Does anyone else have family abroad?

[Anonymous]

yes, it's sad when you can literally count the number of times you'll probably see someone for the rest of their/your life

[Anonymous]

My spouse has family in Western Europe. He’s an only child and his father passed away when he was a child so his mother is pretty much it. For many years we paid for a plane ticket for her and she visited twice a year for 6-8 weeks. That got a little much for me because she will help clean but is very dramatic and would complain if we didn’t take her shopping all the time and insult the meals even though she refused to cook. So then she came twice a year for 4 weeks at a time. During Covid she got sick and can’t travel anymore so DH has been visiting 1-2 times a year. We took the kids last year for the first time but it’s very pricey for a whole family and the kids are very active and energetic and she is not. So I think it’s best for my spouse to visit alone and spouse agrees. More quality time for the two of them. They FaceTime weekly.

[Anonymous]

My family is in Western Europe. I take the kids once a year for 2-4 weeks and go alone on another trip for 1-2 weeks. With parents aging I’m going to start going an additional time.

[Anonymous]

My family all lives in Germany. My grandmother used to travel here every couple of years, but she passed away a long time ago. My mom is 84 and doesn't feel she can handle the travel any longer, so she doesn't get to see her siblings and nieces/nephews.

I don't have any extended family in the states, so it's tough. DH and I will be spending more time in Germany once we retire in the next couple of years, so hopefully my mom will agree to let us help her go overseas.

[Anonymous]

Yes, never, we cannot go to that country.

[Anonymous]

My elderly dad is in Russia. It’s sad it has become so expensive and cumbersome to visit. And of course I can’t say anything because Russia is the aggressor. Even some fairly close friends stopped going to see their families - I literally have maybe 2 people who feel my pain.

[Anonymous]

My husband’s parents are in Ecuador. We went in 2018 and haven’t been back since. He’s only been back twice since he moved here in 2006.

His parents used to live here but moved back. At first his mom tried to keep her green card by coming back every six months but the expense and amount of physical effort it took became too much. Our baby is due the end of October and the earliest immigration appointment she could get for a tourist visa is June 2024.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My family is in Western Europe. I take the kids once a year for 2-4 weeks and go alone on another trip for 1-2 weeks. With parents aging I’m going to start going an additional time.

Do you work? I only have 2 weeks paid time off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My family is in Western Europe. I take the kids once a year for 2-4 weeks and go alone on another trip for 1-2 weeks. With parents aging I’m going to start going an additional time.

Do you work? I only have 2 weeks paid time off.

DP. One person I know who does this is a professor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes, it's sad when you can literally count the number of times you'll probably see someone for the rest of their/your life

You can say the same for the number of spring breaks you want to take your kids on before they go to college.

Or anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My spouse has family in Western Europe. He’s an only child and his father passed away when he was a child so his mother is pretty much it. For many years we paid for a plane ticket for her and she visited twice a year for 6-8 weeks. That got a little much for me because she will help clean but is very dramatic and would complain if we didn’t take her shopping all the time and insult the meals even though she refused to cook. So then she came twice a year for 4 weeks at a time. During Covid she got sick and can’t travel anymore so DH has been visiting 1-2 times a year. We took the kids last year for the first time but it’s very pricey for a whole family and the kids are very active and energetic and she is not. So I think it’s best for my spouse to visit alone and spouse agrees. More quality time for the two of them. They FaceTime weekly.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, never, we cannot go to that country.

Same, the country has gotten way more religious, dictatorship and unsafe. Harboring Russian money, trading with China, child abductions, terrible economy, more brain drain.
I don’t think one of us paid our 5000 euro diaspora military fee to keep our citizenship, so not clear we’d all be allowed to leave. Depends on their databases.

But the in laws live in europe, not there. But they go back to the homeland once a year or more.