Reply to Are foreign service benefits excessive or reasonable given the sacrifices?

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[quote=Anonymous]I am a FS kid (now 40 and lived to tell about it).

OP, you mostly note the monetary benefits, which of course there are many, especially in developing countries, and the coolness factor.

It's difficult to put a price on certain things it definitely impacts, like family harmony, a balanced marriage, dual earner difficulties, the stress of moving every 2-3 years and being homeless, and then the moving back which is the hardest.

Most of the foreign service families I know are divorced, or the wife has to totally buy into moving every few years and having a very limited career if one at all.  So many of the FS people I knew (and it's mostly guys) were men who married foreign nationals from developing countries, because they generally have no problem following someone around and with the power balance being the way it is.

The hardest move I ever had was moving back to a local high school in 10th grade.  I count myself lucky that I didn't go to bording school but it was a possibility with one of the posts my dad considered.

Ask yourself--is this what I want to do to my family over the span of 20-25 years?  Is everyone really on board?  Do you have a strong enough family unit that you can keep it together while you're overseas?  (Are you rocky now for example, multiply that times 10.)

I considered doing the FS, but from what I'd seen it wasn't worth the impact to what is now my growing family.  Some people haven't experienced it, or are comfortable with the imbalance, or are single and loving it, so it works.[/quote]

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