How to move abroad without speaking the local language

Adults can live in English longer than children can. That is the asymmetry that hurts.

In Dubai, Singapore-style international campuses, and parts of Bangkok, a parent can function in English and a child can attend school in English. The supermarket works. The immigration office often does not, which is why translations exist.

In Germany, Austria, and the public schools of Spain, Portugal, and Quebec, the child’s week is in the local language, or in the regional one. An international school postpones that. It does not remove Schulpflicht, and it does not remove a spouse’s A1 exam if the visa asks for one.

Budget a translator for the lease and the permit, and a language plan for the person who will be alone at the school gate. That person is usually not the one who took the job.

We will not tell you the language does not matter. We will tell you which parts of this particular city can be done in English for the first year, and which parts cannot.