DH and I are very seriously considering a short-term move with our 2 DSs (4 and 2) to Morocco (Rabat). It would be a change of role with the company he currently works for (a promotion), and would be for between 9 months and 2 years, depending on how the project he'd be heading up goes.
I've never lived abroad before. I've done a bit of inter-railing and backpacking in uni holidays, but that's about the extent of my travelling. I have been to Morocco before, travelling with a friend in 2002, and loved it - but living there is quite a different proposition.
The company DH works for are fantastic and would make everything as easy as possible for us - nice house, trips home every 4ish months and R&R trips in the region in between, school fees paid for DS1 (will be 5 in the summer) at a school of our choosing, reasonable domestic help. It would definitely be very good for DH's career for him to go, and without wanting to be crass, good for us financially as well - the salary uplift alone (which we won't actually need to live off, as the cost of living looks v low compared to the UK) will probably cover private secondary schooling for our sons, when the time comes.
Neverthless I am terrified. Part of me wants to go on this big adventure, but I keep reading about women being constantly hassled, Morocco's horrendous road safety record, the potential terrorism threat and unrest in the region (although Morocco looks a lot more stable than the rest of the Maghreb). On a day-to-day basis I worry that it would be hard even to do the weekly shop, to get around the city, and to find ways to entertain my (very blonde!) children.
DH would be away a bit in Agadir, so I'd be on my own for short periods (I'm quite often on my own for long periods here, which doesn't bother me in the slightest, but I worry that it would be much harder abroad).
On the positive side, this would be a tremendous opportunity for us and our DCs to experience another culture, to improve our French and to actually see the sun this year! And it's a comparatively easy time in our lives to go - DCs too little to worry about it affecting their schooling; no elderly parents to look after yet.
I'd really appreciate the thoughts of any expats (I know I'm unlikely to find people in Morocco as there doesn't seem to be a big expat community) particularly as to things which we should thing about when weighing up the decision, and things we could do / ask the company to provide to make it all a bit easier (I wondered about a nanny / au pair, as we'll have to entertain in the evenings quite a bit as part of the role, and will need a babysitter fairly frequently)? They would arrange for intensive French & cultural awareness classes before we went, and hopefully we could have French classes on an ongoing basis while we were there too.
DH is going on a reccy in a couple of weeks, following which (assuming he's comfortable) we'll both go out to look - we should have around a month from now during which to make our minds up.
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North Africa with young children? Any thoughts welcome
13 replies
equiliteral · 08/03/2013 21:07
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