Growing Up Expat: Where Will They Be From?

This move comes with many worries. Some are more short term, questions around what to bring, what life will be like once we arrive, how will it be living in a high-rise apartment. Other worries are long term, bigger picture, the effects that our choices will have on my children in the long run. One of the many questions that keeps me up at night: Where will they be from? When they are grown, where will my children say they grew up? That sounds like anxiety talking, I do realize, so let’s talk this out.

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Having Roots

I grew up in one house from first grade on. The kids I met in kindergarten were the same kids I walked with at high school graduation. Good, bad or indifferent, I know where I’m from. I have roots. Everything is familiar, I know the places, the sounds, the customs, and the people.

Did that kind of foundation give me the confidence to travel and explore this big world? Will my children know anything like that same kind of stability?  What will they say when people ask them where they grew up?  Where will they be from?

Are we all slowly becoming citizens of the world? How does it feel to not have a foundation location? Is home a place? A house? Your family? A culture that feels like you belong? When we do come back to the states when this is all over, we are not guaranteed to come “home”, but I may be getting ahead of myself here. Maybe the better questions to ask is, how will they process and reflect on a childhood lived in multiple countries?

Where Will They Be From? Final Thoughts

The answer is simple: they will be global citizens. They will have memories and experiences from all kinds of cultures and places. They will find comfort in many places and that will help them take chances in their adult world. It isn’t easy to readily give up comforts for a life to haven’t yet lived, and I consider stability a luxury in life. However, I am trusting my gut on this one, that the risks outweigh the costs.

Perhaps, your roots don’t have to be in one location, but they can be with the people, the memories and the traditions we keep alive. More importantly, my kids will know that no matter where we go and what our house looks like, we will create home together. We will create community together. We will build our foundation from the support we have from the many loved ones in our lives.

If you are curious about raising kids abroad, join our expat book club which primarily discusses life overseas and parenting abroad. Check out the posts below:

• Third Culture Kids – Read the Post Here! & Purchase the Book Here!
• Misunderstood – Read the Post Here! & Purchase the Book Here!
• Danish Way of Raising Teens – Read the Post Here! & Purchase the Book Here!