The New Diplomat's Wife

How We Became an Expat Family

How did you become an expat family? We packed our bags and went abroad when my husband got assigned to his post in Vienna with the foreign service. At first we were just two, but then our first child was born in Vienna, so from two we became three. We have a move to Washington, DC coming up for our next post, and then we'll see where they send us after that — Asia? Africa? The Middle East? One of the coolest things about this lifestyle is that you don't necessarily know where you're headed next — you have to be open to where they send you.

What I Enjoy Most and Least About Where I Live

We've grown to love Vienna very much. We love being in the center of the city, which helps us experience what's going on, and we're actually pretty central in Europe overall, which has given us lots of opportunities to travel to all sorts of places, even for just the weekend. We've tried to always take advantage of that.

Vienna is a very grand city and we've also come to love its "old-schoolness" — a great cocktail dress or a fedora are never out of place here. Finally, there is also lots going on in terms of music and festivals and events — strangely, there's a lot going on, but at the same time, life moves at a slower pace since everything commercial is available on a more much limited basis (stores close early, aren't open on Sundays etc). When you don't spend your time shopping, you end up spending time on yourself and your family doing other things.

In terms of what we enjoy the least, I think like anyone far away from home, we're prone to bouts of homesickness here and there. We miss the convenience of things in the US, and we miss the friendliness of strangers. Here people are more reserved. And we definitely miss the sunshine in the winter months — it can get a bit gray around here come February!

What are your favorite Blog Posts?

• The Conditioning of the Air
• Diplo-style: The Baroness Elsa Von Schrader
• Crying over spilt milk