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Families on the Move:
Challenges and Opportunities BY LIZ PERELSTEIN
I
t was the middle of a good year. My daughter, Sarah, had made a successful transition to middle school in the sixth grade, and my son, Dan, was thriving with a wonderful teacher in grade four. I just had been re-elected to our school board, my job was going well, and my husband was succeeding in his. All of us were solidly entrenched in our suburban New York, NY, community when my husband was approached to consider a job in London, United Kingdom. When he asked whether I would be willing to move, I said, “go for it; if it is meant to be, it will be.” I had no idea how much those words would change our lives. You know what the personal trainers say: “no pain, no gain.” Now a member of the “global mobility” world, I am almost embarrassed that my only overseas assignment already was 12 years ago in a Western, English-speaking location—London—and for a predictable three years. But for me and for my family, even that relatively sheltered adventure provided an abundance of pain, out of which came infinitely more gain.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions The first thing that changed is that everything became a decision. Our lives had been routine; we all went about our schedules on a daily basis. Suddenly, we had to ask ourselves whether we wanted to live in the city or the suburbs, to send the kids to local or international school, and whether to rent out or sell the house. We had major decisions to make on a daily basis. The multitude of details to resolve in only two months almost numbed the pain of leaving friends and family, worrying about our elderly parents, and acknowledging the grief we had imposed on our children. Our first decision was when to tell the kids—and how to get them to buy-in if we decided to make the leap. 42 MOBILITY/SEPTEMBER 2010