The expatriate is accompanied by a very special person: their partner. This person is the one that builds up a story with the expat. Together, they live all kind of experiences, overcome obstacles and learn from their daily experiences. The partner is the moral support of a person with an international lifestyle. They are the expat’s point of support and their strength in face of new changes. Together they form a fabulous team to analyze the new situation and the best way to adapt themselves to it.
The expat’s partner has a profession, their own story, their own dreams, and goals. This makes the expatriation a total challenge for the relationship and for each one individually.
In most of the cases that I have known, the wife accompanies her husband in the international moving. She is the one who coordinates what to bring to the new destiny, what to leave behind, what to sell or to donate. She is the one that does the research about the new neighborhood, which schools are available for their children, what options she will have on the labor market, what entertainment options they will have, the cost of living, how far will the trip take and many other aspects that are very important to travel and to install themselves in the new country.
When the family group includes children and pets, besides the couple, things are more complicated. It’s very common for the wife to take care of the house, children, and pets while the husband meets his labor assignment.
At some part of the process and with a good organization, the partner that stays at home eventually will have a certain amount of free time. This is possible, once they got settled in their new home and they’ve reached a regular function of the daily routine at the new country.
I’ve seen some spouses using that free time to look for a part-time job, some others practice sports, learn a new hobby, study a new professional career, learn a new language or they simply have a social life. I’ve seen remarkable cases where the partner keeps working from home with the help of technology and they eventually travel to their last workplace.
Nowadays, it’s possible to develop a professional career and to perform it from wherever we are in the world with through technology. In the case of a person who dedicates their time for dictating conferences and workshops, they can travel from any place of the world to that place where they are being hired. Also, there could also be a person who writes specialized articles for magazines or who writes books for any literary genre.
I have met dance instructors, health nutritionists, plastic artists, speech therapists, dressmakers, handcrafts specialists and a lot of people with special skills that use them in whichever place of the world to which they arrive to start a new life. They share their knowledge through free events and group or private classes.
The truth is that the expat’s partner does not necessarily have to lose their job, nor their professional goals. There will always be some option to balance personal and work life so that the goals and dreams of one are not getting in the way of the other’s
A lot of grit, great maturity, and emotional intelligence are required to find a solution for something like this. The important thing is knowing that you’re not the only one going through this situation. You must know that there is a large list of options and that having a positive attitude and an open mind will be your greatest allies.
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