Is it a good idea to move from the U.S. with children?

[E-Z-B]

Hi, I've been thinking of this for some time. I'm interested in moving to the UK or some other place else in Europe to gain new experiences. I travel a lot in the US, but I feel like I've already seen it all here by now. Two problems I see are:

1) I have three children ages 1 - 7. I'm not sure if keeping them in the US is wiser to maximize their education and career opportunities later in life
2) I'm an RF engineer working for the aerospace industry. What are opportunities like abroad? I worry that I may lose my security clearance when I come back to the US

I just interested to hear if anyone has thoughts on this or have any personal experiences. I don't want to make a big mistake for my career nor my children's potential future opportunities. More information is better. Thanks!

Edit: also, are there Western European countries to avoid? I heard places like the Netherlands and France aren't receptive to foreigners and could impact my ability to get a job, even though I'm of German and Irish descent.

[Proud Public Servant]

1. I would say yes, with some caveats

First, Europe is expensive. You'll want to investigate what the actual costs of rearing a child is in the place you're going. This includes not only cost of schooling, if any, but also whether and to what extent you'd have access to the country's social services (like daycare and health care). I would imagine much will depend on the specific benefits package that comes with your job.

Second, in my experience living abroad does not in and of itself endanger your shot at a security clearance, though it can lead to a longer-than-usual vetting process when you renew it. I would imagine that working for a U.S.-based corporation overseas might be preferable to working for a foreign corporation, but I don't really know your field.

That being said, we raised our daughter overseas from the age of 10 onward, and regard it as the single best thing we ever did for her. She had better schools, leaned a language more easily, and became an even more complex and inquisitive person than she already was. Plus, we actually worried less about her safety. It was a great experience.

[E-Z-B]

2. Hi, thank you! Can you say what country or city you were in?

Did you experience any resentment toward you for not being a native of that country?

[Proud Public Servant]

3. Several

We lived in Turkey, The Philippines, and Singapore; I worked on the local economy in Turkey and for the USG in the other two. And no, I didn't experience any resentment in any of those places. If you're worried about free-floating anti-Americanism, I've found that most people around the world are pretty good at understanding that an individual is not the same as her/his government. If you're worried about being resented for taking a "local" job, I wouldn't fear -- the EU makes it so hard for companies to hire non-EU citizens that I suspect people will just assume your skills were specifically necessary.

[riverbendviewgal]

4. Please check with the country you are interested in moving to

Many countries are now keeping US citizens from having bank accounts.

You can read some American's who live abroad recent findings of the difficulties. They are Democrats.

https://www.democratsabroad.org/sites/default/files/2014%20FATCA%20Research%20%20Stories%20of%20FATCA%20-%20Affecting%20Everyday%20Americans%20Every%20Day.pdf



The USA is putting up a wall, not only to stop immigrants but also to keep US citizens from leaving the USA.

You would find it very hard to live in another country without a bank account.
Those that replied may have lived in the countries they write of BEFORE FATCA/FBAR.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. The UK keeps lists of "shortage occupations" on one of its official websites

For a while, there was a shortage of elementary school teachers, and the daughter of some friends, who had loved her study abroad time in England, hurried to get an el. ed. certification so that she could legally emigrate.

But the list keeps changing all the time. I don't remember the website, but googling "UK shortage occupations" may be helpful.

As an engineer, you may qualify for admission to any of a number of countries.