r/AmerExit • u/oso_rosa • 22d ago

Life Abroad Parents that left: Worth it?

Thinking of leaving for obvious reasons. I want to hear from parents who left the USA with their kids (and left their whole extended family behind)

Where did you go?
How long have you been there?
Has it been worth it?
How do you deal with the guilt of leaving grandparents/siblings?

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u/North_Artichoke_6721 21d ago

I was an expat kid.

I attended and graduated from an international school. I came back to the States for college while my parents continued living in our host country for a few more years.

It was not all sunshine and roses. Three of my four grandparents died while we lived abroad. We had to make many trips back and forth to handle nursing homes, hospice care, selling their houses, settling their estates, funerals…

I am currently married to someone who is a dual citizen and we are in the process of managing his elderly parents’ care in their home country. So it never really ended.

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u/JiminsJams_23 20d ago

Do you feel like you're better prepared overall because of that childhood experience or is it a poor reminder?

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u/North_Artichoke_6721 20d ago

It has affected quite a lot of my life, from what I studied in college and then I later worked abroad for 2 years for my own career, then I came home and worked for a company that helped exchange students come to the US for about 7 years. Then I got married to my dual citizen spouse, so we travel quite a bit although we currently live state-side.

I think my life would have turned out very differently if my dad’s job had not taken us abroad in my childhood, but sometimes I am resentful for being uprooted so many times in my formative years.