My friend Dave is a professional "finder and teller of stories" (check out www.sparklestories.com). Last summer on his story page he posted a picture of Nanpu Bridge, on the west bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, as a generator to continue a story already started in a previous post. I recognized it immediately but it has taken me a while to find where exactly it fits in our life and how to use it to tell our story. This is our middle.
Known for it's minimization of land use, this ramp is known as a wonder in bridge construction. Mile 2 to 3 of the Shanghai Half Marathon, one mile as the crow flies to Heinz's office on the other side of the river, connecting me to the Bund, The Old Shanghai Tea House, Marks and Spencer and various other attractions in the city, I have come to know it well myself. I remember the first time we drove it, feeling slightly nauseated as we wound around, wondering how often I would have to endure that!
In December we passed the 2 year anniversary of our arrival in Shanghai. Some days it seems like we just got here. Others it seems as if we have been here forever. (And some days it seems we have been here way too long!) Either way I am still in a bit of disbelief at how quickly time passes and as we make the announcement that our time in China is coming to an end: in April we will relocate to Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Malaysia. China. Thailand. This is our middle. When I was younger I thought the world ended at the edge of Europe. Why would one ever go further than that? I described Asia as somewhere I would visit if someone gave me a trip. Well, 3 years ago someone sort of did. With six-month-old and 3 year old in tow, we packed our bags and headed to Kuala Lumpur for a six month assignment: Volume One. Fifteen months (fellow expats are very familiar with the manner in which the length of these postings grows), a blog site, an elephant ride and a car accident later, we headed for Shanghai: Volume Two. We've had so many challenges, struggles and adventures here, many chronicled in these pages, some scarring my psyche for years to come. Two and a half years later we will head on to Thailand: Volume Three. I think the elephant rides will make nice book ends
I'm an old hand at this expat thing now. In many ways I've mastered the curve of learning to live this life. Yes, each location has a curve of its own to be addressed but as far as the basics go, I feel confident about having developed the tools to make it work. But life in Shanghai is becoming unsustainable, mostly on a financial level. In the next 12 months staying here would probably require compromising on aspects of our daily life and comfort zone on which we simply do not want to compromise. The search for a solution began.
As Heinz's current business responsibilities require full time residence in Asia, the Shanghai conundrum could not be solved with a return to the States. Having lived all over, and having money in 401k's scattered about the globe, he has worked to keep abreast of the condition of the global economy. He reads extensively, often with an eye toward long-term solutions for retirement and along the way he came across some information on Chiang Mai. As per www.sovereignman.com, "Thailand is a place where you can base yourself, your business AND your family...your family is safe and snug, enjoying a wonderful life in a warm place while you are traveling to meet clients". More specifically, "Chiang Mai in the north has become a major expat hub, with cool mountain air and a massive international community". Tell us more, we thought to ourselves. Sounds like a lovely place to retire. In the meantime, what will we ever do about the Shanghai problem?
But our interest was piqued. This past December we decided to take a leap and a look and spent 10 days in Chiang Mai to see how the real thing stacked up to such accolades. And we found it to be all that and more. So we made the list of pros and cons of moving sooner rather than later. It showed us that every challenge we will face living in Shanghai within the next 12 months, and they are significant, can be solved with a relocation. In the end, the only reasons for staying put were emotional: we don't want to leave our friends here. The good news is that from Shanghai, Thailand is an easily accessible and highly desireable vacation destination so hopefully our friends here will visit us there. I have come to think of it not as saying good bye to our Shanghai friends, but as giving them a new place to visit. With accomodations included! (Did I mention there is no winter in Thailand? More on that in a future post.)
And so we are poised for a brave step into our future:
In the words of the
wise Grace Stroh Simon, “Thailand
Come join us. We'll be waiting for you!
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