FROM OUR INBOX
We talked about the U.S. But at this stage, my wife and I want my kids to think of the world as their oyster... And if we were to live in the U.S. (which is comfortable and convenient and where they’d fit in relatively easily), it might become their default. I’m not knocking the U.S. at all (“a lot of my good friends are American,” I might say in my defense!). But with the desired end of my kids being “citizens of the world,” I thought that we should start at home, by living somewhere outside the U.S. while they’re still with us. Where you live is, of course, a decision that’s very specific to every individual. Moving and living in different places is in my blood, and I get antsy after being in the same place for a few years... I crave something new and different (even if, in the case of Ireland, it’s someplace somewhat familiar). Re: Killing Time, Part II That bit about emptying the liquor cabinet to save money because all those strange gag-a- cat cocktails taste awful compared to Johnny Walker was so funny. I have a shirt that says Support Day Drinking so I think I’ll use your suggestion and continue. – Heather B. P.J. O’Rourke comment: Cheers, Heather! And here’s my t-shirt slogan: “Beer – It’s Not Just for Breakfast Anymore.” As you reflected, my long grey hair was out of control. Just completed the buzz cut yesterday after finishing off a bottle of Algane d’Ocean, a French liquor made from algae that I found, you guessed it, at the back of my liquor cabinet, hidden behind
a moment... A survey last year showed that 72% of Americans live “in or close to” the city where they grew up – with proximity to family being the main reason for that decision for 50% of respondents. I’d lived in seven states in the U.S. and moved to Spain by the time I’d turned seven years old... And since then, I’ve lived in nine countries and moved on average every three or four years. I’ve lived in the U.S. for around one-third of my life. So although I have a U.S. passport (and accent), living in the U.S. isn’t my default. So when it came time to leave Singapore, my wife and I put together a short list of potential places where we might want to live – dictated first of all by school availability and quality (I have two kids in high school), and where we legally could reside (governed by passports and visas). Then I put together a long list on a spreadsheet of criteria – including, for example, weather, cost of living, travel opportunities, health care, cost, proximity to family, etc. – which my wife improved... And then we weighted the importance of each factor, and both filled it in for locations on the short list. Dublin made the short list because we’d lived there before and liked it and both my kids were born there. So did Madrid because I grew up there and most of the family speaks Spanish and it’s a lovely city. Tokyo made my long list, but the language challenges – my daughter has taken Japanese lessons but we’d struggle – cut it early on. We did the math, weighed the pros and cons, and listened to our gut feelings.
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July 2020
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