F.A.Q.s

We got a lot of great questions about our move, and so we thought it might be helpful to post them here.

1. Where are you living? We moved from our home in Shoreline, WA to Nairobi, Kenya. As the albatross flies, because let’s be honest a crow couldn’t make it, it’s about 9,000 miles away from where we live = 2 plane rides of about 9 hours each.
2. Why did you move? We wanted to. And there is a short and long-version to this story. Given attention spans, you get the short version: Tony and I had long-wanted to move to Kenya for a number of reasons and we decided to make the change before our kids totally resented us and reached their teen years (they may still yet). Besides, we’ve long thought that the best education we can offer our kids is a chance to see and experience other parts of the world.
3. What are you guys going to be doing there? We are going to be doing usual and unusual (for us) things: Usual: the kids are going to a nearby American school, my job is also located here (check out http://www.bomaproject.org), Tony is going to be our transition team and then doing work in the design sector. Unusual: we will learn how to drive on the other side of the road, go on safari to national parks (pending how said driving on the other side of the road goes), try foods that are different to us, see habitats that are new to us, travel to different parts of Kenya and the continent, and live life outside the US.
4. Won’t it be hot? It’s winter time here in Nairobi, and it’s not getting past low 70s so far. Summer will be later in the year.
5. Is it safe? Security in Nairobi is different than what we are used to at home. Yes, there is petty crime, and there are security risks, but then again, we have these at home in the US too. For example, my 7 year old can provide in full detail how to ward off an active shooter at school, something that we may need to worry about less here.
6. Do they speak English in Kenya? Yes, and Swahili, and a host of other local languages. The hope is that we get to a working knowledge of Swahili (Kenyan friends please keep me honest on this) while we are here too.
7. Where will you be living exactly, like in a house? We are living in a temporary furnished house until our container arrives sometime in the next few months. It’s comfortable, in a suburb, and it came with a lovely overly-tolerant 10 year old Golden Retriever (another story).
8. How long will you be there? We plan to be here at least 2 years, but who knows. We will be coming back to the US to visit at least once a year.
9. Are you going through a mid-life crisis? To be fair, no one asked us this, but in case it crosses the mind the answer is: no.
10. Can you drink the water? Funnily enough we thought we could on day 1 which may explain why on day 2 Tony got a bit of a stomach bug (it’s gone now). The solution for us was our first visit to the hardware store and the purchase of a dependable water filter.
11. Can we visit you? Yes, please do!