1. We spend hundreds and even thousands of our own dollars to make each government-provided house overseas our own, only to have to do it all over again two or three years later.
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| My custom made couch covers and drapes |
Yes, absolutely, having a free home to live in is one of the biggest perks of the Foreign Service. We don't get to choose the house in most instances (there are specific residences for those positions which require representational events like Ambassadors and Deputy Chiefs of Mission); however, we usually get some say-so about whether we want an apartment or house and what section of the city we'd prefer to live in. That said, we get zero input on what the house looks like or how it is (or isn't) decorated. Depending where in the world your FS house is located, you might have marble floors and 12-foot ceilings; or you might have particle board cabinets and roach infestations. One thing is certain, though: Your house will most likely be absolutely filled to the brim with Drexel Heritage furniture.
Now, when I say it'll be "full," I mean that you will have every single piece of furniture they make in that model somewhere in your home. There will be little to no free space in your home for your own furniture, lamps, rugs, etc. And, more and more frequently, government warehouses at postings around the world are either refusing--or are just completely unable--to take items away. So that means that FS families have to get VERY creative; and, as most of you probably know already: creativity can get very expensive.
Now, I don't believe for a second that many families begrudge paying for accent pillows or even new curtains in their government owned/leased home or apartments. I know I don't. The problem, though, is that there is absolutely zero uniformity to the furniture used around the world or the size and number or windows; so these purchases are not just one-time purchases. Confused? Allow me to explain.
I told you before that the State Department furnishes almost all of its government-owned and leased properties with Drexel Heritage furniture. From what I understand, something like a sofa set will have a life span of around 12 years, give or take a year or two. Okay, fine. But not all posts are at the same point in the lifespan of their furniture. Styles, finishes, fabrics, etc. all change with the times, just like a designer releases a new fall line or spring line every year. Drexel Heritage will release a new line (probably yearly or so I would think) and the post who's on the end of their furniture's life cycle will just order "x" number of the entire new line to furnish the houses with. Those FSOs around the same rank will get new furniture that is all the same, just in a different house. Your rank decides if you get the middle of the road line or the higher end furniture. For instance, the Deputy Chief of Mission will have a more expensive line of furniture than an entry level officer. (Note to GSOs who might read this: I realize I may not be entirely accurate about the way it's done, but I'm trying to speak generally so those with zero FS knowlege will be able to to follow along.)
Here's the kicker, though. While it's happened that the new line looked exactly like the previous one but was just a different upholstery, it's also happened that it's an entirely different size, shape, and upholstery than the previous kind. This can be a huge disappointment for some of us. See, when everyone you associate with socially has the exact same furniture as you do, families try to decorate in a way that makes their identical life stand out from the rest. It can be difficult to move into a new place that you didn't choose--or decorate--feel like a real home. This involves purchasing things like custom made sofa covers that will fit that line of Drexel Heritage sofas and chairs.
Some of us pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to turn that hideous mustard yellow sofa into something that represents our family's personal style. That is a huge investment for families who don't make a lot to start with. Sometimes, you can get really lucky and PCS to a post that has the exact same sofa, and that sofa is at the very beginning of its lifespan; however, the reverse is also true. At our last post, we were finally at a point financially where we could have our own covers made, and we chose a color and style that wholly represented us; however, most posts are now using a totally different sofa line. Not only will I probably get to my next post and have to start all over again, but I'm also going to be stuck trying to find a place to store the beautiful sofa covers and curtains I can't even use. Why would I send those things to permanent storage when there is a minute chance I'll be able to use them again at some point? There's just no way of knowing what line your particular post will have when you get there; so we have to be like Cub Scouts and just always be prepared. We also have to be prepared to open our wallets for things like: slipcovers, paint, drawer handles, and removable wallpaper.
The incessant need to decorate our temporary houses so they feel like permanent homes is a big thing in the FS. We've all got our Drexel Heritage stories and have recently started Facebook sites on how to "hack" the Drexel! In the FS, the Drexel is like a box of chocolates: You never know what line you're gonna get!
The upside to all this decorating and redecorating? We rarely get bored with our decor!
2. It's possible that we might have to buy all new wardrobes when we PCS (Permanent Change of Station) from one post to another.
While it's not entirely common, some FSOs go from an extremely hot post to an extremely cold post. I'm pretty sure it goes without saying that it can wreak havoc on one's wardrobe budget, especially if your family is young and the FSO isn't making much money yet. My family was "lucky" enough to experience it between our first and second tours in Ecuador and Canada, and it nearly broke the bank. We went from 90+degree weather 365 days per year for two years to anywhere from 90+degrees to -40 degrees (a difference of 130 degrees) between the four seasons for two years.
Canada literally has every type of weather that Mother Nature can throw at you, and our closets had to reflect that. Since we were from Louisiana, a notoriously hot state in the U.S., before joining the Foreign Service, we barely owned any cold weather clothing. That meant I had to get very creative in order to dress the four of us with almost no money.
The one thing we had going for us was that we actually qualified for a clothing allowance, which is actually very difficult to qualify for. Each country around the world is rated from 1-3 based on their climate. One only qualifies for the clothing allowance when PCSing from a Level 1 country to a Level 3 country or vice versa. Since Ecuador was a Level 3 (one of the hottest), and Canada was a Level 1 post (one of the coldest), we each received something like $150 to purchase new clothing. When purchasing clothing in Canada, I guess it goes without saying that the money doesn't go very far. I was able to buy us each a coat and a pair of snow boots on sale, and we augmented sweaters and other various layers at places like Goodwill and other secondhand stores. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't fun, but we made it work as best we could. When you're in the FS, you just have to find a way to make do with what you have. You might be dressed a little funny (and very out of style), but at least you'll be warm!
3. We usually own like 42 spatulas and somewhere in the neighborhood of three Christmas trees.
When you move around a lot, you tend to accumulate a ridiculous amount of everyday items like spatulas and cutting boards. Your favorites always seem to be in transit to your new or next post or even in storage; so you buy cheap versions in order to get through your in-between times, like long-term language training in DC.
I think the worst and most stressful example of owning multiples of everything (and having to buy them all over again and again) is when it comes to Christmas trees and all the decorations and accoutrements that go along with the holiday season. Being in temporary housing is always a difficult challenge--especially when you have young children--but being in temp housing during the holidays can be a bear. We've bought--ballpark--five or so real and artificial trees, tree skirts, twinkle light sets, and coordinating, albeit cheap, ornament sets so that we can keep the Christmas spirit and tradition alive for our "third culture kids." I mean, you've already taken them away from the home, school, and friends they've known for three years; so you want to make the Christmas season really something special, right?
Considering the State Department will only pay to ship about 700 pounds of personal belongings from post to temp housing and back to post, we always find ourselves donating and even throwing out all of our Christmas decorations. See, I told you decorating gets expensive!
The kicker with the spatulas (you could also insert things like "wooden spoons," "Lego sets," "plastic hangers," or even "coffee makers" here and still remain true to the vein of this story) is that we literally have no idea how many we own or even how many we've bought over the last decade in the FS. We have old spatulas that went into storage when we first joined. We have those that never made it from Ecuador to Canada. We have those kitchen appliances that my Canadian movers told me I couldn't use in Albania. Then we have those that snuck into permanent storage, those that came with us to temp housing, and those that are in Antwerp awaiting our travel orders to Budapest. We have, I'd guess, either five or fifty. There's probably no in between.
That said, every time I go to IKEA, I usually buy a new spatula.
4. People don't realize that our Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) are some of the biggest patriots you're ever going to find.
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| The Washington Monument |
I think it would be safe to say that the majority of our FSOs could be making a LOT more money in the private sector. I've known people who left jobs on Wall Street, lobbying jobs, jobs in law, jobs in medicine, and so forth to begin a career in government service. The government tries to match salaries up to a certain point; but most, if not all, these people took a massive pay cut in order to serve. They joined the FS because they love their country, and they truly believe we live in the most wonderful country in the world. They want to keep it that way and help to make it ever better.
While there are certain perks to being an FSO, (the biggest being free housing) our diplomats do not uproot their entire lives and the lives of their families every two to three years in order to get rich; they do it out of a sense of patriotism and duty.
FSOs are some of the most loyal, honest, hardworking, and open-minded people you will ever meet. During the hiring process they're weeded out to be calm, diplomatic, and quick on their feet. Someone once told me that if our diplomats are worried, you should be too. I think that is a very true statement.
5. Having hobbies in the FS is extremely difficult.
Are you a crafter, a scrapbooker, or even a woodworker? If you are, please note that trying to continue your hobbies overseas in the FS can be very difficult. If you're like me, you go "all in" when you find something you really love to do and spend all of your extra money on your hobby. I was like that with bookbinding. I had at least fifty pounds of supplies that I took with me to Albania, and there was zero chance that I would find anything there related to my particular craft. In the end, I gave up my hobby. It's not that I couldn't send craft items through the DPO or even the diplomatic pouch; it's that, for me, part of my love for the paper and binding materials was visiting the store and touching the materials before I bought them.
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| One of my first handmade books |
My husband, on the other hand, began novice woodworking when we were at our second post. It was easier there because we were in Canada. Since Canada uses 110v, we didn't have to worry about things like voltage converters and burnt motors for his tools. It also helped that in Canada we had a large garage that my husband could use as a workshop. He was able to continue his woodworking in Albania, because the Embassy provided us with professional grade voltage converters; and we were lucky that our house had a garage again. My husband built lots of pieces, including a beautiful wooden kayak that he had to leave behind. (FYI--the State Department will allow you to put a motor cycle in your "household goods" shipment but not a boat. My husband knew that going into it.)
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| My husband's handmade kayak |
6. Owning pets in the FS can cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars and more than one migraine.
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| My dog Emmeline costs us thousands of dollars every move! |
It took us weeks to find a flight that could accommodate all three pets on the airplane in the middle of Summer. Just the cost of the flight for the pets was in the hundreds of dollars. But, before we could take the pets out of Albania, we had to spend a ton of money in veterinarian fees. All pets required shots, microchips, and health certifications in order to be able to fly. And that was only for the first leg of our journey. For the second leg, we weren't able to find a single plane that would be able to accommodate three pets; so we had to hire a pet shipper.
Now, let me tell you what: Pet shipping is where the money is at--just in case you're ever looking for a career change. Our pet shipper was waiting at baggage pick up for our two cats. It was a lightning quick transaction during a very short layover in DC. The shipper picked up the cats and kept them at his house overnight. The following day, he drove them a few miles to the Baltimore airport and put them on a plane to New Orleans. The cost of the whole thing? $1200! Will we get any of the money back? We honestly have no idea.
If you're anything like me, you're absolutely cringing as you read this. And the crazy part? We have to do this all over again in less than sixty days. The only thing that is in our favor this time is that we only have two remaining pets (we lost Tennyson the Cat to kidney disease a couple of months ago).
But, the truth is, we got off relatively easy. Some families pay thousands of dollars to transfer and import their pets to their new posts. If you have a 100+ pound dog and you're PCSing to west Africa, you could potentially be out $5000 or more. Then there are posts in countries which have strict quarantine laws. Some pets must remain in quarantine for up to six months. Who pays for that, you ask? Well, the FS family of course.
7. You can be rich at one post and barely make it check to check at the next.
Hardship posts can be great, well, hardships for families. But the one good thing they always have in common is the beloved Hardship Differential Pay. This can be anywhere from a 5%-35% pay increase depending on the level of hardship. Albania, during the time we lived there, was a 20% hardship post. I won't go into details about why it was such a hardship, but suffice it to say that the State Department has its reasons, and those reasons are all valid.
One of the great things about Tirana was that household help was absolutely affordable. That, coupled with the hardship differential and the fact that I was able to work, meant that we had a full-time helper in our home. I didn't have to clean toilets, wash clothes, iron, or cook; and we were doing so well that we were able to save a lot of money for a "rainy day." Well, living anywhere near DC can make for a "rainy" year.
That brings me to the topic of this bullet point. You can be almost rich at one post (usually a high differential post) and not even make it check to check at another post. That's where we find ourselves now. I'm not working while we live in Virginia--and I won't be able to get a well-paying job at the Embassy when we get to our next post due to the federal hiring freeze--so things are extremely tight at the moment. And, since our next post is a zero hardship post, things are not likely to get much better while the hiring freeze is in effect.
Life as a Foreign Service family has a lot of quirks. It can be the adventure of a lifetime at one post and a nightmare at the next. It can be rewarding, and it can be life-sucking. It is good and bad, yin and yang, happy and very sad. We love serving our country. We love the travel and the experiences. But I will not sugarcoat it. It can be very, very difficult. It is not for the faint of heart. All that said, (and I have said this many times before), it's always been worth it.
