This was quite interesting to read, as an European who is about to move to Spain.

We have two kids and we are still in our home country (we’ll be moving to Spain in the beginning of 2024) and our network is zero or actually just another family with whom we are very close friends (they took care of our oldest one for two days when I went to give birth to the youngest). We manage just fine! Granted I’m a freelancer and work from home, so I have more flexibility to handle situations like one of them gets sick and has to stay home, and my husband’s job also allows him to manage my schedule when I have appointments with clients. If it would be better if we have grandparents close by? Yes it would, but we chose to live in a differ part of the country and it’s best for us as a family. So when we move to Spain next year, it’ll be just the same.

As others are stating, I would also be very reluctant in moving to the US because of kids, with everything that is going on that scares the hell out of me. Nothing pays for the peace of mind that I feel by leaving my daughters in their schools, a feeling I don’t think I would have in the US.

Our situation is different from yours of course, but it’s just my two cents by someone who has kids with no network. We made friends with other parents in our daughter’s school and we hang out many times.

But then, and this is a genuine question, doesn’t the extra pay gets spent in healthcare and other costs that I keep reading to be also quite expensive in the US, like owning a car or general cost of living?

You just wrote down my exact thoughts while reading that comment 😅

I’m not yet an expat (will be in the beginning of the year), and never moved to such a different country than my own. But I just wanted to let you know one thing: I moved into a new house two months ago in my own country, to a different area (where we didn’t know anyone) in the countryside, half an hour from our kids schools. It took me/it’s still taking a while to adjust and get used to this new place. And we moved 30km, in my own country. I cried a bit in the beginning thinking that we had been through all this effort (renovation works and leaving a great place we loved) and I wasn’t enjoying it after all.

Give yourself grace and time.

4 days is jet lag in the mix. Things like change take a long time sometimes. Remember that for something new like a habit to sink in we need to do it for 21 days straight. Allow yourself time. It’s ok to cry and not feel it right, just yet.

I’d love this to keep my towels warm!

Sorry, what? What do you mean “don’t come with kitchens or light fixtures”?

But what sort of bugs get inside? Genuinely curious, I’m also in Europe and we never had any screens either and love opening everything. However I’m living in the deep countryside now, surrounded by cattle, and oh my goodness, so many flies! I’m ordering screens from Amazon, because I just can’t deal with another fly!

I always wanted to go to a different country than my own, to be more specific I wanted NYC for as long as I remember as I grew up. I worked at one of the big 4 Consulting firms and even approached the move to the NY office. But then I found out that consulting was not for me, I started dating someone and I just kept falling in love with living in Lisbon. Changed careers and a few years later we broke up (2014) and I started wondering about being what they call now a digital nomad. But having a dog I always thought it could be harder to manage alone in a different country, and then I started dating someone else. Nothing happened for a few years and now at 42 and partner 39, with two kids and still my dog. There was always that option on our table, as his company is Spanish and they would often approach the topic with him. Until there was an actual offer and we decided to accept and here we go in the beginning of next year. Truth is our change will be from the country next door, we’re going to just drive there with all our belongings and kids in tow! I hope it’ll be fun and a new adventure!