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Living overseas

What would you miss about your current location?

59 replies

butterfliesinmytummy · 12/03/2013 08:46

The thread about missing things from the uk and our move to the US in a few months has got me thinking. Where are you now and if you moved soon, what would you miss?

We are in singapore and would miss:
Swimming outside nearly every day
Feeling warm outside nearly every day
Gold class cinemas with food and wine brought to your reclining seat
Amazing thunderstorms with warm rain
Greenery and tropical plants everywhere, even alongside the highways
Monkeys along the side of the road
Beautiful ripe mangoes, papaya, rambutans, fresh Asian greens etc
Laksa, satay and gorgeous South Indian food served on banana leaves for a few dollars
Cheap taxis
Absence of litter
Cleanliness in everything (esp spotless public toilets)
Everything being 20 minutes drive away
Waitrose food and marks and spencers

I'm sure there's more, and I'm equally sure there's another thread to come on things I won't miss.....

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londonmoo · 12/03/2013 12:45

I'm where you are, and I'd miss the same. And you, and your daughter! :)

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TooMuchRain · 12/03/2013 12:59

I'm on the south coast of the UK and would really miss
everything about the sea
being able to go to london so easily
being able to buy ingredients for almost any style of cooking

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butterfliesinmytummy · 12/03/2013 13:12

Aw fank you londonmoo Smile

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ZZZenAgain · 12/03/2013 13:40

Czech Republic.
I would miss the food, my lovely neighbours, dd's fabulous school. Lots and lots of nice people. I am not in a hurry to leave

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MrTumblesBavarianFanbase · 12/03/2013 14:09

The fact the kids can play outside unsupervised (I can see them in the playground through the window, and we live in 1950, otherwise known as rural Bavaria, so it is absolutely normal and natural for all the neighbourhood kids to be outside playing together in the afternoons).

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superfluouscurves · 12/03/2013 15:22

Belgium:

great bi-lingual education
wonderful health care
fantastic bread
fantastic restaurants
fantastic artisanal shops (butchers, bakers, cheese shops, fishmongers)
wonderful floristry
formal greetings upon entering and leaving shops

(have a long list of gripes too like dirty streets but no country is perfect!)

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superfluouscurves · 12/03/2013 15:23

should have added wonderful markets for fresh fruit and veg to that list!

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peppersquint · 12/03/2013 15:45

France:

Formal greetings (with you on that Super)
Healthcare
Cheap (and nice) wine
Countryside
Beaches out of season
Smell of woodsmoke in winter
Seasonal food (homegrown)
Vide greniers
Routier menus
Grants for holidays, return to school, transport etc..
Educational opportunities (especially as kids get older)

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lazydog · 12/03/2013 16:16

Rural Canada (Rockies):

Having lots of space between us and our neighbours.

No light pollution at night - the sky is amazing, including aurora borealis and meteor showers.

Amazing (if sometimes scary) quantity and proximity of wildlife.

Stunning mountain views in every direction.

Able to drive for hundreds of miles without having to stop in traffic.

Small schools (both good and bad - love the small school atmosphere but hate the small school vulnerability to the slightest funding cuts.)

Friendliest place we've ever lived.

Crystal clean glacial lakes to swim in (but they're bitterly cold!)

Specific to our area, rather than Canada in general, but amazingly good GPs and much quicker referrals than we even experienced in the UK, but negatively balanced by the fact that we live so far from a hospital that if we were to have something time critical like a stroke, response times are not going to be good.

The fact that I can go out having put no effort whatsoever into my appearance and I fit right in ;)

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AmericasTorturedBrow · 13/03/2013 05:41

Los Angeles
The weather!!!
Sushi
Mexican food and influences
The weather
Lots of cool areas outside the city up explore
Weekend trips to SanFran/San Diego etc
Surfing
The weather
Reduction in carb eating (it is so much easier eating heathily in THIS WEATHER)

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anonymosity · 13/03/2013 18:25

Same as AmericasTorturedBrow (in the same place)- but not the surfing. Too cold that water!

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ripsishere · 14/03/2013 00:12

KL what I would miss is colored by the flats I live in. Once I move it will be
The choice of six swimming pools to use daily.
The warm rain
The roti canai
The security guards here mostly
Things I won't' miss
the humidity
the shocking driving
the desperate road surfaces.

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SquidgyMummy · 14/03/2013 00:38

SW France

so much space for DS to run around
(DS being able to experience the freedom of my childhood 35 years ago)
Beautiful countryside
Swimming in Rivers / lakes
Blue sky and sunshine 9 months of the year
eating our meals outside from about May to October
our cosy log burner in the winter months
no traffic
People acknowledging you in the street, entering shops
Neighbours generally being very friendly and welcoming
cheap childcare
excellent health service
jumping in our caravan and being by the sea in 6 hours = cheap holidays
Fresh baguettes available anywhere

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echt · 14/03/2013 06:38

Melbourne.
Very little light pollution so beautiful night skies and the most serious moonlight.
So utterly quiet at night. When we first moved here, the quiet woke us up.
Being close to the beach.
Sitting outside for our meals for so much of the year.
No litter.
No dog shit.
Outstanding arts/music scene. We lived in London, also obviously arty, but could never afford to return there.
Sunny skies, even in the winter.

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GoodtoBetter · 14/03/2013 06:50

The sun in the winter
Cheap childcare that's really good (well, DD's nursery is anyway)
The food
The friendliness of people
How lovely people are with children
Seeing storks and their giant nests all over the place.
Southern Spain.
Plenty I wouldn't miss like cold, damp houses, bureaucracy and corruption but will be here forever so just sticking my fingers in my ears and going "la la la" about all that as much as possible!

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Labootin · 14/03/2013 07:06

Dubai

I'd miss:

My lovely maid and driver
Geckos
The smiley school security guards
Swimming outdoors
Kite beach first thing in the morning when there's no one on it
Petrol pump attendants
Bag packers
my weekly trip to Dubai Mall
Karama handbags and the spice souk
The fact my children have friends of all nationalities and faiths
The Satwa fabric shops
The call to prayer
the purple sky
Camping in the desert
Peacocks roaming the roads
The bloody noisy mynah birds
Watching sand wave across the roads
The odd sights (my neighbour used to,have a leopard cub, camels on the back of pick up trucks)
Abra rides for a dirham
the astonishingly beautiful Iranian hospital
The so bad they're fab ,hideously ugly villas
Gold bullion vending machines
The life size horse lampshade in the shop in MOE(though I think that's gone now)
blinged up abayas and laboutins


There's also a lot of things I won't miss though.

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MuchBrighterNow · 14/03/2013 07:21

clean air
no overhead flight paths
spring water on tap
beauty everywhere I look
sunshine
no mobile connection
empty roads and always finding a parking place

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thelittlestkiwi · 14/03/2013 07:38

The sea
The beaches
The weather
The stars
'Our' volcano
The respectfulness of the people
The coffee
Not wearing socks half the year
Being able to park everywhere

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butterfliesinmytummy · 14/03/2013 11:29

Labootin, we have supermarket bag packers and petrol pump attendants who I will miss too (even though they make me feel incapable)

Loe the idea of crystal clear lakes lazydog. Would like some of your cold clear air too....

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SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker · 14/03/2013 15:29

San Diego

The weather, omg the weather
Seeing the sun on the sea in the late afternoon and walking on the beach on the way home from school
my house, I think I have lived in this house now longer than any in my life
good mexican food
my friends
the abundance of amazing fruits and vegetables that are so cheap here
long road trips with my family

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SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker · 14/03/2013 15:30

oh and flip flops for almost any social situation.

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LoopDeLoops · 14/03/2013 15:33

Malaysia. All the same as you apart from it's FILTHY here. And it smells. Litter everywhere.

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LoopDeLoops · 14/03/2013 15:35

And everything is AT LEAST 20 minutes away. Usually 3 hours and.

Maybe we should look at Singapore next time? Grin

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LoopDeLoops · 14/03/2013 15:36

Oh, and no wine in Gold class.

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AlohaMama · 14/03/2013 18:19

Hawaii (am thinking about this a lot at the moment as might be moving back to UK this year)

Never wearing socks/proper shoes
Rarely having to think about weather
DS being able to play outside every day
Money I save on DS clothes cos he hardly needs to wear any!
Walking to beach if can't think of anything else to do
Beautiful scenery
Our island-style house
Delish Japanese food
like labootin - Geckos
Whales
Egrets being as common as pigeons
Not feeling cold (esp that thing in England of getting into cold bed, or getting out of hot shower onto cold tile floor, or putting on clothes that feel cold)
My friends, my church...but I'd miss those moving from anywhere

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