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Favorite destinations for living abroad for several years with family?

Started by Sam, October 29, 2018, 05:10:00 PM

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DigitalNomad

I've lived in Vietnam for 3 years. It's great for a single guy with an online biz, but not so sure when you have a family.
Can answer questions about living here if ppl are interested.

david123

Never have lived abroad, but have traveled extensively.

Asia (China, India) - very different culturally from the US.  Lots of poverty, pollution, corruption - if you are not used to that culture it will definitely be a shocker.  Very reasonable cost of living - not very friendly towards outsiders (China is more friendly than India).

Europe (Amsterdam, Germany, England, Finland, Switzerland - my brother lived here for 4 years) - More US-like culture.  Open to outsider, lots of people from other countries, very high cost of living.

Caribbean/Mexico - Some similar culture to the US due to tourism, also it's own unique culture.  Open to outsiders, lots of poverty/crime (in pockets), cost of living varies depending on your life style - expensive to live like a tourist, cheap to live like a native.


Fat Tony

Pretty interesting question, Sam. If you want the full experience for your kids and are fluent in Mandarin I would say Taipei and Shanghai are your best bets.

However, if you end up hanging out a lot in the expat crowd or in the international school crowd (there are two well known schools in those cities) - I feel like those students are quite Westernized. I know people from those schools who came to the US at age 18+ and many are quite culturally American (no detectable accent, not white-washed, but often less in touch with the culture they grew up in compared to say kids who immigrated at ages 5-14 with less opulent backgrounds). I know you actually grew up in a lot of these international schools so you have a sense of how it goes

Maybe if you have family somewhere in a Mandarin-speaking place, you will get the full "local" experience. It's just very hard to get kids to learn a language and be fluent if they aren't actually required to use it. If their parents speak to them in English and the music they listen to and TV they watch and their friends (most important) all speak English, it's tough.

Shanghai - business is booming better than in Taiwan which is suffering a bit from the current economy and tensions, very cosmopolitan.

Honestly, for weather, you aren't going to get a Mediterranean climate anywhere else. San Francisco and LA probably actually have the highest % of Mandarin speakers in any Mediterranean climate with high diversity. Singapore is substantially more diverse than Taipei/Shanghai.

Taipei - depending on your actual background or passport status, you may not want to be in China, so great option. Also, the island is supremely beautiful and you have so many options just an hour or two away. You might need a full year to fully appreciate everything here. Life seems a little more chill than in Shanghai but you can still get the creature comforts you need.

ForgingFinance

I can say from experience that the easiest place I've lived abroad is Australia. Melbourne in particular. It's typically ranked on the "most livable cities lists".  It's not as exotic as Asia, but it has a lot to offer. It's safe, has good schools, easy to get around, and more outdoor stuff that you'll every have time for.

Sam

Quote from: ForgingFinance on March 09, 2019, 02:12:45 PM
I can say from experience that the easiest place I've lived abroad is Australia. Melbourne in particular. It's typically ranked on the "most livable cities lists".  It's not as exotic as Asia, but it has a lot to offer. It's safe, has good schools, easy to get around, and more outdoor stuff that you'll every have time for.

And, it is the host of the Australian Open! I've never been, and want to go.
Regards,

Sam

TravelGirl

We're looking at the Canary Islands as an option.  We would have to learn Spanish beyond our basic knowledge.  There are some areas that have better weather than others, but your weather is a preference.  Transportation between islands and between the islands and Spain is cheap and easy for natives.  We're headed there next spring to check out one area.