#American expat abroad

[emotionalsupportmanteau]

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[barefootblogger-france]

The Postman's Palace

The Postman's Palace is a true story about a rural French postman who created a masterpiece of naive art, made from found stones and objects, to honor his love for his ailing daughter.

[i-dont-have-a-clever-username]

A reminder that if you are an American citizen you can vote even if you live outside of the US (voting abroad is not just for the military!) so if you or someone you know is going to be living elsewhere on Election Day (expats, semesters abroad, in some cases even American citizens born abroad who have never lived in the US) You can vote!!!! Go to votefromabroad.org and they will walk you through the process based on the state you vote in! (your last state of residence)

My fellow leftists, do NOT give in to defeatism.

Things are already turning around.

[musiqjukebox]

I’m Taking a Break from Life in the US...At Least for A Little While

The post I made about wanting to leave the US in 2020 gathered a lot of attention, so I want to give you all a life update in regards to that post. Right now, I’m choosing to take a break from life in the US, at least for a little while. Many people have asked me why, and instead of answering that question my response is simple: why not? The beginning of the end of my relationship with life in…

[mythigal1966]

Democracy's Secret Weapon

[armandsdivorcelawyer]

@yekkes

Oh my god so glad you asked!!! There are many different types of Expat in Korea:

FB Rant Woman is who I’d classify as “First Time Minority.” There are many of these. They’re white people that usually believe that they now understand systemic oppression because they’re now a minority group in Korea and xenophobia exists. Probably doesn’t believe that they have white privilege in Korea.

Will say anything seemingly negative that happens to them is racism. Korean person not interested in having a serious relationship with expats that will most likely leave the country in the next 1-2 years? Racism. Korean person doesn’t understand their accent when they speak Korean (their pronunciation sucks)? Racism. It’s all racism. They understand now. Don’t you see, American Person of Color? Here, we’re the same 🫶🏽

Other types of expats are:

The Koreaboo

They love KPop and K-dramas and moved to Korea to find their oppar. This expat either has a Korean boyfriend who is an ugly loser or is attractive and clearly not taking the relationship as seriously as she is, or a revolving cast of Korean boyfriends that changes so fast you never can actually learn their names. You would warn her that most men looking to date foreign women are only really looking for casual relationships, but she’s insufferable so you don’t bother.

If she sees you on the street when she’s with her boyfriend, she’s going to glare at you even though he looks like a foot and is chronically unemployed. In her mind, you want him. And that’s all that matters.

She’s an English teacher, but she really doesn’t care about her job. Has an annoying social media presence with titles like “My KOREAN BOYFRIEND tries NEW YORK PIZZA for the FIRST TIME!!”

She posts on the FB groups about how her boyfriend won’t introduce her to his family. People try to tell her that, culturally, people in Korea don’t introduce partners unless they’re engaged and about to get married. She doesn’t get it.

The Loser Back Home

This person is usually a white man who for some reason could not cash into his white male privilege in his country of origin, so he came to Korea expecting Korean women to throw coochie at him simply because he’s white. The LBH fetishizes Korean women, and loathes non-Korean woman. He’s also insufferable.

Also an English teacher, not good at his job. Has lived in Korea for 10+ years and speaks little to no Korean. Sometimes has a Korean wife that you pray divorces him eventually. He usually relies on her to do everything because he refuses to learn Korean.

The “Why are You Still Here?”

This person has also lived in Korea for 10+ years and they HATE the country. They don’t like the food, the people, their jobs, the culture, everything. Chronically miserable.

You ask them why they’re still here, and they never have a straight answer. It’s implicitly understood that they’ve been living in Korea for most of their adult life, and don’t know what they’d do if they left. If they do leave, they’re going to a nearby country (probably Japan or China) to start the process all over again.

The College Student

This person is studying abroad for a semester. Commonly seen in Hongdae clubs. They’re 19 and they can drink legally in Korea and it’s about to be everyone’s problem!

This group has overlap with the Koreaboo.

The Military Man

This person is a man in the US military. He’s either looking to get married to someone after knowing them for 5 business days, or is cheating on their wife with whom they share 3 children (with one on the way!) Swears he gets tested regularly, but will give you an STI. If he’s been in Korea for years, he probably ended up on The Black Book fb group to warn women to not interact with him. (TBB got shut down because other women started leaking the information to the men listed in it, and they threatened to sue the moderators. RIP TBB you saved many a life.)

This person is reviled by everyone in the country, expats included, because he is a menace. He and his friends terrorize the innocent citizens of whatever poor city their base is closest to. Avoid at all costs.

The Traveler

This person hasn’t lived in their country of origin for years, and has mostly been jumping from country to country for adventure! They live in Korea because 1. It’s a nice place to live., 2. Relatively low cost of living, and 3. Close to other countries. A holiday is coming up? They’re going to Thailand. They got vacation days? They’re spending it in Vietnam.

Either very chill and interesting, or insufferable.

And finally; The Running Away from Something. (That’s me!!)

This person is living in Korea because for some reason they do not want to be in their country of origin.

Shitty family? It’s hard to keep in contact with a 12 hour time difference. Don’t know what they’re gonna do with their life? English teaching in Korea is a good gap year job to let you save and figure your shit out. Mentally ill? Oh you stupid bitch. Go make that appointment at the Itaewon International Clinic. DO IT NOW.

Is either staying 1-2 years, or ends up living there forever. No in between.

[allthefoolmine]

Expat voters in the US election, please use this as a reminder to check on the status of your mail ballot request!

Voting Registration is ending soon in many states.

Please register and please double check your registration.

Find out now where you are supposed to vote and make a plan to get there.

[salvadorbonaparte]

Instagram keeps showing me expat/living abroad content but it's mostly melancholy copy and paste homesickness stuff or Americans talking about how much better "Europe" is to the US in every single aspect

[mariacallous]

Understanding other countries requires more than studying them from afar. This fundamental fact is hardly news. In the 18th and 19th centuries, young people conducted a grand tour of other countries to get to know them better (and, by extension, their own countries). Over the past few decades, all manner of universities have launched semester-abroad programs that make such learning extremely easy.

But increasingly, young Americans with foreign-policy and national-security ambitions are eschewing interaction with foreign countries and even foreign individuals. They want security clearances, and they know that any foreign exposure will complicate matters. This intellectual isolationism risks severely harming U.S. foreign and security policy—just when an acceleratingly unstable world needs able U.S. officials.

Understanding other countries is a daunting and sometimes humbling experience. For the most part, the first step involves attempting to communicate in a foreign language. One can improve one’s abilities by watching movies and television from the countries in question, or by reading newspapers or listening to the radio.

As a teenager, I improved my German by reading Bild-Zeitung whenever I got access to it (Bild was easier reading than Der Spiegel and Die Zeit, to which I later graduated). Later on, I worked on my Italian by watching Italian movies without subtitles. To this day, I regularly listen to RAI (Italian radio), both to keep myself informed and to improve my linguistic abilities.

But even if one does speak the desired foreign language well, one can only understand the country in which it’s spoken by living there for an extended period of time. It involves learning that country’s culture and cultural references, and preferably understanding its society and politics. “I don’t drink coffee, I take tea, my dear,” Sting sang in Alien in New York. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Or try, at least.

As an expat, one will always be in the minority. Frequently, one won’t get cultural references, or one will misunderstand them. That has happened to me countless times ever since I moved abroad in my first year of university (I’ve remained abroad ever since). It’s frequently humiliating and exasperating, though it is, of course, often enormously educational. And learning a bit of humility is not a bad side benefit of getting to know another country.

Starting in the late 1600s, young Europeans of means considered the grand tour a must in their civic education, and subsequent generations have also appreciated the value of interacting with other countries. The United States’ Gen Z appreciates it too. Indeed, many of the best and brightest among America’s Gen Z want to make a career out of foreign affairs and international security. They want it so much that they map out their next steps at an early stage. Those steps include applying to the finest U.S. graduate programs in foreign affairs and national security.

Once they’ve arrived in these fine institutions of higher learning, the world is their oyster, right? Not so much. In recent months, I’ve been hearing more and more from professors of international affairs that their students are so focused on getting security clearances for their hoped-for government jobs that they’re forgoing foreign contacts. They’re opting out of study-abroad opportunities and avoiding friendships with foreign students.

Princeton undergraduates’ choices of what field to major in give a good indication of ambitious college students’ thinking. In 2022, the university’s six regional concentrations—which include German, French and Italian, and East Asian Studies—were among the school’s 10 least popular concentrations, the Daily Princetonian reported.

For the third year running, the most popular concentrations were computer science, the School of Public and International Affairs, economics, and operations research and financial engineering. Last academic year (the most recent available), meanwhile, Princeton had a total of one Master’s student in German, two in Slavic languages, four in French and Italian, and six in East Asian Studies. It had no Master’s students in Spanish and Portuguese.

Last fall, George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, which produces “leading experts in business, security, diplomacy, public service, development, conflict resolution, public health, and other fields,” ended its Master’s in European and Eurasian Studies.

During the Cold War, Washington took knowledge of other countries extremely seriously. Universities offered area studies, in which students specialized in, yes, a specific area of the world—and that included learning not just the relevant languages, but the culture and politics, too, not to mention spending time there. Because the government valued such expertise, area experts could look forward to a good career. American students often spent half a year or a year in East Germany, in the Soviet Union, in Poland.

Today, few such programs remain, and even when they’re offered, students—with careers and security clearances in mind—steer clear of them. “My cursor hovered lovingly over ‘East Asian Studies’ (EAS) for a few seconds; then, with a firm finality, I scrolled down and clicked on ‘School of Public and International Affairs’ (SPIA). One last click, ‘submit form,’ and the deed was done,” a Princeton student named Vincent Jiang wrote in the Daily Princetonian last spring.

Today’s ambitious young men and women in top graduate programs will no doubt get their security clearances, and they’re certain to land good jobs in foreign and security policy, too. But what knowledge will they bring? The United States’ many Iranian Americans and Chinese Americans, meanwhile, would be ideal recruits to the CIA or the NSA. They, though, have a reduced chance of getting security clearances to begin with.

With limited exposure to friendly and unfriendly countries, the next generation of diplomats and intelligence officials unlikely have the kind of knowledge Washington needs. That’s a great pity. During the height of globalization, when many a country gave the impression of moving in a Westerly direction, the United States might have been able to get away with insufficient understanding of its fellow nations. But with the geopolitical standoff between Western countries and a China-led grouping intensifying, with the Middle East on the brink of escalating conflict, and with Russia menacing its neighbors, Washington needs such knowledge.

Meanwhile, traffic in the other direction is proceeding briskly—indeed, it’s exploding. In the 2021-22 academic year (the latest year available), British universities had 680,000 foreign students compared to 2.18 million students from the U.K. The former included 152,000 from China and 17,630 from Hong Kong. Nearly 127,000 Indians were studying in Britain, too, as were 9,000 Saudis and even 15 North Koreans. By contrast, a mere 23,000 Americans were studying in Britain. (Already in 2017-2018, the total number of foreign students in the U.K. was extremely high, at 470,000.) At U.S. universities, the percentage of foreign students has grown by 149 percent since 1976—but by only 47 percent since 2010.

Many of the foreigners enroll at Western universities through programs funded by their governments. Indeed, this month a British investigation into concerns that foreigners were exploiting higher education as a way of getting work in the country found that the vast majority of them were, in fact, bona fide students.

Expertise gained from books and television is fine, but woefully inadequate for people who make decisions about foreign and security policy. Yes, well-trained U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers send good information back to Washington. Even they, though, suffer from the same cultural myopia as their graduate-student brethren, often serving in foreign countries whose languages they don’t speak.

Indeed, many a diplomat seems to prefer life inside the embassy compound than out in the field. And even the most insightful diplomatic dispatches are of little use if the recipients back home possess a Washington-centric view of the world. There are many people in recent U.S. administrations who would have benefited massively from living in other countries.

Granted, new espionage legislation in Russia and China makes living there daunting for Americans and other Westerners. But it’s still possible. And there are countless other countries future U.S. officials ought to know from more than reading and remote viewing.

“Make area studies cool again,” as the Daily Princetonian headline urged. Amen to that—and to real knowledge about other countries. Not because such knowledge needs a “cool” label, but because it’s indispensable.

[tonyglowheart]

Chinese people astound me with their like sense of community and etc. Like, there are hometown associations, alumni associations, and they like. actually have communications and events and such. Like, do Americans do that abroad? or are they just too busy with insular "expat" communes or etc lol

[pissingonmonarchy]

Creating an exit plan to become an expatriate (expat) from the United States involves a series of steps, from researching destinations to managing financial and legal obligations. Here’s a general outline to help guide you through the process:

1. Research Destination Countries

• Identify your criteria: Think about climate, cost of living, healthcare, quality of life, tax implications, and visa requirements. Consider how you want to spend your time abroad, like working, retiring, or starting a business.

• Narrow down options: Research countries that align with your criteria. For many Americans, countries in Europe, Central and South America, and parts of Asia are popular because of their expat-friendly environments.

2. Visit Potential Countries

• Plan exploratory trips: Spend a few weeks in each potential destination to experience the local lifestyle, cost of living, and culture firsthand. This can help confirm that a location fits your needs.

• Connect with local expats: Attend events or join expat communities to get insights into life in each country.

3. Understand Visa and Residency Requirements

• Research visa options: Each country has its own set of visa options, like work visas, retirement visas, digital nomad visas, and investment visas. Determine which one aligns with your goals.

• Plan for long-term residency: Many countries offer paths to permanent residency or citizenship. Find out the requirements and start the application process if your target country allows.

4. Prepare Financially

• Create a budget: Factor in moving costs, cost of living, healthcare, taxes, and emergency savings. Make sure your finances will support your lifestyle abroad.

• Understand tax obligations: U.S. citizens must file taxes regardless of where they live. Research your obligations and consider consulting an accountant with experience in expat tax law.

• Set up local bank accounts: Find out if you’ll need a local bank account and research how to transfer money internationally efficiently.

5. Secure Healthcare Coverage

• Look into healthcare options: Some countries offer affordable healthcare, while others may require private insurance. Explore local healthcare systems and check if your target country offers expat health insurance.

• Assess your U.S. healthcare: If you need continued U.S.-based healthcare coverage (like Medicare, which generally doesn’t cover you abroad), consider how you’ll handle medical needs.

6. Tie Up Loose Ends in the U.S.

• Handle legal and financial matters: Consider creating a will, assigning a power of attorney, and updating your legal documents.

• Manage property and assets: Decide whether you’ll rent out, sell, or keep your home and other properties.

• Notify institutions: Inform banks, creditors, insurance companies, and other relevant institutions about your move to avoid complications.

7. Learn the Language and Culture

• Study the local language: Even a basic understanding of the language will help with daily interactions, especially in less expat-heavy areas.

• Understand cultural norms: Adjusting to new customs and social norms will make integration smoother and more enjoyable.

8. Build a Support Network

• Join online communities: Many social media groups exist for expats in various countries. Being part of these groups can ease the transition.

• Stay connected to home: Plan regular calls with family and friends to help with homesickness and maintain relationships.

9. Make the Move

• Arrange for the physical move: Plan your relocation, including moving your belongings, storing items you’re leaving behind, and booking flights.

• Settle into your new home: Take time to get acquainted with your surroundings, set up essential services, and register with local authorities if required.

10. Maintain Flexibility

• Give yourself an adjustment period: The initial months can be a mix of excitement and culture shock. Allow time for adaptation.

• Have an exit strategy: Keep a backup plan in case you decide to return to the U.S. or move to another country in the future.

By planning each step carefully, you’ll create a smooth transition from the U.S. to your new country. Let me know if you’d like specific country recommendations or further details on any step!

[siderealscribblings]

LeBlanc Coffee and Curry Honolulu, Hawaii 

Jimmy Tanaka’s Japanese was godawful, but he had grandparents that lived in Okinawa so Sojiro made an effort to help him practice. He had done so much evil in his life that a handful of good deeds would do little to cleanse his soul, but Sojiro hoped that the occasional act of kindness would at least earn him a kinder form of damnation. 

Jimmy spoke Japanese with all the hallmarks of a young man alienated from his parents’ culture, drawing out the u in Sojiro’s last name until it sounded like he was saying “Sah-KOO-rah” despite his gentle admonishments. Still, he was a breath of fresh air among the aging Japanese expats and locals that typically flooded his cafe. They would cluster around the front stoop, grousing about tourists and playing cards while they smoked and waited for their orders to arrive.  It wasn’t too popular; Sojiro never made it a point to advertise. Advertising invited unwanted attention, which Sojiro had avoided successfully for years. 

Hiding in a bustling tourist city on American soil offered him more protection than hunkering down in a bolt-hole somewhere in Japan. S.E.E.S. might be bold enough to march armed into hell, but not bold enough to provoke a response from the United States. The rather liberal Yankee gun-policy meant that Sojiro could reliably stow a weapon under his register without too many eyebrows being raised. He had never been a field operative and would likely die in any fair gunfight. But he kept it meticulously oiled and loaded and never far from reach. The other shoe was going to drop someday, and Sojiro would be ready for it when it finally did. 

Until then, he had work to do; at home, and at the restaurant slinging plates of warm curry and hot coffee. 

“Jimmy, order for Table 2!” Sojiro called in Japanese, sliding two katsu curry plates onto a tray and ringing the doorbell. 

“Table…” The young man’s brow furrowed, trying to remember his Japanese. “Ah, naruhodo!” 

Do you really? Sojiro thought, watching the young man walk to Tables 3, 4, and 5 before finally remembering what the Japanese word for two was. Then again Sojiro’s English was only adequate after nearly a decade abroad. Between the two of them, they had enough English and Japanese experience to carry on a full conversation in two broken languages. 

“You get the overseas news, Sa-ku-ra-san?” Jimmy asked as he returned behind the counter. 

“Nah…been busy,” Sojiro grunted in English, cracking open a glass coke bottle and taking a sip. Synthesizing baalsulfuric aether with components outside the Metaverse was impossible, so naturally it took a whole week of sleepless nights to figure out how to do it. “Anything interesting?” 

“Some hella yabai stuff going on,” Jimmy whistled. “Bunch of…uh… thieves?” 

“Thieves?” Sojiro snorted. “What did they steal?” 

“Nothing yet; they’re like crazy, uh… hacker thieves,” Jimmy said after a moment of fumbling with the pronunciation. “Took over a radio station or something I guess; started making threats to the police and a bunch of famous people.” 

“That so?” Sojiro chuckled. Everyone is a drama queen these days. 

“They got a couple of babes with them though,” Jimmy said, scrolling through his phone and pulling up an image clipped from one of the broadcasts. “Check out the blonde in the catsuit.” 

Sojiro sighed, leaning over to look at Jimmy’s phone for a moment before turning back to the stove. “She’s a bit young for me, but I guess she’s up your- wait! ” 

Panic raced through Sojiro as he suddenly reached out and grabbed Jimmy’s phone before he could tuck it away. “Let me see that again.” 

Jimmy’s smirk spread as he passed Sojiro the phone. “Told ya she was hot…though the chick in the biker gear has some nice legs too.” 

Sojiro was half listening, eyes tracing the lines of glowing energy that snaked under the thieves’ masks in disbelief. “H-How long have they been robbing people?! Have they appeared in public or just on the news?! When did they show up?!” 

“Uh…” Jimmy blinked, struggling with the flood of Japanese. “I don’t really know…maybe a few weeks, or so ago? The forums are all buzzing with gossip but- hey!” 

“Watch the shop!” Sojiro called over his shoulder, grabbing his pistol and tucking it into the waistband of his slacks. “And send me that link!” 

Sojiro heard his protegee call something back to him but couldn’t hear what over the pounding in his own ears. The afternoon sun cast long shadows on the sidewalk as he made it towards his car parked in a side-alley. He whipped out a pocket mirror, carefully inspecting the undercarriage for misplaced wiring or lumpy blocks of C4 before sliding into the driver’s seat and tearing out onto the main road. 

Traffic was infuriatingly dense on the way back to his unassuming white house tucked away in the corner of an unassuming neighborhood. The money from his previous career could have furnished beachfront property, yet the small, overgrown home far away from the tourist spots had been perfect. Neighbors were friendly, but old, blind, and hard of hearing; if the gadget in the basement blew up, it would only kill those who had lived full lives already. Heavy iron bars rattled on the front door as Sojiro’s hands shook trying to open it, the eye of a single security camera following him into the house as he slammed and bolted the door behind him. 

"Hey!" Sojiro called into the house. "Get up here; you need to see this!" 

Read More...

Start from the Beginning

[fizzingwizard]

Watching more of those Jubilee videos. Lots of things stick out to me but there's one recurring theme that drives me crazy, which is American exceptionalism.

Anyone with conservative values in the vids is eventually going to bring up how whatever the issue at hand is, it can't be "as bad" as liberals make it out to be because "America is the best country in the world." America is the "only" country where you can be free, where you can work, where you can Make It. All other countries only wish they were America so for any American to want "hand-outs" or regulations or federal laws to support them, it only proves that they're lazy and playing the victim. Because obviously it's impossible for any American to not be able to work for their dream. (It's also interesting to me that these people know that that does not mean the dream will actually be achieved by working for it... but they still act as if it will. This one woman just argued than anyone who doesn't like policies in their home state can just leave it, and that if they can't afford to, they can work to be able to afford to, and flatly dismissed the idea that anyone could exist who works and is still not able to afford moving and thus is at the mercy of those policies - policies that this woman herself claims she hates.)

Even the liberals aren't immune to this. Some of them will be like, "America leads the world," and that's why we need policy X or whatever. America does have a lot of clout in the international arena - my international coworkers were even more invested in the US election than I was - but what I get from the people I know is an atmosphere of fear. "How will this one overpowered country affect our homes in ways we did not ask for?" That's the vibe.

By moving overseas, I entered an expat community of people around the world. Currently I do not have even one American friend here in Japan. My boyfriend is Irish. My community is Koreans, Jamaicans, Australians, Filipinos, Ukrainians, Chinese... And despite their cultural differences, they all laugh over one thing: "make America great again." Even the Brits do it. They ALSO all talk shit about this own political system back home. But they also all love their home countries. There are complicated relationships with national identity across the board. But they're not staring at me with envy. In general it's quite the opposite.

I desperately wish more Americans could live abroad for a chunk of time (sorry to inflict that on the rest of the world, but). Living abroad has not made me any smarter or better than anyone else. But I do think it's cured me of American-style super-patriotism (idk what else to call it - hopefully not nationalism? :P).

The conservatives in these videos seem to love the weaknesses of other countries but absolutely do not want to contribute to helping them overcome those weaknesses. They like to point out how terrible life is "over there" so people over here can't feel justified in wanting more, but they also want to bar refugees from entry. (Paraphrasing - in one video a conservative guy laments that we don't do more to help refugees and the other conservatives reply "What's bad about that??") And if you point out things other countries do well, they're ready to point out all the ways those countries are also wrong which of course proves there's nothing worth learning from them! My gosh.

(These videos are definitely a mixed batch - some are really awful and it's clear no one involved came with an intention to understand anyone else. Others are decently productive and I still find them interesting. But yeah the stubborn, self-righteous people, regardless of which side they're on, are exhaustingggg.)

[fartshals]

so apparently theres quite a few american "expats" in my grandpa's town and they were making a democrats abroad event. the mayor made fun of them saying theyre choosing who will give all their tax money to israel next and they got offended and asked for apologies and he said he is sorry for saying for the truth.

LMAO why would they even organize something like that abroad

[musiqjukebox]

Tiffany Heard, Founder of Hues of Africa: Journey Between the Lines & Hues of HBCUs

Tiffany Heard is from Los Angeles, California and is a proud graduate of Howard University, where she obtained a Masters of Social Work. She has currently traveled the world to over 20 countries and gives back selflessly by volunteering abroad. Ms. Heard is a content creator who discusses and documents her solo vacations on the travel blog. Tiffany is the author of Hues of Africa: Journey Between…

[addictedtostorytelling]

This is a silly question, but how do you think GSR approach their (hypothetical) childrens' education? My friends and I used to joke that the fact that Sara doesn't drop that she went to Harvard multiple times per episode means that she didn't fully drink the koolaid!

hi, anon!

so speaking very broadly, i think education is something grissom and sara consider important.

after all, they both value knowledge and its pursuit very highly and are both themselves educated, with multiple degrees between them.

that so, i believe they would most likely encourage any hypothetical child or children of theirs to take learning seriously and (with few exceptions) pursue higher education.

that said, i think a lot of the particulars on how they’d educate their kid(s) would probably be dependent on situational variables.

—which means i ultimately have more questions than answers in regards to this topic.

if you're willing to hang with me for a good, ol' fashioned ramble, i've got one after the "keeping reading," if you're interested.

__

to start off, just the “when and where?” of it all probably would make a big difference in grissom and sara’s choices.

for example, if they have and/or adopt said hypothetical kid(s) while they’re living in vegas and both still working at the crime lab, then they’d have to choose between sending said kid(s) to public school or private school or homeschooling them.

honestly, the las vegas public school system is one of the worst in the nation and has been for a very long time (stretching all the way back to when grissom and sara might have hypothetically first been welcoming their kid[s] into their family, circa 2005 or 2006).

knowing how bad the public schools are in sin city, they might opt not to send their kid(s) there. however, if they’re both still working the night shift at the lab, homeschooling likely wouldn’t be on the table as a choice for them (just given their hours), meaning they’d probably have to find a private school. but the vast majority of private schools in the us are religiously-affiliated, and they’re not religious. so just looking at secular private schools or charters, their options would fairly limited (particularly in the early 2000s, before the “alternative school” boom).

maybe they might choose a more stem-focused charter school. however, they also both love and value the humanities, so they also might not want to bar their kid(s) from getting a more rounded/liberal education, especially early in their development.

could they afford a pricey private institution, like the fictional butterfield academy where catherine eventually sends lindsey (see episode 05x19 “4 x 4”)?

catherine can only really afford that tuition with help from her casino mogul father, and grissom and sara aren’t in sam braun’s same income tax bracket by any means, so if they couldn’t find a school they ultimately liked and/or could afford, what would they do? would they go as far as to move—perhaps even out of state—in order to obtain better educational opportunities for their kid(s)? go a more nontraditional route, like enrolling their kid(s) in online coursework or hiring a private tutor?

of course, their whole situation and set of choices might be very different if their kid(s) were born and/or adopted and reached school-age while they were living abroad in costa rica or paris.

would they, living as expats, choose to enroll their kid(s) in their nation of residence’s school system—so, for example, in france, the école élémentaire—and have them educated in the local language, or would they seek out an international school where the kid(s) would be taught primarily in english and on a more “americanized” system?

once the kid(s) were older, would they encourage them to take ib courses? have them apply for college in the country where they’d been raised/educated or return “home” to the states to attend an american university?, etc.

if they became parents during the “sara lives in vegas while grissom lives abroad” period of canonical s10-s13, how might they go about things then?

i'm fairly certain the second they realized sara was pregnant and/or had the inclination to adopt, they’d pretty much immediately quit the whole “living on separate continents” bullshit and choose to settle all in one place as a family.

but what place—in the states or abroad?

might the educational options of both nations play a role in where they ultimately decided to live?

for example, france has one of the best education systems in the world.

and in the odd event that they had an “oops” kid or kids while they were living aboard the ishmael—a scenario i consider somewhat unlikely, just given sara’s age by that point—what might they do then?

in all honesty, i can’t really see them deciding to keep their kid(s) full-time on the boat because they’re not assholes like this girl’s parents were just due to the sheer difficulty of trying to educate a child or children while living a nomadic lifestyle on the open ocean. i think the second their child(ren) reached school-age, they’d realize their year-round seafaring days were over, at least for the time being, and would choose to settle down somewhere on land, perhaps only spending summers on the boat (treating it like a floating science summer camp for their kid[s], a la the voyage of the mimi).    

but who knows?

maybe i'm wrong and they’d just choose to homeschool their kid(s) while continuing to sail and conduct their research.

after all, they are both—as polymath geniuses with multiple graduate degrees between them—qualified to teach.

of course, even outside of the issue of where they'd be living at the time when their kid(s) began school, there are other factors which might influence their decisions.

one factor that might affect their decision-making would be the number of children they ultimately had and what the spacing between the kids were like if they had more than one.

for example, it's easier to homeschool two kids who are close in age than it is to homeschool two kids who are close in age and then the "oops" baby of the family who is eight years younger than everybody else; it's more feasible to pay for one kid to attend a pricey private school than to pay for two kids to do so; though moving to a new state for the sake of better public schools might not be something you'd consider with just one kid, doing so when you have four kids (and you can't afford private school for all of them) could be an imperative; if one of your kids requires special ed. services that aren't offered in your public school district of residence, you might choose to send all of your kids to a charter school where such services are available, just to keep them all together; etc.

another—related—factor would be finances.

obviously, kids cost money, and the more kids you have, the more money they cost.

even just having one kid can be spendy.

that so, not only might their financial situation affect what kinds of schooling they chose for their kid(s) when they were young, but it might also come to bear when their kid(s) reached college-age.

depending on when said kid(s) were born and/or adopted, they might end up graduating high school either circa or after the point when grissom was retired, at which time their family might be down to sara’s single income, supplemented by grissom’s savings/social security payments.

while i have no doubt but that grissom and sara would likely have opened a college fund for their kid(s) the moment they realized sara was pregnant and/or they started considering adoption, given that college costs have risen exponentially over the course of the last two decades and are still continuing to rise, they still might not be able to fully foot that bill, particularly if they ended up having multiple kids and/or their kid(s) intended to attend pricier schools (like, say, harvard).

it's worth noting: we don’t know almost anything about grissom and sara’s financial situation in show canon. my impression is that while they’re both still living in vegas and even when they’re doing the “split-living situation” thing between s10 and s13, by early to mid-2000s standards, they’re more or less middle-class (perhaps on the upper end of that tier, considering they are, in canon, dinks); however, it’s harder to gauge where they’re at during their ishmael days. are they living on grant money? savings? investments? inheritance from betty? do they have any kind of regular income?

of course, if the kid(s) took after mom and dad, they might earn full-ride scholarships to any university of their choosing.

but that’s another thing:

even though there is a fairly good likelihood that, given grissom and sara’s genes, any biological kid(s) of theirs would be “academically inclined,” perhaps even to the genius level, we can’t necessarily assume that such would be the case.

for one thing, if the kid(s) were adopted, they might have different educational aptitudes than grissom and sara.

for another, even if the kid(s) were biological, they still might not necessarily inherit grissom and sara’s bookishness.

in either case, there might be learning disabilities involved or possible mental health issues.

that so, it’s not just a matter of course that any kid(s) grissom and sara were to have would earn scholarships to college, full-ride or otherwise; grissom and sara might end up having to pay out of pocket for their kid(s) to pursue a higher education.

their kid(s) also might not ultimately pursue higher education at all, either due to disinterest or due to academic ineligibility.

honestly, it would be really interesting to see how grissom and sara would respond to having a kid or kids who weren’t as academically inclined as they are.

how might they deal with a report card filled with c+ and b- (or even lower) grades? with a child who hated to read or had trouble with math? with a soon-to-be-high-school graduate whose gpa qualified them for community college only? with a son or a daughter who came to them and said, “mom, dad, i don’t think i want to go to attend any kind of university at all”?

while i have supreme trust in their ability to love the kid(s) they have as they are and to eventually adjust their expectations and support their kid(s) down whatever life path they ultimately ended up following, i also think it might initially be difficult for them to wrap their heads around having a kid or kids who just weren’t as schoolish as they are.

learning and education are so important to them and are central to their identities; they might find it difficult to even conceptualize what kind of life their child(ren) would have taking an alternative route.

in any case, if they had a kid or kids who didn’t qualify for scholarships but still planned to attend college, it might pose their family some financial difficulty, especially if grissom were already retired by that point.

unless we assume they had an accidental love baby during the san francisco days (between 1998 and 2000)—again, a scenario i consider to be fairly unlikely—then most probably any children they had biologically and/or adopted would be born and/or join their household between 2005 at the earliest and around 2020 at the latest, meaning they would reach college-age sometime between 2023 and 2038. meanwhile, grissom would reach retirement age circa 2023.

of course, just like it may be true that grissom and sara’s children might not follow in their academic footsteps, it also could be the case that, conversely, they would follow in them.

both grissom and sara graduated high school early—grissom at age fifteen, sara at age sixteen—and attended university while still minors.

it's possible their kids could do the same, in which case our timeline might move up a bit.

in the event their kid(s) were admitted early to university, then a scholarship of some kind would most likely be on the table.

it might therefore be possible for them to not only send multiple kids to college—if they had them—but to also send them to really good schools.

so how would they approach the issue of school choice?

sara attended harvard for her undergrad and uc berkeley for her master’s degree (and possibly an unfinished phd). meanwhile, grissom—most likely—attended ucla for undergrad and uc davis for his phd.

by the way, i know this post isn’t really the place for it, but i want to mention: back in the day, fans commonly used to believe that grissom had attended the university of chicago for his phd, citing what seemed to be a diploma on his office wall from that institution as proof. however, upon close inspection of the document, one can see that it is an honorary certificate from the society of vector ecology, a real-life professional organization for persons who study “nuisance organisms and disease vectors” (including insects), and is not actually a degree of any kind.

perhaps somewhat unrealistically, neither one of them ever talks much about their educational backgrounds on the show, so we really don’t really have a feel for how they regard their respective alma maters. do they have any school spirit or (as you suspect, in sara’s case) are they perhaps more lukewarm concerning those particular ties?

without knowing, we can only conjecture: would they insist that their kid(s) “follow in their footsteps” and attend the same schools where they are themselves alumni? if so, which school(s) would they insist upon? would mom or dad’s affiliations win out?

it is worth noting being a “legacy student” does often help with admissions, particularly at ivy league schools. for example, every year, about 30% of harvard admits are legacy students.

alternatively, would they be open to their kid(s) attending schools they hadn’t attended themselves or perhaps even encourage them to do so? if so, would they have any expectations regarding what types of schools were on the table—for example, “you have to pick an ivy league university” or “no state schools” or “anywhere but yale”?

what if, by this time, grissom had retired from criminalistics and had taken a teaching job somewhere?

in canon, grissom teaches at both williams college in massachusetts and the sorbonne in france.

what if he were on faculty at one of those schools when his and sara’s kid(s) came of college-age or else was teaching at some other university then?

tenured faculty members often receive discounted or even free tuition for their children at the institutions where they teach.

were they afforded such a benefit, would grissom and sara make their kid(s) attend the same school where grissom were teaching, just as a matter of cutting educational costs?

what about a school where uncle greg were located (as it is suggested in the reboot that he is pursuing a phd in chicago with the intention to someday become a professor)?

if their kid(s) did qualify for scholarships—meaning cost were not an issue—might location factor into the decision-making process?

as an undergrad, sara attended a school literally on the other side of the country from where she’d grown up (probably at least somewhat by design).

however, grissom stuck relatively close to home.

if he indeed matriculated at ucla, then he went to school about 12 miles away from his hometown of marina del rey.

would grissom and sara give their kid(s) free rein to attend school anywhere in the country or perhaps even internationally, or would they want them to stick closer to home (wherever "home" happened to be)?

what about the issue of picking majors once their kid(s) were enrolled?

again, though one might easily assume that any biological child of grissom and sara’s would likely be science-minded like them, they might end up having a kid or kids (either adopted or biological) who were more into the humanities.

would they be cool with their child(ren) declaring a photography major or ending up with an mfa in art history? they both themselves enjoy the arts and culture and are very literary. however, the “family business” is science. so would they try to shepherd their kid(s) in that direction? or would they give them the choice to follow whatever their own academic bliss were?

anyway, all of the above rambling is to say that i don’t think there is necessarily a “one-size fits all” answer to your question.

the way grissom and sara approached how they educated their kid(s) would likely depend on myriad factors; they might choose to go in one direction in scenario a and to go in another direction in scenario b, you know?

like i said up top, i do think their instinct would always be to encourage their kid(s) to seek as much education as possible.

both grissom and sara are excellent teachers and constantly ply each other with trivia and fun facts. their “family culture” even as a childless couple in canon is one that is built around the pursuit and exchange of knowledge. even just the way their condo is set up in s8 shows their extensive curiosity for the world.

that so, i imagine theirs would be a household where they would constantly be reading to their kid(s) and having their kid(s) read back to them once they were old enough, where they’d have science experiments spread out across the countertops and art projects displayed proudly on the fridge, where weekend outings would frequently be to museums and historical sites and national parks, where they’d max out on the library book check-out limit each week, where there’d be art supplies and modeling kits and alphabet blocks and magnetic numbers strewn across the playroom floor, where solving riddles would be a favored dinnertime activity, where stumping dad with a “did you know—?” question or beating mom on a mental math problem would be a badge of honor, where inventing a secret cypher for writing notes or solving a massive jigsaw puzzle would frequently be the pursuit of an afternoon, etc., etc., etc.

grissom and sara would probably be very involved with their kid’s or kids’ k-12 schooling, helping them out with homework and science fair projects, going in for parent-teacher meetings, attending extracurricular activities, and just generally being incredibly “hands on” regarding their academic progress.

if there were a class or subject area their kid(s) struggled with, they would probably try tutoring (either with themselves acting as the tutors or else someone they hired).

they would probably also very much encourage independent learning, outside of the school curriculum.

they would likely assume, unless something forced them to consider otherwise, that a college education for their child(ren) were an eventuality—not an "if" but rather a "when."

if it turned out that their kid(s) were not interested or able to pursue higher education, they’d have to shift that paradigm.

and in a such a case, i suspect they’d very much want their kid[s] to develop some kind of skill or learn a trade, if possible.

however, otherwise, i think they’d do everything in their power to give their kid(s) an opportunity to pursue higher education.

in scenarios where their kid(s) were interested in and qualified for higher education, grissom and sara would probably want them to attend the best universities open to them. however, i think they could also be prevailed upon to accept their kid(s) going to less prestigious institutions if it turned out that said institutions somehow suited them better (particularly since i believe that while sara enjoyed harvard immensely academically, she also likely struggled there socially, so she probably understands that a top school doesn’t necessary equal best fit).

if their kid(s) wanted to go to a school that were closer to home, say, or one where they felt a better cultural fit—even if it weren’t on the forbes top 25 list—they would likely be supportive.

they might likewise consider having their kid(s) attend a school where grissom were teaching, particularly if doing so represented the best financial option for their family.

they would also likely be thrilled if their kid(s) eventually went on to graduate school, though i don’t think they’d expect or require them to.

honestly, for as science-minded as they both are, i think they’d be supremely chill about their kid(s) studying subjects other than science. while of course they’d be overjoyed to have another scientist in the family, i think they could be equally as excited about their kid(s) pursuing a degree in history or art or a language.

considering betty’s background as an art dealer, it might make grandma very happy if her grandkid ended up pursuing an art degree, too.

i believe they also could be supportive of their kid(s) going in an entirely different direction like engineering or computer science or veterinary medicine or physical therapy or what have you.

i suspect grissom and sara would do as much as they could to support their kid’s or kids’ education financially.

like i said, i think the second they got back a positive pregnancy test or were approved for an adoption, they’d start putting money away into a college fund.

if their kid(s) went on to secure scholarships, then that money could end up as a gift and/or nest egg.

however, depending on circumstances, the money might not be enough to cover an entire college education (and particularly not if they had multiple kids), in which case, either they or their kid(s) might have to take out some loans.

honestly, i think they’d try as much as possible to avoid having their kid(s) take on too much student loan debt themselves (and especially since sara likely knows from experience what it is like to be in that situation, having no financial support from parents).

grissom might end up working past retirement age in order to avoid that outcome.

regardless of where their kid(s) attended school, i have no doubt but grissom and sara would be proud af of them when they graduated—even if it were ultimately from a trade program or a two-year school.

ultimately, i think the main thing they’d want for their kid(s) even beyond any particular degree or educational accolades would just be for them to always want to keep learning, no matter the field or format, you know?

of course, i have some pretty specific plans for grissom and sara’s educational choices as parents in the accidentsverse, but those count as #spoilers, so.

anyway.

enough broad rambling from me!

thanks for question! please feel welcome to send another any time.