Heeey American ex-pats! Nice to have you here. As you know, living and working abroad is a whooole new ball game filled with endless learning curves.
For me, my experience working abroad showed me just how different the US views work. Like, when I worked in Canada, I realized that mothers at my work took an entire YEAR, sometimes longer, off work after having a baby. And while I made about 40% less than when I worked in New York City, my cost of living was waaaaay lower, and my general quality of life much higher.
I only worked in a different country briefly, and to be honest, my experience wasn't entirely a home run. So, I need to know, how does working in a different country compare to working in the US for you? Is it a million times better, a million times worse, or somewhere in between?
Maybe you work in France now and truly follow the "work to live" instead of the "live to work" motto you experienced in the US. Your paid time off is much more generous and you got the whole month of August to travel around Europe. The language barrier was tough at first, but now you're on your way to becoming fluent.
Perhaps you had a different experience. Everyone told you life would be soooo much better working abroad, but you ended up in a job that kinda sucked and were unable to change jobs because of your visa. You got homesick and ended up coming back home to America just shy of a year.
Or maybe your experience is somewhere in the middle. You have to speak the native dialect at work so you picked up on the language fast. You pass by incredible historical sights on your way to work every day and transit is both accessible and affordable. But, you're making much less than you did back home, and housing costs are still really high. You're a little on the fence if you'll stay beyond your visa, but you can't imagine moving back anytime soon!
