Is moving abroad for a year crazy?

We lived abroad when I was child for two and a half years and it was one of the best experiences for both my brother and I, one I have been trying to repeat for my own children. Like you said, it is overwhelming when you start to look into all the details! Easier for sure if you move with a company and have the support in place for help with housing, schooling, etc. Like you, we also have somewhat flexible work so we "tested the waters" and went for 6 months two years ago with our 3 year old and 8 year old. Our little one was not in preschool yet so that was easy. For our daughter, once we had our location picked out we looked into schools. For such a short term, we went with an International school which was costly, but really our only option (other than home schooling her) since the local public schools wouldn't even talk to us if it was less than a year, and since we only spoke English. It was an international french school in Switzerland and was an incredible experience for her.

My suggestions: stick with your work from here and have that as your main source of income. You will find the time difference is not as bad as you think. Rent your house or look into a house swap with another family looking to do the same thing. Pick your location but also think about travel--we found we wanted to travel so next time when we organize a year long stay, we will probably look to do 6-9 months in one country and then 3-6 in another. If you are open to homeschooling, you have a lot more flexibility but it does make the "connections" more challenging/more work.

Feel free to contact me directly--I can send you some blogs and websites of people who have done it which might be helpful.

It's tough to move abroad if you need to work for income because that's not normally legal.  There are a few exceptions here and there.  If your husband is a graphic designer he would be eligible for a "NAFTA visa" in Canada (not sure about Mexico) - of course, he would need to find a Canadian employer.  New Zealand and Australia used to offer "holiday work visas" to some Americans - there were requirements in the past like college degree or a "needed trade" etc.  You should check with their immigration authorities or embassies.  You don't say if the reason you want to live abroad is to learn a foreign language, if so, have you considered Puerto Rico?  You can work there legally as a US citizen.  Good luck!

May I congratulate you for thinking outside the oh-we-can't-do-THAT box! We moved to Rome for a year with our (then) 7 year old boy. He was such a handful (brilliant but unruly) that we, correctly as it turned out, thought he might fit in in Italy, where all the little boys were hooilgans. We almost never came back. It was arguably the happiest year of our adult lives.

I agree that you would need to shell out some bucks for an English language school. That's the best money you'll ever spend, because it gives you an instant community. International schools are very welcoming. We enrolled our kid in Ambrit (a school started by an American), which was a fabulous international gumbo of English speaking Italians, diplomats' kids, expats, you name it. All were incredibly friendly; there was  real outreach. We were immediately invited to people's homes, birthday parties, etc. We made lifelong friends.

Let me put in my two cents for Rome. It is a hot mess of a city, but if you live in the historic center you can walk everywhere. You will never run out of gobsmacking things to do and see. It's a revelation, and much of it (the stupendous art in the churches, including St. Peters) is free. It's an hour by train to Florence -- which also has an English language school, but Florence has more trouble handling the crowds than Rome, and I think you'll feel oppressed when it's not off-season. The Romans are the world's great hosts. They love to show off their homes, their cooking, their culture. They are warm and friendly, and many speak English.

We agonized between Paris and Rome, but are SO glad we chose Rome, a much less functional city than Paris, but the warm welcome we got there would not have been duplicated by the Parisians. And you can always scoot up to Paris for a weekend on a cheap flight. Also, it's warmer in the winter -- rarely going down as low as the 40's. Snow is almost unheard-of. You can be outside a lot of the time.

I took a fact-finding trip over there a couple of months before we went to find an apartment and suss out schools. The American school is just very far up the hill from the historic center. I liked it, but Ambrit is closer to everything. You aren't going to want a car, and now that Rome has Uber, on top of taxis and buses, you'll get around easily.

Now that the internet is much more sophisticated, you probably could just take a leap into the void, Air B&B and apartment (I like the company Rome Lofts, which lists many apartments) until you find something permanent, and not have to go twice, which is expensive and disorienting. The house trade idea is also a good one. Just make sure there's wi-fi and, if possible, a terrace.

Good luck. And again, DO IT!

Hi. I have been working in China for 3 years.There are loads of teaching jobs here, and they take care of everything, you don't need to speak the language. Check out the job postings on Dave's ESL Cafe or Serious Teachers website. I get 2 months off every summer and 2 in the winter; if you ever want to do a home exchange and test the waters, my home is usually available those times. At the moment I'm seeking affordable accommodation to come visit Berkeley for a week or so, starting soon, with the goal of eventually moving there, so please let me know if you have any tips. 

Good luck!

My sense is that in your circumstances this may not be feasible/ most people that do it are in Academia or work for multi-national companies and are able to have temporary assignments.  Or they do a sabbatical.  You might instead consider trying to do a month abroad each summer if you can take the vacation time (or like you said your husband may even be able to do some work remotely).  You can rent an apartment or house pretty reasonably in many places.  Or you could even do a home exchange, swapping houses with someone (sometimes cars too).  I know many people who have done home exchanges and had wonderful experiences.

A few weeks or a month would still be very enriching,you can start to learn a language, and take this in smaller steps.

I was able to take my teenagers on an 8-week trip to Europe (I didn't have that much vacation but took an unpaid leave for part of it).  They loved it- and we saw many countries in that time.  We did have a few contacts and that made it a bit more fun.