One-year Sabbatical

[EnergyConsultant]

Hello,

I am semi-retired (doing consulting, can step it up/down as needed), ~40 yrs old, with 3 school-age kids. I am thinking of taking a one-year sabbatical in 2016-2017 to my home country in Europe. I have lived in the U.S. for 15+ years. I want my kids to experience life in my home country and learn the language, and I want to be able to visit my family more often.  I would like to do it in a way that doesn't derail my FI plans.

Has anybody here done something similar? What should we be thinking about?
I think I have narrowed down the area where we want to be (based on my family's location), but here are some items I think I need to explore:
- Rent out my current residence (we own a home) for one year
- Find schools for the kids
- Find something meaningful to do for myself and DW (paid would be better, but not necessary -- non-profit? teaching?)
- Find house to rent
- Make sure I have appropriate health care coverage
- Set up bank account

Any other thoughts? Has anybody done something similar? Any help/suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[FrugalFan]

I don't know about derailing your FI plans, as this is something I think about often. Maybe I'll post about it some day. We love to travel, and a LOT of our budget is spent on travel each year. I don't think I am willing to cut on that to become FI sooner, and I know my husband is not. But one thing I wanted to give you a heads-up on is applying for visas (I imagine required for all European countries for visits longer than 90 days). It took us a long time to get all the proper documents in place, and we had to all go to in person to the nearest consulate to apply. It was a real hassle, and not cheap! We lived in France for a 6 months.

[electriceagle]

You may want to consider stopping work halfway through the year (and resuming at the middle of the following year) so that you can be in a low tax bracket.

[WaRpBeast]

If you are in energy (per your user name) stepping out while the oil price is low is probably a good thing.  Come back when prices are higher and companies are willing to spend again.

[EnergyConsultant]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am currently working on renewable energy, so I am not tied very much to the price of oil :-)

[ken]

We are doing something very similar. We are an American family with 4 children. We had an expat assignment in Germany 2008-2012 and have been back in the US for 3 years. This summer my wife and kids will move back to Germany for the coming school year. The main goal is to strengthen their language and reconnect with friends/culture. I will visit often and can also consider a LOA from my job. I could FIRE but work is fine and will help fund the year. A few thoughts:
1. We own a fully furnished home here. Even if I was not going to be here, I could not see renting it out for a year. Too much could go wrong if you don't know the person.
2. Most European countries allow you to get the visa after you arrive. That is much easier than doing it in advance. It should be easier for you too if it is your original country.
3. Finding a place to live is more difficult. Most countries have high realty fees just for finding an apartment. Maybe you can find a furnished place. They may want to see pay stubs and not be satisfied if you are not working even if you show a big bank account. Otherwise have someone start finding you used furniture/household items.
4. Will you need a car? Buying and reselling is one year is possible.
5. What about health insurance? I will keep coverage on the family by working here. I would use COBRA for a LOA.
6. Getting into school should not be too hard depending on the ages and the language skills of your children. I have found the schools do not have ESL level programs for non-native speakers like in the US.
7. Opening a bank account is not hard.

Good Luck. It will be a great adventure!

[NICE!]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am currently working on renewable energy, so I am not tied very much to the price of oil :-)

Well, you are...to a certain extent. When the price of oil is high enough, that makes renewables more enticing.

[Retired To Win]

Since you referred to a "home" country, and did not specifically state you've become a U.S. citizen, make sure you've crossed your t's and dotted your i's as far as being able to get back in without a hassle.  My recollection is that even a legal resident cannot stay out of the US for a continuous year without running into some bureaucratic problems regarding the return.

[vivek440]

You may want to consider stopping work halfway through the year (and resuming at the middle of the following year) so that you can be in a low tax bracket.

Very useful and practical tip !!!

[kiwi]

Great idea. We lived overseas in Europe for 2 years when my kids were a bit younger (starting at ages 4 and 7), and it was, overall, a great, life-enhancing experience. I worked there, which was VERY helpful in integration. Some spouses of coworkers did not enjoy their time there because of a combination of boredom, loneliness, and culture shock. I definitely agree with the idea of finding something meaningful to do, though I think it could be very difficult. Though perhaps not so much since it's your home country.

Do it sooner rather than later - I think most things are easier when kids are younger. I'd love to to take a trip like this again, but am wary now that the kids are older...

[SeaG]

It's a great idea EnergyConsultant!

We're thinking of doing something similar except we would be traveling instead of living in one place.

Check out this inspiring talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_sagmeister_the_power_of_time_off?language=en