International Bumpies
lrn327
member
US couples living abroad - how did you do it?
lrn327
member
As I've mentioned, my DH and I are both American but would love to live abroad with our young DS, at least for a few years. One poster mentioned the US State Dept which definitely has some good opportunities, but for those that just decided you wanted to experience something different, how did you go about it? We both work now so one of us would need a pretty well-paying job I guess. My DH is in sales and I work in university research admin/finance and we've both been working in these fields for about 10 years. I guess I always assumed that people who got jobs abroad were just better, smarter, faster than me and that I wouldn't have a chance.
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Re: US couples living abroad - how did you do it?
I'm sure we aren't better!! Unfortunately though, the way we got into the UK is no longer an option as the UK has made a ton of immigration changes in the last few years to keep immigration down. We waited to look for opportunities until we were married and DH had his master's degree and then he just applied for overseas jobs in English-speaking countries. A couple month's later, he had a phone interview and we moved 6 weeks after that. He's in IT.
However... we came in on a visa that doesn't exist anymore and we wouldn't be able to do this now. I think the best option is to find a job in the states with overseas opportunities and then you'd be a transfer which is easier on the visa side. It's definitely a lot trickier than it was 7 years ago. But I'm only speaking for the UK.
I work in University admin/finance as well but I found a job after we moved here.
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Thanks for the info. Neat we work in the same area! What you mentioned about UK immigration is not unexpected I guess. Unfortunately, I got my masters about 8 years ago. I guess we really should have started then and not waited.
My DH works for a global energy company as a petroleum engineer. He was hired in the US, but we knew early on that his job would most likely take us overseas.
Like pittpurple said, I think one option would be to look at global companies and apply within the US and wait for an opportunity. Within engery companies, it is not just an engineering job that they are looking for-sometimes there are openings for Admin, HR, finance, and environmental sciences too. (although with engery companies you often go to where the oil/gas/coal are and some areas I would not take a family too)
Also, I grew up in the Marshall Islands-my dad had a job with then RCA now called Lockheed and Martin and he was in Admin-not a technical type field.
I wish I could be more help, good luck with everything!
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We're Canadian but I guess your question could still apply to us.
DH got a very random job offer but that was because he has specialized knowledge in a very small industry. Literally the job just appeared.
That said, we had talked about maybe moving to the UK before this happened. I have dual citizenship and before DS I was working for an Olympic sponsor. Thought about applying to work at London2012 or one of their sponsors. DH was working for himself at the time and could work from anywhere.
My sister worked for an Olympic organizing committee and has now lived in the UK and will be moving to another country soon.
Good luck!
My DH is a FT PhD student so we are here on a student visa which also allows me to work full-time. I actually just work part-time since DD was born but I am also in University administration and have worked at 2 UK universities. If for some reason we choose to stay once DH completes his PhD we will need work visas. Not impossible as I already have a job but given the new visa rules they are much harder than they once were.
I am sure we are not better, smarter or faster - we just took a massive leap of faith 6 years ago and it has paid off so far!
You could potentially apply to university jobs around the UK and if you were to get the job they would secure your work visa for you. I am not sure of all the regulations but it would be something to look into. We hire non-UK citizens regularly especially in higher level positions. GL!
m/c at 13 weeks - March 23, 2011
Thank you all so much for the insight! I've definitely thought about applying through university jobs before and maybe I just need to make the leap. DH has always wanted to get an advanced degree to so maybe we could make that work.
lbaby - I'm from Atlanta too.
When we first moved abroad together H was in an industry (Big 4 Accounting) where stints abroad are not so uncommon or difficult to get if it's what you want to do. For the job he has now he returned the call of a headhunter in Europe, who set him up with his current non-accounting company. That company then sent us to Malaysia for a couple years. Eventually we'll be going back to Switzerland, which is where his long-term job is.
Keep in mind that every country has its own immigration laws. What isn't possible in one country might very well be in another. Just because you can't really get into the UK right now doesn't mean you can't get in anywhere.
I agree with looking at international companies as well as broadening your search horizon's.
When we were living in London my H, who's British, applied to a job at a Canadian company and they gave it to him and sponsored both of us - we weren't married yet. He's into pretty specialized IT stuff so it was easy for them to prove a Canadian couldn't do the job, but it goes to show that it CAN happen.
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I came over as a PhD student as well, but then met British DH and ended up on a settlement visa (which I didn't realise I could probably have done thru work, and ended up sacrificing my career to be with DH, but that's a long story and probably not something to dwell on!
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Yes, absolutely true. But also absolutely true it's often for higher level positions. You'd have to prove you were more capable and qualified than anyone in the UK or EU, and that's often the case with higher level academic positions. But that's where you specialise and are very specific in your field.
Exactly right. It really depends on the position, who else applies and how badly the university wants you to come. It was so much easier a few years ago!
Honestly, the easiest way to get into the UK is as a postgraduate student. Of course you wouldn't do that lightly but if it is something that interests your DH it might be worth looking into. Depending on funding available, the degree itself and where in the UK the university is it can get quite expensive but (IMO) it is worth every ?.
m/c at 13 weeks - March 23, 2011
Postgraduate students can still come to the UK and bring dependents, but only at a certain level of study and their dependent may not be able to work.
It has become very complicated to get a Tier 2 work permit from outside of the UK at the moment, but the industry is anticipating it to settle down again over the next 18 months.
We are Canadian as well.
At 21 we were living together and about to go down the terrifying route of the dreaded 3M's - so I decided to try living abroad for a year before settling down, and moved to China 2 weeks later to teach English. Long story short, DH (then boyfriend) moved to China to join me 6 months later and we've been expats ever since. I've since been transferred from China to England for my job (different company - we left Canada 10 years ago now! Gack!) and my husband is here as my dependent. We had our girls in the UK.
We don't really have any plans to go back to Canada, or live permanently in the UK. We're just kind of global citizens that go where my job tells us to (yay?), but it all started with taking that first leap.
Thanks everyone for the info and we're realistically looking at 1.5-3 years from now so this might be hopeful for us. Thanks!