Non-clicky Poll: easiest INs

gblake

I don't mean who are the easiest INs (like who puts out). I mean who has the easiest location to be an IN. Your definition of easiest is up to you to define. I would have made it clicky but I'm sure I would have forgotten some locations where we have some nesties.

Explain your reasoning. Remember perception is reality for the sake of this post.

wise_rita

I would say those in an English speaking country, followed by those in a country where English is widely spoken.  Those who have to learn their local language lose the easy IN challenge.

Why do I feel like I'm going to get flamed for that? 

Publius

From everything I've heard i'd probably say Singapore. It's an amazingly western place and yet you can still afford to have a live-in maid. I've heard stories about people going to Sing for their first expat experience, being spoiled, and then being sent to Europe and being miserable. For me it's a million times easier to live in KL than it was in Geneva or Prague. Sure there are a lot of things I miss about Europe, but in terms of sheer easiness of life KL wins hands down. We live like kings, everyone speaks English, and there are a ton of expats so it's not at all strange that you're there. I hardly have enough time in the day for everything I have going on.

MrsBini10

Well I have it pretty easy but I'm not an IN anymore I found Abu Dhabi to be a very easy place to be an expat. English is very widely spoken and you can find almost any food or other product you want. Everything except housing is fairly cheap. You can fly many places in the world direct from AD or Dubai. There are no taxes so saving money is a lot easier. 

I love being "home" but if DH could get a decent job in the UAE we'd totally move back!

azure_azure

I agree about the English speaking locations being easier, but I think location also has an impact. Those in Australia don't have it easy in terms of travelling back to North America.

For me, being an expat in Vietnam was MUCH easier than being an expat in France. Better job opportunities and salaries, better weather, everything was cheap,  locals were friendlier, better holiday options, much nicer housing, housekeepers and nannies... I could go on and on... Here the language is a bit easier for me because I speak French, but I never had too much trouble communicating over there either. I guess here it is easier to travel back to Canada as it's not as long of a trip, but over there my yearly flight back was paid for by my company... sigh, I miss my old life...

gblake

I would have to say Singapore too! Practically everyone speaks English, you can get 'help' and I would probably have the nanny come home with us on the 20 hour flight. You also get the Expat experience. The schools are wonderful and the Expat community is large.

WiseRita, I wouldn't flame you for that statement. I know what you mean.Originally I was going to say the UK nesties, have it the easiest because I'm super jealous of the flight time. 8 hours is a breeze when you compare it to the 20+ hours with a toddler.

bluegirl2006

Other than the employment situation here I would say I probably live in one of the easiest locations.

 Since we are a "country town" unless you want to work on a dairy farm or in retail it's difficult to find work here. Otherwise it's great. Everyone speaks english, there are lots of American brands/tv available, but enough Aussie culture to make it fun and interesting, and we have temperate weather in this part of the country with beautiful scenery. I could do with a little more sunshine in the winter, but you can't have everything.

Although I do agree flight time/prices for going home are a detriment.

wise_rita

Travel time home is another good point.  I was able to plan/afford a plane ticket home with 16 hours notice once.  I bet the Aussie girls couldn't do that.

Another factor is personal financial situation.  It's easier to live anywhere when you're comfortable or better yet, rich.  Being low on funds anywhere is not easy. 

Emily523

wise_rita:

I would say those in an English speaking country, followed by those in a country where English is widely spoken.  Those who have to learn their local language lose the easy IN challenge.

Why do I feel like I'm going to get flamed for that? 

I agree with that completely.   

 

dulcemariamar1

I agree with  Wise Rita. Plus, anyone that lives close to home that I could visit on the weekend. I am so jealous of all of the English expats here since they go home on the weekend if they want.

PittPurple

We only looked at English-speaking options when we planned our move since neither of us speaks anything else (and I'm horrible, really horrible, at learning a new language).Now that we've done this successfully, we are considering opportunities in other parts of Europe but it would have been a really hard thing to start with for me - just understanding Scottish was difficult enough!

I think Edinburgh is pretty easy - direct flights to NY so I can be home quickly in an emergency (we had to rush home last year on a day's notice), English-speaking, plenty of travel opportunities with easy flights from here. It's an easy city to live in too, as far as transport, etc. goes. 

I have so much awe of the women on here who live in a country where they don't speak the language, I think that would be really, really difficult.

Avion22

My only point of reference is living in the UK, and I must that I have found it to be pretty easy.    The culture is similar enough that there was almost no culture shock, and other than remembering to say "trousers" instead of "pants" and "boot" instead of "trunk", I didn't have to adapt to a new language.  

 Also, there are a lot of American expats and travelers, and it seems like I'm always running into other Americans.

rpic81

Publius:

From everything I've heard i'd probably say Singapore. It's an amazingly western place and yet you can still afford to have a live-in maid. I've heard stories about people going to Sing for their first expat experience, being spoiled, and then being sent to Europe and being miserable. <p>

 

For me it's a million times easier to live in KL than it was in Geneva or Prague. Sure there are a lot of things I miss about Europe, but in terms of sheer easiness of life KL wins hands down. We live like kings, everyone speaks English, and there are a ton of expats so it's not at all strange that you're there. I hardly have enough time in the day for everything I have going on.

H starts a new job tomorrow and one of the places they have offices is Singapore. I'm intrigued!

I had a pretty easy transition to London. In terms of culture shock, it's probably one of the easiest places to come to from the US. 

jupiter2311

I agree with the English speaking countries for sure, I, however, only have one point of reference as well. I have heard the same about people who might live in the ME or Asia first and then head to Europe, find it a bit difficult. I find it easy to live in the ME, and I think once you get over the culture shock, it's perfectly fine. In most of the GCC countries, you will find large expat communities (especially UAE - who isn't an expat there?), as well as low-cost maids/nannies, great expat packages, no taxes, etc. I know living in Bahrain/Saudi - the cost of living is much lower, than say, UAE, but it is still low. We have lots of Western restaurants as well and although there are a few things grocery wise that are hard to find, you can usually find them in some form or another. It's pretty easy to travel from here, as Marista posted, and it is a long flight home, but there are several airlines now which flight direct to several cities in the US, you can be home within 20 hours or less if necessary.

oneslybookworm

Considering I call the NL "Europe Lite," you all can guess what I think.  It wasn't hard here, though there aren't too many American brands and hardly any good TV, but otherwise not a big deal.  English is widely spoken, and if you're like me and work from home, you never have to deal with anyone!  It's a win/win!

amwallace

I think it depends on your lifestyle/priorities. For a stay-at-home mom, I've found living in London very hard - its hard to meet people, and when I do, I still feel like the outsider. Everyday tasks are difficult to complete: walking to the grocery store (with a toddler), washing all my dishes by hand (no dishwasher), no dryer, living in a very small space with an active toddler, etc. 

I've thought though, if you were single or just living with your DH here, it would be a great place - you could go into the city, enjoy everything London has to offer. You could have a job that you enjoyed and meet people through that. You could travel Europe very easily.  

We have talked about moving other places in the next couple of years - one of them being Africa. I don't know what I'd think about that. The things I really hate about England - the weather and the "unfriendlieness" of people (Not everyone! People here are just very difficult to get to know and dont open up easily!) - are completely different there. Also, we could afford to have a housekeeper and nanny and a much bigger house. I'm sure there are things that would be much harder there than here, so maybe I'm just being optimistic ;-)

rpic81

amwallace:

I've thought though, if you were single or just living with your DH here, it would be a great place - you could go into the city, enjoy everything London has to offer. You could have a job that you enjoyed and meet people through that. You could travel Europe very easily.  

I can totally see this. I've had other friends who moved here with kids and had a really hard time. They missed the conveniences in the US more than I ever did and left after a year. 

My friends who had some time here to really explore and enjoy the city with their spouses before their kids were born seem to have an easier time after kids because they've already gotten used to the cultural changes and grown to love the city. I think (I hope) I'll be in that category as well.  

myblueangel19

PittPurple:

We only looked at English-speaking options when we planned our move since neither of us speaks anything else (and I'm horrible, really horrible, at learning a new language).Now that we've done this successfully, we are considering opportunities in other parts of Europe but it would have been a really hard thing to start with for me - just understanding Scottish was difficult enough!

I had a harder time trying to learn Scottish than learning French lol The glaswegians speak gibberish, I'm sure of it! (no offense to the Glasgow folk)

VABeach08

From the States, I think England's a pretty mild transition.  Obviously, it's still a transition, but as others have said, the language, culture/legal system, isn't THAT much of a leap.  That said, the driving on the left does kind of freak me out.  It didn't bother my H that much when he lived in London, but I wouldn't love it.

anna7602

I just got back from our week-long house & school hunting trip in Paris and I think I am going to say Paris is super easy. I can't speak for France in general, but definitely Paris. I've lived in Spain, Brazil & Russia before and Paris is light-years beyond any of those three countries in terms of ease for foreigners.

I speak French, but DH doesn't, and even he found it really easy when we had to do all the nitty-gritty relating to the move. There are so, so, so many English-speakers, and ten million activities/organizations/resources for English-speakers. Finding an English-speaking pediatrician for DD was easy, finding a bilingual preschool took some research, but was relatively painless in the end, and if anything, I'm actually thinking of ways to proactively live beyond the "American bubble" while we're in France.

The metro and bus systems are really easy to figure out, you don't need to own a car, there are grocery stores & pharmacies everywhere, and you can find just about any product you are used to and/or need. This is such a silly example, but I remember combing every pharmacy possible this past spring in Argentina for kid-flavored toothpaste for DD (she's really anti-mint-flavored toothpaste) and came up empty. This is one of the 1st things I looked for in France and was happy to see a whole kiddie dental display in the first pharmacy I entered, complete with Disney Princess toothbrushes.

There's a huge variety of food & produce (unlike Russia, for example, and while I like Russian food, I really missed certain fruits & veggies).

Best of all, it's such a huge city that you can kind of just blend in anonymously, unlike other places I've lived or visited where strangers immediately know you're not from there, or, worse still, refer to you as "the American" eveywhere you go. However, I live in NYC now, so big & anonymous is my speed. Some people may find comfort in living in a smaller community, not me.

anna7602

amwallace:

I think it depends on your lifestyle/priorities. For a stay-at-home mom, I've found living in London very hard - its hard to meet people, and when I do, I still feel like the outsider. Everyday tasks are difficult to complete: walking to the grocery store (with a toddler), washing all my dishes by hand (no dishwasher), no dryer, living in a very small space with an active toddler, etc. 

This sounds a lot like New York, actually. Maybe it's a big city thing v. a suburban thing instead of an America v. the UK thing? I have a close friend who lives in Horsham, UK and her set-up is a billion times easier than mine in NY. She has a huge yard for her kids to play in, a separate laundry room in her house, a mega-sized Boots with a huge baby section in walking distance, the most amazing Sainsbury's I've ever seen, etc.

chile_chicken

I find it really easy being in New Zealand I cope better here than I did in Chile but I still speak both English and Spanish fluently. NZ is just very "homey" and everything is within walking distance here. I love putting LO in the buggy and walking to the malk, pharmacy, dairy, clothes shops etc. Transport here is also quite good with the bus system. The only drawback is all my favourite American scrapbook shops aren't here and shipping is so expensive!

tdkandcjc

I've always felt lucky that Australia is such an easy one.  However, azure brings up a very good point.  Trips back and forth take massive planning and budget. Esp now w/ a kiddo.Time difference for communicating w/ family always sucks too.

Man I'm getting excited to go back to Oz this winter! (their summer)