Moving to Asia?

[Veronika01]

For any of the mamas on the board living in Asia or having lived in Asia in the past, is it feasible for a Western family (not used to any other lifestyle) to move to an Asian country and set up house there? We've been considering moving to an Asian country on and off for a while now, but our greatest fear is that we won't be able to adapt to a non-Western lifestyle, as well as my dh not being able to find a decent job there. What are the pros and cons for those who have BTDT? Any input would be great. Thank you.

[Sarah W]

I think it depends on the country you plan on moving to, areas of expertise of you/your husband, and language skills.

I've lived in Korea twice, but I had the security of my employer moving me there and housing me. I knew plenty of Americans who lived on the economy, but in many places it was outrageously expensive.

Maybe you would handle the transition better if you found employment in a company that wanted you to relocate overseas.

[velochic]

Having lived abroad a few times, I thought I'd mention that the first thing on your "to do" list is to find out about immigration laws in the country your are planning to live. As a general rule, if you hold only US citizenship, you can travel on a 30, 60, or 90 day tourist visa (depending on where you are going) but to get a resident card and work visa is nearly impossible. Usually you have to prove that you have a unique skill that cannot be found within the country in order to get a work visa independently. Most countries require that you are sponsored by an employer (local or abroad), with all of the paperwork upfront to qualify for the resident permit and work visa. Very few modern countries will allow you to move and then look for work. So, what I am saying is that the first step is to find a firm that you work for, with offices in the foreign country of choice that will move you there. There are exceptions to that rule, of course, but in general, just up and moving abroad is not possible. I would work that out before worrying about anything else. Good luck!

[lolar2]

I definitely would line up the job situation first.

If you would be in a big city, most large Asian cities have expat communities and organizations which can help you to adjust to the cultural differences. If you would be in a more-rural area without any other westerners, I'm not really sure how you would even go about learning the differences unless you or your DH has some cultural heritage from that country. Of course, some rural areas are a little more touristy and used to foreigners.

If it's a place that uses characters or a non-western alphabet for writing, everyone in your family who is of reading age should make sure to at least learn how to read the major street signs and street names in the new area, ASAP. It is not fun to be functionally illiterate!

[thelocaldialect]

I've lived in China for 7 years -- in Beijing now and in a smaller city previously -- and it is definitely doable, although there are certain things you'd want to consider. There are expat communities in the big cities here, and your lifestyle can be as Western or as Asian as you want, and can afford, it to be. Among Beijing expats you have people who live in villas out in the suburbs, have international school tuition paid for by their companies, have private drivers, maids, and nannies, and live pretty Western lifestyles, but a lot of that is due to the fact that they are here on expat packages, sent out here by their companies. There are also loads expats like me, living modestly. We're not lacking for anything, but we certainly don't have a cushy lifestyle, no drivers or maids or anything of that sort.

If you're trying to line up a job from scratch, English teaching is the most popular route. China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand all employ foreign English teachers. You'll need to get an idea of where you want to go, and figure out what kind of job you/your husband would want, and figure out what sort of salary would make supporting a family realistic. Asia is a big place, and there are huge discrepancies between standards of living and salaries. You need to consider things like, if your kids are school aged, how will you educate them? International school, which is expensive? Local schools, which will pose language problems, or homeschooling, which may or may not be right for your family. What about medical care? China has some great hospitals, especially in Beijing and Shanghai, but they're quite expensive. Can you afford a private expat insurance policy for your family that will cover you if something happens? Most English teaching jobs do not provide full coverage the way they do back home, you'll have to bring your own insurance. Since you plan on working, visas shouldn't be a big problem, your employer will be obligated to provide you with one and sponsor your kids, but make sure, when you are looking into jobs that they have the power to do this.

If you're interested in hearing more about China in particular shoot me a PM. I won't go on and on in this thread. The main thing is, if you are really serious about it, it is certainly possible, and could be a great experience for your family, but you'd need to plan wisely!

[Angelplum]

We lived in Asia for several years, including Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore, before DD was born. Last year, when DD was 3, we lived in India for 6 months.
It was a little easier for us, because DH is Japanese. But, I went to Taiwan when I was still single by myself. It was a little difficult at first, but I got used to it.
What country were you thinking of living in?
Singapore is a good choice for westerners, I think. A lot of people speak English, good public transportation, and lots of stuff for kids to do.
A country like Japan would be tougher, unless you speak Japanese.
I liked India a lot, but life in general is harder there then in the west...daily power cuts, communication problems, it's not as sterile as a developed country, etc.

[meemee]

a lot depends on your personality and philosophy. what are you able to tolerate and what you absolutely cant stand.

there are expats living in every county in asia. many have immigrated and will die there. many went there with little children. there are lots of books of living in the east. its one thing to live in a more westernissed part of asia like singapore or a poor country like bangladesh. yet there are people who choose bangladesh over singapore any day. its their philosophy that helps them make the choice.

whenever you move to another culture you enter the world of 'two oppositions'. you find you like some and you tolerate some.

if you have never travelled to any one of the countries, then i would say visit it as a tourist and then decide. however what i have a lot from the expats views is that visiting gives a romantic view of life there. living there is much more harder.

however living anywhere different - no matter what country is much more harder. that is where how you view life, what you can tolerate comes in.

moving to the west is not easy for the people from the east either. for many it is the hardest thing they do.

finding a job there. a whole different story. jumping ship in a job there totally doable. but you gotta have a job there first just to start.

so is it dooable? most definitely yes. depending on how you view life.

[Morningcalm]

Totally doable. My husband and I lived in Korea for 3 years. In fact, our son was born there. I found Korea to be pretty modern and easy to have a great standard of living. Transportation and communication is really good there. It didn't take long to learn the Korean alphabet which helps with eating out and signs etc...

Also, Korea is very children friendly. I did have my ups and downs dealing with Korean culture which can be frustrating to a westerner. All in all, Korea is a good choice if you want to save some money and live well.

[mamaofprincesses]

We lived in Thailand, and had DD2 while living there. While there were many, many things we enjoyed, I found the language REALLY difficult. We also couldn't buy property, and it was really really hard to get permanent residency. There were a lot of contributing factors but in the end we felt like it was a great adventure but not feasible for us to commit to living there for the rest of our lives.

Feel free to PM me if you need more specifics.

[jlobe]

We lived in Hong Kong for 2.5 years before we had kids. It was great fun and a wonderful experience. Many of our friends had children while they were out there. Again, I think it depends where in Asia you want to live and what kind of experience that you want. In Hong Kong there was such a large expat community and many housing/residential options geared for western culture and lifestyles. That said, you end up having a pretty western experience living in Asia, which can be a pro or a con depending on what you're looking for.