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When are you going home?
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Marcoregano



Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:07 am    Post subject: When are you going home? Reply with quote

The majority of posters on this forum are either abroad or intend going abroad. When will you go home? Will you ever go back permanently? Do you still regard 'home' as home?

For my part, I've been away from the UK for 11 years now, and although the place is still in my bones it's hard to imagine going back there permanently. However, HK doesn't feel like 'home' even though I've been here nine years. A bit odd, really.
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denise



Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Going home for good? No idea. Maybe two more years. I need to have enough money saved up to be able to live on the standard part-time teaching salary back home--although my goal is of course one of those coveted full-time gigs.

Going home for the summer? THURSDAY!!!!! Only two more days to wait!!! Hooray!!! Very Happy

Oh, and I don't really feel like I have a "home," but my parents' house is close enough.

d
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parrothead



Joined: 02 Nov 2003
Posts: 342
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The longer I am away from my American home the less likely it seems I will ever return there for good. It just gets harder to relate to people back there. Even family. We haven't grown apart, just grown in different ways, and at times it makes it difficult to relate to one another. How do you properly convey all of your life adventures without their eyes glazing over as they listen to you? It gets to the point where someone back home will ask, "so how is Japan?" Most times they don't want to know the long answer, so I just say "purdy good" (that's how we say it in the heartland anyway), and leave it at that. Being the conditioned English teacher that I am, I tend to talk less about myself and put the focus on them.
Being away from family is of course the hardest part, especially as family members get older. But there comes a point in living and teaching abroad (maybe 4 or 5 years in) that you have to decide whether to give in to your nomadic or expatriated needs, or go home and start something new.
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guty



Joined: 10 Apr 2003
Posts: 365
Location: on holiday

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

For those of you who don't think they will ever go back, how will you manage that?
Once you finish work, what will you do for an income?
Have you got health insurance, will you still be covered when you retire?
Have you got a house? Have you got permanent residency? Are you married to a local?

I did 10+ years abroad and wouldn't change those for anything. But there came a point when, for all its faults, it was nice to be home, as those issues above are non-issues here.

I know that those who do long stints in the Gulf will mainly be forced to go elsewhere when they stop working, will it be the same for many of you?
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Nabby Adams



Joined: 08 Feb 2008
Posts: 215

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good post OP. I am in a similar position myself. 12 years away from the UK and not much in the way of family or friends there anyway. I have been in Japan for the last 10. I've noticed that while England slowly fades in it's relevancy to me (though as you say, remains in one's marrow) it's leaving a gap rather than being replaced.
Japan is great, but is it home? Will I stay here if I could no longer work? Would I ever support Japan in the World Cup (against England)?
I'm starting to feel rootless for sure, but I am not even sure I know how to settle roots down anymore.
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mandalayroad



Joined: 11 Mar 2008
Posts: 115

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd like to retire in Southeast Asia after making enough money in the Gulf. Countries like Malaysia have special retirement visas if you keep enough money in their banks. Thailand has traditionally had a reasonable immigration policy as well. Living in Bali is also a possibility. I don't think I'd ever return to the US for good, life's too short and I've lived in the US enough for one lifetime.
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Justin Trullinger



Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 3110
Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Probably will go home tonight around 6, though if students have a lot of questions after class, it could be later, like maybe 6:20.

Sorry- the question just kills me. (And it comes up with some frequency.) Home, to me, is where you decide to make your life. And that's here and now.

As far as whether I'll move back to the US, who knows. It's a question akin to whether I'll move to Korea one day- I'll look at offers and options, and weigh up the pros and cons.

Maybe being part of an international couple affects this? Going "home" is limited by the fact that her "home" (of origin) is no place near mine, yet with this many years under our belts, it won't be home to either one of us if the other isn't there. So de facto, one of us is gonna be "away from home."


Best,
justin
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naturegirl321



Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Probably never. Sigh. I'll be stuck in Peru. I'd like to go back to ASia, but don't know if that's possibly.

HOme? I left 6 years ago. The US that is. BUt I left my parents' place 10 years ago. I'm the oldest, there are four of us, so when I left my sister was only 9. It's sad, but you do grow apart.

Married a Peruvian, will be applying for citizenship in five months, so legalisites are no prob. If you stay in a place for a while, you make it home. WE sold our first flat and bought another. Have an SUV, jobs, pensions.

I started a small online business, make a bit that way.

Teaching privates is also good. I was lucky to land a cushy job at a school, but am thinking about opening my own little school.

We save a lot, so we can get by. We have no debts, car and flat were bought with cash. That's more than most people can do. My parents stil have 15 years left on a house that the bought 25 years ago.

The thing that gets me is the education. I don't want my kids to go to school here.
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guty



Joined: 10 Apr 2003
Posts: 365
Location: on holiday

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Justin said
Quote:
Home, to me, is where you decide to make your life. And that's here and now.

That is a nice view, but there are many people working in places which require work visas. That may not be an issue right now, but the question is about the future.
When they stop work, they can not stay, whether they want to or not, whether they consider it home or not. It's like this in the gulf, I imagine for those without a native spouse, Korea and Japan will be similar.
Home is a place where you need no visas, a place where, for many europeans anyway, healthcare is free, your children get free state education, for a while anyway.

Maybe a follow up question is
How many have acquired permanaent residency in the country they live?
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JZer



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Once you finish work, what will you do for an income?
Have you got health insurance, will you still be covered when you retire?


While is questions are important it is no different than back home! Unless you have some nice government job, you may be facing the same questions.
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JZer



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have to add that I may stay in Taiwan or China for the long term. I will go back and get my teacher's license but after that I may be living in Asia for good and will try to start my own business or do translation as well as teach in an international school.
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Jetgirly



Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 741

PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm twenty-four and already having panic attacks about retirement. At the moment I'm on a short-term contract in Mexico that ends on Friday; I'll be back in Canada on July 1st. I have accepted a probationary job in the public school system that would turn into permanent employment the following year... but I want to go back abroad (Italy again, probably, unless I could get work in Barcelona) in a few years... but I need to plan for my future... aaaaah! I don't want to be old and poor. I would marry for (a lot of) money. Really.
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dixie



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 644
Location: D.F

PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jetgirly wrote:
I'm twenty-four and already having panic attacks about retirement. At the moment I'm on a short-term contract in Mexico that ends on Friday; I'll be back in Canada on July 1st. I have accepted a probationary job in the public school system that would turn into permanent employment the following year... but I want to go back abroad (Italy again, probably, unless I could get work in Barcelona) in a few years... but I need to plan for my future... aaaaah! I don't want to be old and poor. I would marry for (a lot of) money. Really.


If I remember correctly you are not from Ontario, but perhaps your province has a similar policy - work for five years, and then you can take a year off with pay, and a job to come back to. Of course, there are more details than that, but that is a possibility teachers back home have. I know my best friend and (soon to be) husband were considering it, but after the expense of buying a house in TO, gutting it, remodeling it, and paying for a wedding, not sure its in their future. . . ever.

As for me, I couldn�t cope with the five year wait period before I was "free" to go off and teach elsewhere. Currently M�xico is home, and it likely will be for a very, very, long time.
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Marcoregano



Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 872
Location: Hong Kong

PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Justin Trullinger wrote:
Home, to me, is where you decide to make your life. And that's here and now.

A practical interpretation Justin, but (as is obvious) for most people the concept of 'home' is more complicated. For many of us it seems to mean home country, home town or even our parents' house - or a combination of the three depending on context and who's asking the question. If my brother asks me when I'm next going home he means my parents' house. If a friend in HK asks the same question, they would mean England.

I go home every year to visit family and friends. In many ways I like the idea of going back home to live permanently, but because of the 'work problem' it remains unlikely. Thankfully I still like living and working abroad but I like to think that I might 'go back' at some point.

Of course, HK is also home - but in a different way. I now have 'permanent resident' status here (a bit like having a HK passport) and have lived here nine years - but somehow it still doesn't feel like 'home'.

Re. the retirement question, I agree with the poster who points out that it's the same problem (financially) wherever you are, but there may be some health benefits attached to your home country. And IMHO, at 24 you shouldn't be getting stressed out about retirement! Pleeeaaase!!!
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JZer



Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh

PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I agree with the poster who points out that it's the same problem (financially) wherever you are, but there may be some health benefits attached to your home country.


Of course I think in some countries you could return home at retirement age and still get government sponsered health insurance even though you had not worked in your home country for many years.
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