We moved from the US to a Greek island. Here are 5 pros and cons of raising a kid abroad.

Whereas West lived in Houston, she hardly knew her neighbors and infrequently spoke with them. And whereas she had mates, planning was tough, particularly given the quantity of effort and time it took to get one thing on the calendar.

In Syros, West mentioned, she’s lastly been capable of construct a neighborhood.

“I might say one of many greatest professionals, a minimum of for us, is the neighborhood that we have now right here, from different digital nomad and expat households to the native households,” she mentioned. “The neighborhood is one thing that my daughter will get to develop up with. It is so particular and every part I might have hoped for.”

In Syros, the island’s small measurement makes it simpler for her to see mates repeatedly. On a typical day, she typically runs into somebody she is aware of whereas strolling round city.

“We stumble upon one another within the streets, , and will go, ‘oh, let’s go play tomorrow, or let’s meet up for espresso,'” West mentioned. “It is a lot simpler to make plans and for us to be in neighborhood with individuals.”

West and her husband need their daughter to develop up feeling linked to Greek culture relatively than like “an outsider,” and so they see studying the language as an essential a part of that.

They have been serving to her develop her Greek abilities by encouraging her to talk with locals, watch Greek reveals, and skim Greek books.

“At first, she noticed it as a unfavourable factor that she was studying Greek,” West mentioned. “Now, she’s much more receptive and will get actually excited each time she makes a neighborhood pal who speaks Greek.”

This 12 months, her daughter will begin at a private school the place lecturers will primarily communicate Greek, although they’ll translate for English-speaking college students.

“I fear that as she will get settled into college, talking Greek will probably be actually tough for her, however on the identical time, I am grateful that we’re beginning it at such a younger age as a result of I do assume that she’ll adapt approach sooner,” West mentioned.

As her daughter learns Greek, West mentioned she’ll even be maintaining a tally of her English abilities. It is a concern many different English-speaking mothers on the island share.

“It is so fascinating as a result of we have been actually centered on our children feeling comfy and assured talking Greek, however now we’re like, ‘Perhaps they’re forgetting English,'” she mentioned.

One purpose the household determined to relocate to Europe was the benefit of touring to different nations. This month alone, they visited Lisbon, Venice, and Paris.

“She’s solely 4, and we simply bought accomplished visiting her twentieth nation,” West mentioned. “She’s being uncovered to customs, cultures, meals, and experiences earlier than she even reads about them in a textbook.”

From listening to the Name to Prayer in Turkey to seeing the northern lights in Iceland, West’s younger daughter has already skilled extra of the world than many individuals do in a lifetime.

West mentioned these experiences have helped her daughter perceive early on that individuals stay, eat, worship, and transfer by the world in several methods.

“It is all the time the issues that you do not assume are going to stay together with her,” she added. “I really like that she is seeing so many alternative methods of doing issues.”

For West, residing overseas additionally means elevating her daughter removed from household. It is a main concern for her, particularly as a result of her daughter is an solely little one.

“I fear typically that she is lacking out on issues taking place again within the states with my husband’s and my household, and that she is probably not as near sure relations like her cousins again dwelling,” she mentioned.

To assist keep these bonds and sustain with milestones in everybody’s lives, West makes positive they repeatedly FaceTime with household.

“We simply be sure that’s a daily cadence for her, so she would not really feel that disconnect when she sees them in individual,” she mentioned. “And we additionally strive a minimum of every year to get again to the States as properly.”

West’s daughter was about 3 months outdated in 2022 when the Uvalde school shooting occurred. On the time, West and her husband had been residing in Houston, roughly 4 hours away. The tragedy pushed her to assume extra critically about the place her daughter would go to high school — and the way secure she could be.

“That, actually, for me, was the largest catalyst,” West mentioned. ” I used to be like, okay, we actually do must look into what it will be prefer to stay overseas, particularly someplace the place gun legal guidelines are far more restrictive.”

Greece has very strict gun legal guidelines, with firearm possession usually prohibited except a allow is issued by authorities. In Syros, West mentioned, life on the island feels “extremely secure.”