Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Expats- How'd ya do it?

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A couple responses were pretty nasty and uncalled for. Wannabe is dreaming like many of us to live for a while overseas-even if it's for a month. Anyhow, I agree with most people about taking a language course for the month since you only want to spend a summer away. The person who mentioned picking fruit as a job, really is that legal? It seems similar to farm labor-what if the person got injured picking the fruit, does the employer have any responsiblity? I'd think someone would be very desperate to resort to that as a means to live in Europe.

(sorry if this is a duplicate. my computer is acting up!) Thanks to all that offered their stories. I really appreciate it. I'm not sure what happened to Fodors, I've been looking on here since 1999 and I've never experienced the nastiness that others have from such a simple question. Guess it was my turn. Anyway, I just wanted to hear personal stories from those that actually are living the dream of living abroad and are away from "home," wherever that may be. I'd love to do it, even if it's for a summer (though of course it would be my dream to be there longer but I know that's not realistic because it's so hard to relocate entirely). I'm thinking of doing what many of you advised, which is go as a student or teacher for a few months. But again, was looking for personal stories since I saw on the other thread where people were stating all the places they've lived, many said, I grew up in place X but I'm now in Italy or I'm now in Germany or London, etc. I also remember reading that Elvira and others have taken months long trips in the past and was just curious as to how people are/were able to do this or actually make the move. That's all. TryTHis, if you are an expat, tell me what you did as I'm glad to listen to anyone that wants to share personal information on this, if you're not, then go to another question where you have something constructive to add. Simple as that. -wannabe

"Sorry, thought this was the place to ask questions." Travel questions, not "I'm too much of an idiot to find a relo site" questions. The easiest way to become a permanent resident of a European country is to fly there, burn all of your identification of any kind, stick a knife in your belly, and force them to bury you there. Try it.

Dear Wannabe, I don't know why you're getting such a hard time. I was living in California and am now in Provence. I left a very good career, friends, family etc. and it wasn't easy. I think the secret is about taking risks and adapting to change. How are you at that? E.

I am an American expat in Amsterdam for the last 4 years, but now moving back to the US (Boston). It seems to me that over the past several years there was an expat boom in Europe-- mainly due to the strong economy, fast rate of corporate growth, especially in the IT sector. I am very involved in the expat community here in Amsterdam, and it does feel like there is some kind of exodus taking place now. Many multi-nationals are not putting their dollars into expats anymore. I started with my company in the US and was relocated here by them, giving me the sponsorship I needed. That is definitely one of the best ways to live and work abroad. You could get a certificate to teach english and that would probably open a lot of doors for you-- you could teach and live in almost any major city in Europe. Good Luck! Terra

What is accomplished by the nasty responses I have just read? If you don't like the question - don't answer it. The last one from bj was paticularly uncalled for.

Terra, Weren't you the one who was contemplating a move to Luzern?! Sorry to hear that it didn't work out...are you excited to be going back to the US? Apparently, there is a huge repatriation issue. We haven't been back in over 2 years (even for a vacation). Things have definitely changed inthose two years. Good luck...Boston is a great city! Jan

Just ignore those negative comments. There are many more wonderful human beings in the world then bad/negative ones. This is about asking questions & sharing with one another. Have a great day!!! Best wishes for your adventure! ;-)

I don't know if my comments are called for here or not - - but I say "hats off" to Candace - - and halfway off to "angesteph". The sniping and vicious attacks here CAN be overcome by good people standing up, posting names and e-mail addresses, and saying just what Candace said. The good contributors really CAN drown out the "negativistas".

How did I do it? I married a guy from Ireland, so I can legally work anywhere in the EU. Not that I married him for this reason, but it is a nice perk!

Living overseas was for a dream for us too and we were able to make it come true for a while. My spouse was offered a high tech job with a European company. For about 18 months, things were great. But when the IT bubble burst in Europe, like it did in the U.S., it was a lot worse being cast adrift in another country. As a foreigner, you don't get unemployment benefits. Your work permit was valid only for that employer so you can get another job only if someone is willing to go through the work permit process for you all over. These days, most employers won't. They won't even interview you. Without a valid work permit, your residency permits become invalid, too. Your European bank that courted you so insistently when you first arrived, abruptly cancels your credit cards even though you paid them regularly. Moving back to the U.S. costs thousands of dollars and your former employer won't contribute a dime to your relocation, despite what your contract said. You and your fellow unemployed expat colleagues file a lawsuit against the employer for breach of contract, but the European legal system moves very slowly. In the meantime the bills are piling up, you have no income, legal or otherwise, nobody is hiring and you're living off your disappearing savings. You're afraid that if you get questioned by the police for any reason (maybe you witnessed an accident), they'll find out you are living in the country illegally. So you lie low and hope that no one (a landlord, for example, irritated that your rent was late AGAIN) slips your name to the authorities. Eventually you spend what savings you have left paying an overpriced European moving company to ship your belongings back to the U.S., where there aren't any good jobs either. You end up living with your parents (temporarily, you keep telling youself) and working part time at low paying, dead end jobs while you try to figure out how everything went so wrong, how the dream turned into a nightmare. I'm not being a "negavista", but don't get too carried away visions of living in Europe. It has a dark side as we know only too well.

My best advice to you is to seek a home exchange. I've been looking very seriously, and there are MANY, MANY people with flats in Paris that want to exchange for a couple of months with someone in NY (far more than want to change with Shanghai, unfortunately for me!). www.holi-swaps.com is a good one. That would at least GET you there, and make it easier for you to survive (no rent, no worries about a place to stay). Then, I think you have 2 options: * Try the no-permit teaching/bartending route; some temporary type job. Yes, there are horror stories of people being sent back (and you would run the risk of possibly being barred from returning, I'm not sure what the total risks are) . . . BUT, I can tell you that loads of people do it. * Keep looking in the online recruitment ads, maybe send resumes to American companies in your field, post your resume, etc. While it is hard to find a "real" expat posting for which they'll pay to move you, pay housing, etc., it's easier to find a "local hire" expat job. Just say you're going to be in Paris the summer of 2003 for 3 months, and thought you could be of help with them doing XYZ. Might work. I, too, always wanted to live in Paris. During college, I saw my chance and found a job as an au pair (like a nanny), and continued with long distance independent study while living in Geneva and Paris for a year. I realized that while I loved it, I wasn't quite happy being there with a temporary job. I knew I wanted to live all over the world, with a professional job. So I returned, finished my degree, and met and married a wonderful guy who ALSO wanted to live all over the world. We were very interested to move to China, and since he had 5 more years of work experience than I, he was the one who looked more seriously. He spent 1 1/2 years looking online, sending resumes, etc. - what finally did it was a resume he'd left at the Shanghai American Chamber of Commerce. Once here, I've been very fortunate to get GREAT jobs in my field, but as a "local hire" (i.e. they don't pay my housing etc.). SO - that's how we did it (even if it doesn't apply so much to your situation). The above poster is right; you'll probably have more luck and get more concrete advice if you post on (one of the many) expat sites. My personal favorite is: http://boards2.parentsplace.com/messages/get/ppexpatriates41.html (Don't be alarmed that it's on "Parentsplace" - the "expat" part of the equasion quickly became far more important & I think a lot of the people are NOT parents) Best of luck!