Weekend Rant: Why is Getting Back So Hard?

I have been thinking a lot lately of my time abroad and how much I want to go back. The issue that stops me this time is that I now know exactly what I am up against. I know how hard it is to stay for more than a few months and what life becomes when you don’t have a steady income. I have bemoaned the awful state of the current visa system on multiple occasions, but the frustration has finally set in. As much as I would love to see a change happen I know that it won’t. Which leaves me with one thought: How do I get back long-term?

I simply can’t go back like I did the last time as fun and amazing experience as it was, there simply wasn’t much practicality to it. In fact it was fairly reckless and held me back from some amazing experiences for fear of blowing my budget. The fact is I just can’t pack up all my stuff after a few months of saving and do the same thing all over again, I need a real plan. Something that can allow me the freedom I had but also provide me the money that I need to get by.

The First and Only Big Problem

The first and biggest issue is work. The fact is that getting a work visa is an increasingly difficult proposition. The further the crisis deepens the more difficult getting a work visa becomes. Employers are already predisposed to avoiding foreigners because of the difficultly in hiring them. Essentially then have to prove to the government that no other person in all the country can actually do the same job, no easy task. Furthermore, now with so many of its own citizens without work companies better have a bulletproof excuse for hiring a foreigner, much less an American instead of an unemployed citizen, qualified or not. Essentially getting a job at a company abroad in Europe is going to vary from very hard to impossible.

The other option is getting work domestically and finding away to get abroad while keeping the same job. Some multinational companies have fairly easy routes to getting transferred abroad, however this will require that you speak fluently in the language of the country you are going to. The last option is being a remote employee, never coming in to the office and simply connecting via the web. While this option is more than doable and easy to boot many companies do not want to allow employees to simple never come into the office. They prefer to allow a flex schedule where employees can come in a few times a week but are more than welcome to stay home a few days. This approach can buy a few long weekends but allowing a long-term stay abroad it doesn’t.

Each option above takes a lot of research and work before they can be executed and there is no guarantee of success. The amount of road blocks to living abroad in Europe are tremendous and a can do attitude doesn’t go as far as you’d think. I never realized how much easier it was to get work at home, I simply put my mind to finding a job and in about a month I had a pretty good one. In fact this last time around I had several options to choose from. However, abroad it was much different while I was offered a few jobs that I was unable to take because of my visa status, they weren’t anything like the job offers I got upon returning. The fact is I simply don’t want to go back in for an entry level job again.

The More You Have Going, The More You Leave Behind

I am starting to see the real problem with getting abroad it really comes down to the older you get the harder it becomes. Once you hit a certain age you want to start making real moves for your future and you may hit a point where you want to start banking some real money. At some point a choice will need to be made, live for less abroad or take in more at home. It’s a difficult proposition for many people and one that gets harder the older you get. When your young you mos likely will be living on the cheap no matter where you are so might as well make the most of it a get some worldly experience. However, when you’re older things like buying a house and making investments start to become a reality and in order to make the most of those things you’ll need a good inflow of cash.

However, there is a third path. One that very few people achieve but not altogether impossible. Simply put, why choose when you can have both? Getting your feet on the ground in both areas takes time and usually a little luck is involved also. Those who have the patience and foresight to execute on a plan like this certainly will reap the rewards, but results are never guaranteed. The idea is to continue to shoot for the stars and someday you might just reach your goal.