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Do you dream of moving overseas? Perhaps to the South Pacific or Caribbean? When we lived in American Samoa many people would accept government contracts pretty much sight unseen. Upon accepting a position soon to be new government employees would sell every possession they owned and pack up and move to Polynesia.

While this methodology worked for some, primarily those who had lived overseas before, quite a few people would show up for their new life and quickly become disillusioned. A very common discussion topic among the expat community would include who was coming, how long do you think they will stay, and who was leaving. We never averaged out the career length of contracted labor but I think the typical stay for a two-year contract agreement was probably one year (and that is being generous).

The absolute record holder for the shortest contract appointment was a man who had been hired by the Marine Affairs division of American Samoa. I don’t know his name but he came in on the Wednesday evening Hawaiian Air flight. Typically, the flight would turn around and head back to Hawaii on the same evening but for some reason the plane stayed in American Samoa and was scheduled to leave the next day. Well, the guy, who is now a justifiable legend among American Samoa expats, got back on the plane on Thursday morning and left, for good. In total, I believe he spent a maximum of 12 hours in Pago Pago and then he was gone.

Certainly, it was not American Samoa’s fault he probably just realized he had gotten himself into a different situation than the South Pacific fantasy he had created in his mind before coming.

If you are thinking about moving overseas and can afford it PLEASE take a trip and spend some time in the country that you are planning to move to. Sometimes the reality of a country is not what the soon to be expat dreams about. A tremendous amount of frustration and wasted energy can be avoided if a pre-move trip is made.