# Hi all + intro:



## rshores (Jan 23, 2010)

Hey everybody. As you can see, I'm new, this is my first post. I wanted to introduce myself, and give some background on my situation (that way, the questions I ask won't seem to come from left field!).

My wife's looking into possibly transferring for her job (with the U.S. Government) to Rome for a three year assignment. She's never been overseas. I'm ex-Navy and grew up in a military family - I traveled all over for the first 23 years of my life, but never to Italy. Moving is no biggie for me; my wife's a little cautious, but interested in the experience.

At this point, we're planning on me being a stay-at-home dad, keeping the house running and the kids in school while my wife works. Occasionally, my wife will be required to travel for her job, and one parent needs to be available 100% of the time to take care of the house and kids. I've been the stay-at-home parent for a year and a half in the past, so I'm comfortable with those responsibilities (at least while living in the U.S.!).

We have 2 kids, 6 and 8. They would be in a diplomat's school in Rome, cost paid by the Government. From what I understand, there would be a dress code, and their classmates would be from well-off families, so there would still be some (in some cases, *considerable*) expenses for uniforms, field trips, etc.

We have a St. Bernard. We've looked into getting her over there (briefly), and it would be expensive but possible. From what I understand, there is no quarantine for animals coming into Italy, but I haven't confirmed this.

Our housing would be paid for by the U.S. Government. Our living quarters would be selected for us by the GSA, and we would have a weight allowance for household goods to ship over there (the weight allowance would be dependent on whether the housing was furnished or unfurnished).

We currently have 2 cars, but would probably be selling both of them. From what I've heard, the cost to convert a vehicle to meet Italian standards and regulations might be prohibitive, and we may be relying on public transportation anyway.

I apologize in advance for any stupid questions that I come up with, but.... I'll come up with some doozies! We're seeing this as an exciting opportunity to expose the kids to another culture and pay off all of our debt on our credit cards in the three years we'll be over there.

Does anyone see anything in my post that screams "*Don't do it!!!*"? I know that there are things that will need to be ironed out, but so far, there are more positives than negatives. Are we missing anything?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Actually, it sounds like you've got a very rational approach to this project. Start learning Italian is the only thing I'd add.

Go for it! You might even have fun.
Cheers,
Bev


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## rshores (Jan 23, 2010)

Bevdeforges said:


> Hi and welcome to the forum.
> 
> Actually, it sounds like you've got a very rational approach to this project. Start learning Italian is the only thing I'd add.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Bev. 

My wife doesn't have a lock on the job yet, but we're trying to make the decision on whether she'll put in for it based on whether we'd be willing to go. At this point, we're leaning toward it, but it feels good to have someone else look through our general plan and validate that we're at least thinking halfway straight!

Thx,
Rick


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