Commuting from overseas, anyone done this?
08-26-2025 | 07:12 AM
#53
On Reserve
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 103
Likes: 6
I did this for about a year and a half. I stopped because it was having a seriously negative impact on my physical and mental health and well being. Here are my takeaways to add to this interesting and sometime not so interesting discussion:
1) I lived in the south of Germany and commuted in to the mountain west. Very senior and easily getting exact early morning schedule I wanted with bunched upped trips. Still a good commute was 23-27 hours and that wrecked me.
2) I worked early morning and would go to sleep at 5pm to stay on Europe time. My body knew especially in summer when it was bright outside until 9pm. I was even more wrecked when I got home due to the lack of quality sleep.
3) Commute was never easy. Sometimes it was simple but regardless of jump seat option, which I didn't have, that length of time sitting in anything short of a lie down suite is just brutal. Add in delays which were common, bad weather, schedule interruptions etc and it was, as I say, never easy.
4) I would lose a full day going home leaving at 5-9pm and arriving the next afternoon. One full day lost going to work leaving at 5am and arriving at 3-6pm. So 2 days gone on my commute.
5) I could have made it easier by living in Amsterdam or London and commuting to DTW, ORD, NYC or the like. My commute was from the western US to any gateway, followed by a ZED to BSL and the a train home. Very long and complex. But I couldn't convince my wife to become Dutch.
6) Aside from the ra ra posted about 'Merica love it or leave it, living abroad was amazing and I'd do it again in a second for a variety of reasons that make life there far superior in many ways to what I have here. But not at the expense of my health. And my wife and kids quickly realized that I was a ghost in their lives.
7) Another poster described beautifully about the tax ramifications so I wont. I'll only add that I'd do what he did if I had to do over. Divest of all US assets (which is really difficult and super expensive if you already have some decent assets here. I kept a home in the US and maintained residency in Germany and 6 years after moving back I'm still dealing with tax issues.
Overall I'm glad I did it but I wont do it again. When I retire I'll probably buy a cool RV and leave it at my BIL's house. I'll spend 2-3 months in Europe and keep my assets here. Of course I continue to watch where the wind is blowing and if continues to look more and more like Germany in 1934, I'll retire early and jump. (cue predictable backlash)
Good luck.
1) I lived in the south of Germany and commuted in to the mountain west. Very senior and easily getting exact early morning schedule I wanted with bunched upped trips. Still a good commute was 23-27 hours and that wrecked me.
2) I worked early morning and would go to sleep at 5pm to stay on Europe time. My body knew especially in summer when it was bright outside until 9pm. I was even more wrecked when I got home due to the lack of quality sleep.
3) Commute was never easy. Sometimes it was simple but regardless of jump seat option, which I didn't have, that length of time sitting in anything short of a lie down suite is just brutal. Add in delays which were common, bad weather, schedule interruptions etc and it was, as I say, never easy.
4) I would lose a full day going home leaving at 5-9pm and arriving the next afternoon. One full day lost going to work leaving at 5am and arriving at 3-6pm. So 2 days gone on my commute.
5) I could have made it easier by living in Amsterdam or London and commuting to DTW, ORD, NYC or the like. My commute was from the western US to any gateway, followed by a ZED to BSL and the a train home. Very long and complex. But I couldn't convince my wife to become Dutch.
6) Aside from the ra ra posted about 'Merica love it or leave it, living abroad was amazing and I'd do it again in a second for a variety of reasons that make life there far superior in many ways to what I have here. But not at the expense of my health. And my wife and kids quickly realized that I was a ghost in their lives.
7) Another poster described beautifully about the tax ramifications so I wont. I'll only add that I'd do what he did if I had to do over. Divest of all US assets (which is really difficult and super expensive if you already have some decent assets here. I kept a home in the US and maintained residency in Germany and 6 years after moving back I'm still dealing with tax issues.
Overall I'm glad I did it but I wont do it again. When I retire I'll probably buy a cool RV and leave it at my BIL's house. I'll spend 2-3 months in Europe and keep my assets here. Of course I continue to watch where the wind is blowing and if continues to look more and more like Germany in 1934, I'll retire early and jump. (cue predictable backlash)
Good luck.
08-26-2025 | 12:29 PM
#54
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 20,877
Likes: 194
I did this for about a year and a half. I stopped because it was having a seriously negative impact on my physical and mental health and well being. Here are my takeaways to add to this interesting and sometime not so interesting discussion:
1) I lived in the south of Germany and commuted in to the mountain west. Very senior and easily getting exact early morning schedule I wanted with bunched upped trips. Still a good commute was 23-27 hours and that wrecked me.
2) I worked early morning and would go to sleep at 5pm to stay on Europe time. My body knew especially in summer when it was bright outside until 9pm. I was even more wrecked when I got home due to the lack of quality sleep.
3) Commute was never easy. Sometimes it was simple but regardless of jump seat option, which I didn't have, that length of time sitting in anything short of a lie down suite is just brutal. Add in delays which were common, bad weather, schedule interruptions etc and it was, as I say, never easy.
4) I would lose a full day going home leaving at 5-9pm and arriving the next afternoon. One full day lost going to work leaving at 5am and arriving at 3-6pm. So 2 days gone on my commute.
5) I could have made it easier by living in Amsterdam or London and commuting to DTW, ORD, NYC or the like. My commute was from the western US to any gateway, followed by a ZED to BSL and the a train home. Very long and complex. But I couldn't convince my wife to become Dutch.
6) Aside from the ra ra posted about 'Merica love it or leave it, living abroad was amazing and I'd do it again in a second for a variety of reasons that make life there far superior in many ways to what I have here. But not at the expense of my health. And my wife and kids quickly realized that I was a ghost in their lives.
7) Another poster described beautifully about the tax ramifications so I wont. I'll only add that I'd do what he did if I had to do over. Divest of all US assets (which is really difficult and super expensive if you already have some decent assets here. I kept a home in the US and maintained residency in Germany and 6 years after moving back I'm still dealing with tax issues.
Overall I'm glad I did it but I wont do it again. When I retire I'll probably buy a cool RV and leave it at my BIL's house. I'll spend 2-3 months in Europe and keep my assets here. Of course I continue to watch where the wind is blowing and if continues to look more and more like Germany in 1934, I'll retire early and jump. (cue predictable backlash)
Good luck.
1) I lived in the south of Germany and commuted in to the mountain west. Very senior and easily getting exact early morning schedule I wanted with bunched upped trips. Still a good commute was 23-27 hours and that wrecked me.
2) I worked early morning and would go to sleep at 5pm to stay on Europe time. My body knew especially in summer when it was bright outside until 9pm. I was even more wrecked when I got home due to the lack of quality sleep.
3) Commute was never easy. Sometimes it was simple but regardless of jump seat option, which I didn't have, that length of time sitting in anything short of a lie down suite is just brutal. Add in delays which were common, bad weather, schedule interruptions etc and it was, as I say, never easy.
4) I would lose a full day going home leaving at 5-9pm and arriving the next afternoon. One full day lost going to work leaving at 5am and arriving at 3-6pm. So 2 days gone on my commute.
5) I could have made it easier by living in Amsterdam or London and commuting to DTW, ORD, NYC or the like. My commute was from the western US to any gateway, followed by a ZED to BSL and the a train home. Very long and complex. But I couldn't convince my wife to become Dutch.
6) Aside from the ra ra posted about 'Merica love it or leave it, living abroad was amazing and I'd do it again in a second for a variety of reasons that make life there far superior in many ways to what I have here. But not at the expense of my health. And my wife and kids quickly realized that I was a ghost in their lives.
7) Another poster described beautifully about the tax ramifications so I wont. I'll only add that I'd do what he did if I had to do over. Divest of all US assets (which is really difficult and super expensive if you already have some decent assets here. I kept a home in the US and maintained residency in Germany and 6 years after moving back I'm still dealing with tax issues.
Overall I'm glad I did it but I wont do it again. When I retire I'll probably buy a cool RV and leave it at my BIL's house. I'll spend 2-3 months in Europe and keep my assets here. Of course I continue to watch where the wind is blowing and if continues to look more and more like Germany in 1934, I'll retire early and jump. (cue predictable backlash)
Good luck.
08-26-2025 | 01:12 PM
#55
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 639
Likes: 26
Seems like the best way to do an international commute is to go reserve and bid your 16 day blocks back to back, and try to max out your 100 in 30 as soon as possible. You could get a small condo or apartment in base if needed. Then you'd be off for a month or so and only need to commute once a month.
08-26-2025 | 01:37 PM
#56
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Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 261
Likes: 9
Seems like the best way to do an international commute is to go reserve and bid your 16 day blocks back to back, and try to max out your 100 in 30 as soon as possible. You could get a small condo or apartment in base if needed. Then you'd be off for a month or so and only need to commute once a month.
08-26-2025 | 01:38 PM
#57
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 440
Likes: 8
Yes. I didn’t say because we are just discussing the idea and feasibility currently. It’s data collection, not a serious discussion at this point. And because it’s so ridiculous I didn’t want people to poopoo on the idea before giving useful information.
It’s Sydney, Australia.
It’s Sydney, Australia.
08-26-2025 | 01:38 PM
#58
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 261
Likes: 9
Thanks for this. Very helpful. If anything, I'd have a crashpad or apartment. No other assets. I'd just assume the taxes would be a huge PITA.
08-26-2025 | 05:57 PM
#59
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 921
Likes: 78
From: B737 FO
I did this for about a year and a half. I stopped because it was having a seriously negative impact on my physical and mental health and well being. Here are my takeaways to add to this interesting and sometime not so interesting discussion:
1) I lived in the south of Germany and commuted in to the mountain west. Very senior and easily getting exact early morning schedule I wanted with bunched upped trips. Still a good commute was 23-27 hours and that wrecked me.
2) I worked early morning and would go to sleep at 5pm to stay on Europe time. My body knew especially in summer when it was bright outside until 9pm. I was even more wrecked when I got home due to the lack of quality sleep.
3) Commute was never easy. Sometimes it was simple but regardless of jump seat option, which I didn't have, that length of time sitting in anything short of a lie down suite is just brutal. Add in delays which were common, bad weather, schedule interruptions etc and it was, as I say, never easy.
4) I would lose a full day going home leaving at 5-9pm and arriving the next afternoon. One full day lost going to work leaving at 5am and arriving at 3-6pm. So 2 days gone on my commute.
5) I could have made it easier by living in Amsterdam or London and commuting to DTW, ORD, NYC or the like. My commute was from the western US to any gateway, followed by a ZED to BSL and the a train home. Very long and complex. But I couldn't convince my wife to become Dutch.
6) Aside from the ra ra posted about 'Merica love it or leave it, living abroad was amazing and I'd do it again in a second for a variety of reasons that make life there far superior in many ways to what I have here. But not at the expense of my health. And my wife and kids quickly realized that I was a ghost in their lives.
7) Another poster described beautifully about the tax ramifications so I wont. I'll only add that I'd do what he did if I had to do over. Divest of all US assets (which is really difficult and super expensive if you already have some decent assets here. I kept a home in the US and maintained residency in Germany and 6 years after moving back I'm still dealing with tax issues.
Overall I'm glad I did it but I wont do it again. When I retire I'll probably buy a cool RV and leave it at my BIL's house. I'll spend 2-3 months in Europe and keep my assets here. Of course I continue to watch where the wind is blowing and if continues to look more and more like Germany in 1934, I'll retire early and jump. (cue predictable backlash)
Good luck.
1) I lived in the south of Germany and commuted in to the mountain west. Very senior and easily getting exact early morning schedule I wanted with bunched upped trips. Still a good commute was 23-27 hours and that wrecked me.
2) I worked early morning and would go to sleep at 5pm to stay on Europe time. My body knew especially in summer when it was bright outside until 9pm. I was even more wrecked when I got home due to the lack of quality sleep.
3) Commute was never easy. Sometimes it was simple but regardless of jump seat option, which I didn't have, that length of time sitting in anything short of a lie down suite is just brutal. Add in delays which were common, bad weather, schedule interruptions etc and it was, as I say, never easy.
4) I would lose a full day going home leaving at 5-9pm and arriving the next afternoon. One full day lost going to work leaving at 5am and arriving at 3-6pm. So 2 days gone on my commute.
5) I could have made it easier by living in Amsterdam or London and commuting to DTW, ORD, NYC or the like. My commute was from the western US to any gateway, followed by a ZED to BSL and the a train home. Very long and complex. But I couldn't convince my wife to become Dutch.
6) Aside from the ra ra posted about 'Merica love it or leave it, living abroad was amazing and I'd do it again in a second for a variety of reasons that make life there far superior in many ways to what I have here. But not at the expense of my health. And my wife and kids quickly realized that I was a ghost in their lives.
7) Another poster described beautifully about the tax ramifications so I wont. I'll only add that I'd do what he did if I had to do over. Divest of all US assets (which is really difficult and super expensive if you already have some decent assets here. I kept a home in the US and maintained residency in Germany and 6 years after moving back I'm still dealing with tax issues.
Overall I'm glad I did it but I wont do it again. When I retire I'll probably buy a cool RV and leave it at my BIL's house. I'll spend 2-3 months in Europe and keep my assets here. Of course I continue to watch where the wind is blowing and if continues to look more and more like Germany in 1934, I'll retire early and jump. (cue predictable backlash)
Good luck.
Knew a couple pilots at my previous ACMI that commuted from Europe (one was Norway to ANC
) but at an ACMI you could sometimes pick up a trip that started in Europe and skip the DHD and chop a day or two off your trip.
08-26-2025 | 07:00 PM
#60
Gets Weekends Off
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 2,945
Likes: 214
From: Enoch Powell Enthusiast
In college, I used to drink a pot of coffee for cramming sessions then sleep like a baby when I felt like it.
As I aged, things like light sensitivity, noise, room temperature, and circadian rhythms, caffeine sensitivity, etc. became increasingly important.
Everyone is different. But it's something to consider before you "lock in" to a multi-time zone commute for overseas travel. You will age, after all.
The "wearables" that are available are pretty eye opening just for DOMESTIC overnights, much less international stuff.
As I aged, things like light sensitivity, noise, room temperature, and circadian rhythms, caffeine sensitivity, etc. became increasingly important.
Everyone is different. But it's something to consider before you "lock in" to a multi-time zone commute for overseas travel. You will age, after all.
The "wearables" that are available are pretty eye opening just for DOMESTIC overnights, much less international stuff.
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