Moving Overseas: Experiences Of A Family Relocation

When asked whether I would consider moving overseas to take a work assignment my initial reaction was one of excitement. What this would do to my career, the experience of living in another culture, learning a new language were the first thoughts that raced through my mind. Reality however quickly set in as I thought - I have a young family is the time right? What will my wife want to do? How long will I be away for and importantly will I have a job to come back home to?

Of significance was the destination; Bangkok, Thailand. However, the thought process would have been the same regardless of the destination. Future moves proved this to be correct.

Whilst the career decision was relatively simple. Why not? The opportunity to be a Country Manager, have exposure to new clients and manage new staff was very appealing. The family issues and life in Bangkok was something that required a lot further investigation. Having been to Bangkok on business it was very easy to notice that this was a vibrant city, lots of people, smart businessmen, great food, a hot climate, dreadful traffic and unfortunately lots of air pollution.

There were many questions about everyday life including housing, transport, schools, shopping. My first step was to take my family for a look see trip for a week. I was very fortunate in that my employer had a very open view of what they needed to do for me. The goal for them was to maintain and grow our business, however, they also realised that if my family was not happy then my work would suffer; so too would their investment in me and the business. As such our budget was reasonably sensible but not outrageous.

Looking at the type of housing our choice was a house with a yard or an apartment. The variety and quality of accommodation was pleasantly surprising. The benefit of an apartment was that they were very large and spacious, most had good facilities such as a swimming pool and gyms. Additionally, security was in place. A house however, gave us much more freedom and privacy, but we also had to employ a guard at night. This seemed to us a tradition rather than a necessity.

We chose a house with an outdoor kitchen and maid quarters. One of the reasons we opted for a house is because of the expectation of many visitors including family and friends and the ability to give them and ourselves space during their stay. It certainly proved that way during our time in Bangkok.

Our boys were quite young; both under 5 and finding a school that was English based and close to home was fundamental. We did not want young children spending an hour or more in traffic getting to school and the same coming home. The school environment and curriculum was also important that encouraged them to enjoy and look forward to school.

Our decision on the house was developed largely around proximity to school, not work. Again, the overriding decision was based on making the family happy.

A car was provided to me for business, but this often caused issues if my family also needed the car. As such taxi trips, thankfully very cheap were an everyday occurrence for all of us. Other considerations were living expenses.

With a young family having air conditioning on constantly ensured that electricity bills were high. Additionally, phone calls back home, particularly for my wife in the early days as home sickness took hold would add up. Although buying local groceries was cheap, buying anything Western was limited to some stores and so quite expensive. Not only that, but certain foods were snapped up very quickly by other Westerners and you just had to wait until the next supply came in and be quick.

The many positive aspects of living in Thailand revolved around people, food and holidays. Thais were very welcoming, extremely generous and patient with us. Our expatriate friends were the stabilising factor as each family tried to find their way living in a new culture. Joining organisations such as the British Club helped enormously, providing swimming pools, a gymnasium, restaurants and sporting clubs. It was a haven in the centre of Bangkok.

Everyone knows that Thai food is wonderful, but unless you have eaten in Thailand you will never experience how much better it is. The variety of dishes and the ways they are cooked live in our memory.

Having not moved overseas as a family before we had no idea how to plan our way. We found that just contacting removalists was not good enough. We needed a company experienced as international removalists. Most reputable removalists would have been quite capable of packing our belongings into a container at our home end. They all had specialised packing techniques and we could only trust that our furniture would be safely stored for the trip. We also constantly reminded ourselves that we had quite some hundreds of thousands of dollars that we were entrusting to someone else. Making the right decision based on capabilities and trust overrided any initial thoughts on price.

However, some companies were not represented in Thailand and a major concern was that we had no knowledge or relationship with a partner company at the other end. Considering that we had to have our goods cleared, with local customs coming into play, then transported and unpacked we did not really want to deal ultimately with multiple removalists. This was particularly true as we were going to a country where English is not the major language.

As a result, we opted for international removalists that had an office in Thailand as well as our home location. Not only did they provide us advice on how to package and ship our belongings, but we had a one stop shop for any issues we had such as insurance, delivery and customs clearance. When we arrived, they helped us settle into everyday life. After all, they had people on the ground, some of whom had been in exactly the same position as we were. They understood what we were going through. We found that the end to end service that we experienced enabled us to settle-in to our new home easily with many worries taken from us.

Given all the other family matters that had to be taken care of this proved an excellent strategy and reduce the stress of watching our possessions disappear for a month or more.
Many people have often asked us why we went in the first place. Before we left, the answer was simple. We did not want to grow old and ask ourselves what life would have been like if we had done it. We were heading into an unknown, but had prepared as best we could.

Once there, in the early stages, we certainly wondered if it was the right move. From a business perspective it was not easy, but rewarding. From a family perspective, being away from familiar surroundings and support networks was not easy. This changed as we meet others doing the same thing. We had fantastic cultural experiences and made sure that we went on holidays in Thailand as often as possible. Although living in Bangkok, we played tourist ourselves and even more when visitors arrived.

After the assignment, however we rarely remember the difficult times, but the positive experiences of living and working in Bangkok still remain. We have fond memories particularly of the Thai people, the food, the culture, the holidays and the long lasting friends in exactly the same position that we came to meet.