Anyone on here experienced or experiencing life as an ex-pat?
Grew up as an expat kid -- lived in three (vastly) different countries (Nigeria, UK and Singapore) before I turned 18. As an expat kid it was a sweet deal -- my dad had lots of travel and other perks and it opened our minds (and hearts) in ways that only worldwide travel can. If there was one downside as a kid it was that when we were in our early teens, we went off to boarding school for 9 months of the year so as to keep our level and continuity of education up. It was always tough to leave my parents but I got over it once I met my friends back in school

. I know it was a LOT harder on my parents than it was on us. But in hindsight, I wouldn't trade it because it was exactly this lifestyle that planted the travel bug that exists in me today. I am now at well over 30 countries (last time I counted) and my husband has caught the bug from me so he is doing his best to keep up

. World travel continues to be an incredible source of education and open-mindedness for us. In fact, I saw a very appropriate quote from Saint Augustine in the subway tunnel in Hong Kong just this past week -- The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page -- for us, words to live by.
Expat assignments are a way for us to accomplish this. As for safety, we have always taken reasonable (for the area) precautions and fortunately for us, all has been well. As adults, we have taken expat assignments on a few occasions and never regretted them. Mind you, they always came with significant perks -- housing, security, travel, and salary -- so it wasn't a painful decision by any stretch.