I can't imagine it. Well, actually I can, and I see a much more difficult - and expensive - life abroad. I think the ability to receive online shipments by DPO must keep our COLA down significantly. I've blogged before about how surprised I was at the cost of food here. But it's not just food ... it's also normal daily life things like durable mops and Crocs for the boys.
Case point. I've spent about a month looking at the grocery and hardware stores every weekend for a replacement sponge mop. Most of the mops sold here are the straggly rope kind, which I think end up flinging around more dirt than they actually pick up. Though the dust here isn't as bad as India, it's still at a higher level than the US. Match that with two boys constantly running in and outside, and a dog, and the house should be mopped every other day. You see how critical a mop is to our house! Today I broke down and ordered one from Amazon. Same with Crocs for the boys - since the local Croc stores don't carry lime green (the only color Wm will accept) and have a price mark up of 30%.
I really try to keep online shopping to a minimum. I feel like it's cheating, taking the easy way out to living abroad. After all, most expats don't have the luxury of DPO (diplomatic post office - the foreign service equivalent of APO or armed services post office), though perhaps some companies offer a forwarding service for letters and small packages. These other families seem to manage just fine with just taking an extra suitcase when they do go back to the States.
I sometimes wish some 70 year old retired foreign service officer could spend a year abroad now and write about the differences. How would my outlook change without Amazon.com, Vonage, and Google Chat (better connection at our house than Skype)? What was it like living in a really rural area 40 years ago with only letters - and delivery of those only once per week at best?
Part of me thinks trying out that life style would be an interesting experiment, along the lines of a PBS reality series where a family tries to live as in Victorian times. (I haven't seen this, but some friends were discussing it). I won't, of course; the Internet is too ubiquitous to give up for a month.
Case point. I've spent about a month looking at the grocery and hardware stores every weekend for a replacement sponge mop. Most of the mops sold here are the straggly rope kind, which I think end up flinging around more dirt than they actually pick up. Though the dust here isn't as bad as India, it's still at a higher level than the US. Match that with two boys constantly running in and outside, and a dog, and the house should be mopped every other day. You see how critical a mop is to our house! Today I broke down and ordered one from Amazon. Same with Crocs for the boys - since the local Croc stores don't carry lime green (the only color Wm will accept) and have a price mark up of 30%.
I really try to keep online shopping to a minimum. I feel like it's cheating, taking the easy way out to living abroad. After all, most expats don't have the luxury of DPO (diplomatic post office - the foreign service equivalent of APO or armed services post office), though perhaps some companies offer a forwarding service for letters and small packages. These other families seem to manage just fine with just taking an extra suitcase when they do go back to the States.
I sometimes wish some 70 year old retired foreign service officer could spend a year abroad now and write about the differences. How would my outlook change without Amazon.com, Vonage, and Google Chat (better connection at our house than Skype)? What was it like living in a really rural area 40 years ago with only letters - and delivery of those only once per week at best?
Part of me thinks trying out that life style would be an interesting experiment, along the lines of a PBS reality series where a family tries to live as in Victorian times. (I haven't seen this, but some friends were discussing it). I won't, of course; the Internet is too ubiquitous to give up for a month.
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