times what I made and two to three times what I would get paid in Indiana.

The new company made it easy because they hired a transition agency that guided me through the entire process.  Schedued the movers, helped me find a place to live, etc.  I was really unsure of the decision, but made it a point to go back twice a year.  I only planned to live here for 2-3 years, but have been here for 10.  I don't make it back as often as I should, but I am now a vacation destination for friends and family.  Finally bought a house three years ago and made it permanent.

The only other major move was to Monterey, CA while in the military.  And of course they took care of all of that.  I was 19 and very homesick for the first few months.

[Antimidas]

I should add, my trick was to look at it as an extended vacation.  I tried to never think more than a few months out and that I would soon move back.  I soon developed friends in the new location and kept most of the old ones.  I just took it a few months at a time until it felt like home.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

I haven't moved out of New Orleans since I began my career, but the friends and relations who have all have enjoyed it tremendously.  Some went to Saudi Arabia before 9/11--and even in the restrictive enviornment found a lot of new and exciting experiences.  Best couple, real estate, have lived in Tokyo, Sueol (sp?), Singapore and now London--they've really become expats.  Singapore is supposed to be the most luxurious experience, full house staff and driver, nanny for the kids--hot and cold running servants. 

I wish I'd had the experience-and I'd say go for it and gladly.  I know you Texans have the idea the world drops off at the border--but try it, you'll regret it the rest of your life in a gated community somewhere in TX if you don't.

[SlyHigh]

I've always lived in either Arkansas or Louisiana, so I haven't ever moved very far.  But I've traveled extensively (I've lost count, but I think I've been to about 18 countries).

A lot of it depends on how you deal with being apart from family and friends and how you can adjust to the culture.  Have you ever traveled overseas?  Can you be ok if you are in a place without friends or family to hang out with?

The internet is the best way to keep in touch with people back home.  Check and see if you can get broadband internet where you will live, and how much it costs.  The US has some of the cheapest and fastest home internet service in the world.  In some countries you are stuck with dialup that has a per-minute fee.  With broadband, you can keep in touch with Facebook (one of the best ways IMO), and you can get a Vonage phone.  It only costs $25 a month for unlimited calling, and you will have a US number.  I met a family from the US who lives in Eastern Europe.  They have a Vonage phone and said it works great.

Of course you will have all sorts of things to get adjusted to.  But it won't take long.  And when/if you get there, make it a point to get out and learn the culture (and language if necessary).

Which country would you be moving to?

[MikeM]

Some years ago I picked up and moved from Washington, DC, to Moscow, Russia, to look for a job (drained my savings, did have a return ticket, but that was due to visa issues). So that's about 4800 miles. Long story, but in short, things didn't work out as I had hoped and I moved back and changed careers.

I've traveled extensively and lived abroad (including Russia, so the Moscow thing wasn't random), so I'm pretty comfortable in cultures other than the one I grew up in.

A few years later my wife and I both quit our jobs and moved from DC to Michigan (500 miles), for her to go to grad school.

Now with two kids and a mortgage and more established jobs/careers, these kinds of things are a little harder to pull off. If you're thinking about it now and you don't have a lot of things or people tying you down, why not?

Regarding keeping in touch with people back home: there is a risk, in these moves to other countries, of spending so much time keeping in touch with people back home (or the foreigner community in your new country) that you miss out on many opportunities in your new home. So my advice on that front is to be aware of this and find the right balance for you.

Regarding Singapore: my wife worked there on assignment for three months several years ago. Incredible food, miserable (to me) weather. Crazy humid. I mean *seriously* crazy hot and humid. I could never live there happily. (Mind you, though, that I love winter.)



"I just wanted to get the hell out of Michigan." - M.L. Ciccone

[schro]

Never left the Bay Area (Northern California), though I now work out of my home in the Sacramento area since joining my firm a decade ago. My whole division is based in NY except for me. I still maintain an office in San Francisco that I go to as needed (or when I need to get away from the kids & the Lovely Mrs. Schro) but for the most part, my commute extends from bed to the office downstairs.
It definitely takes discipline.

[erich14]

You have said tat you have an opportunity within your company for a transfer to a new office in another country and you are very interested and it is a good opportunity but why is that you don't really know anyone who has taken that kind of a risk before?




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