ITP - 128: The Reality of Moving Home After 14 Years Abroad

Greg:
Welcome to another episode of the International Teacher Podcast. This is your host Greg the Single Guy, joined by my co-hosts.

JP Mint:
Hey everybody, welcome to the International Teacher Podcast. I am one of the co-hosts, Jacqueline from JP Mint Consulting, and I'm joined here today with Greg the Single Guy. Hey, Greg. I caught you mid-slurp. So Greg, how’s everything going this summer?

Greg:
You caught me mid-drink there, I'm sorry. Yeah. Funny you should ask—everything's pretty much the same.

JP Mint:
Well, I'm really excited. I'm really excited to talk to our very special guest. You might recognize him. It's Kent the Cat Guy.

Cat Guy:
Whoooo!

Greg:
Yay! Cats. Cats guy.

JP Mint:
And you might be asking yourself, wait, I thought he was a co-host. He is, and he will remain a co-host. However, today's episode is all about his repatriation to the United States of America.

Greg:
And we have to change our title to Kent the Cats Guy with a plural, right?

JP Mint:
Yes, yes.

Cat Guy:
That’ll be all part of the update.

JP Mint:
That's gonna be the update of the year.

Greg:
Thank God I'm not doing anything. Please tell us what's going on, Kent. What's new?

Cat Guy:
Well, I'm here in Bellingham, Washington. For those of you who don't know it, it's about 30 minutes from the Canadian border. Beautiful day out today, about 78 degrees Fahrenheit—about 24 Celsius. Absolutely lovely. The air quality is decent, though some northern forest fires are affecting things a bit. But I couldn't be happier to be here.

Greg:
That's repatriation weather, isn't it?

Cat Guy:
Yeah. We live here now. This is home. We've exited Saudi Arabia and now we've entered another foreign country—the United States.

Greg:
Big change.

JP Mint:
Okay, we’ve got to backpedal. Because I remember when Greg told me that you had repatriated, I was shocked. None of our listeners had any idea you were leaving international teaching. So tell us—what led to that decision?

Cat Guy:
Well, listeners know we just finished 11 years in Saudi Arabia and three years in Yemen before that, so 14 years total. I've hit 55 years old, which I’d call semi-retirement. I'm not rushing off to get a job, but I’ve been told that if you don't work, they stop sending you a paycheck.

JP Mint:
That seems unfair.

Cat Guy:
Right? I thought they'd just keep coming. So we’ve owned a house here in Bellingham for years but never really lived in it. We thought we’d come try it out and see how we liked it.

JP Mint:
So this is the house where you used to try to throw neighborhood parties every summer?

Cat Guy:
That's right. And now the neighbors are looking at us like, are you still here?

JP Mint:
And it's a townhouse, right?

Cat Guy:
Yeah, part of a townhouse complex. It’s nice because we’re within walking distance of a lot of things.

JP Mint:
So the decision was partly lifestyle—take a break, go home, try it out?

Cat Guy:
Exactly. Also, Saudi Arabia has two phases: just enough and way too much. You want to leave while both you and your school still like each other.

JP Mint:
Was there any kind of retirement benefit?

Cat Guy:
In the U.S., there's something called the Rule of 55. If you leave a company after 55, you can access certain retirement funds without penalty. My company also offered a 401(k) and pension plan, which we're now combining.

JP Mint:
What about healthcare?

Cat Guy:
Huge factor. In the U.S., health insurance can cost thousands per month. My school offers discounted insurance until age 65, when Medicare kicks in.

JP Mint:
Per month?

Cat Guy:
Per month. Around $2,000 if you're paying full price. So having subsidized insurance is huge.

Greg:
That’s a major benefit.

JP Mint:
Let’s talk about packing up your life.

Cat Guy:
It’s massive. You accumulate so much—especially after raising a family abroad. It becomes a process of elimination. My advice: get rid of your stuff early and often.

Greg:
You had a ton of stuff.

Cat Guy:
We brought about ten bags. Shipping is expensive and slow—can take months—so we carried everything ourselves.

JP Mint:
Reverse culture shock—what’s that been like?

Cat Guy:
Still ongoing. First realization: I'm not on vacation. I need routines that don’t involve eating everything in sight. Second: planning beyond a month. I’ve never stayed this long before.

Greg:
That must feel strange.

Cat Guy:
It does. Even answering basic questions is hard. People ask where I shop or what doctor I saw—I don’t have normal answers.

JP Mint:
What about daily life changes?

Cat Guy:
We got two cats. We waited a year after losing our previous one. Now we’ve got kittens running around. It’s chaotic but great.

Greg:
That makes it feel like home.

Cat Guy:
Exactly.

JP Mint:
Are you going back to work?

Cat Guy:
Two questions: do I have to work, and do I want to work? Probably yes to both eventually.

Greg:
That’s a luxury position.

Cat Guy:
It is, but after 20 years of routine, it’s weird not to have one.

JP Mint:
Any new hobbies?

Cat Guy:
We’re looking at e-bikes.

Greg:
I tried one in France—flew up mountains without breaking a sweat.

JP Mint:
I’m convinced.

Cat Guy:
They’re amazing. You still exercise, but you control the effort.

JP Mint:
What are some positives of being back?

Cat Guy:
Healthcare access, definitely. Also reconnecting with community—neighbors, local people. That’s different from expat life.

JP Mint:
Finding your people again.

Cat Guy:
Exactly. It takes effort.

Greg:
You switch between international and local mindset.

Cat Guy:
Yes—and it’s hard to shake school gossip habits.

JP Mint:
Quick updates: JP Mint Consulting is entering busy season—August through October.

Greg:
School starts soon for me. Teaching tech and future lab.

JP Mint:
And Kent is staying on as co-host.

Cat Guy:
Absolutely.

JP Mint:
So what about some of those reverse culture shock moments? What really stands out to you now that you're back for good?

Cat Guy:
Yeah, I would say it’s still ongoing. One of the biggest realizations is that I’m not on vacation. When you come back for the summer, you eat everything, you go everywhere, and you treat it like a temporary stay. But now, I actually have to build routines that don’t revolve around food and travel.

Another big thing is planning beyond a month. I’ve never really stayed longer than that, so now I look at my calendar and there’s nothing there for August or September. It’s a strange feeling.

JP Mint:
That makes sense. You’re used to a very defined cycle.

Cat Guy:
Exactly. And even simple things—like going to the doctor—feel new. My doctor just sits and chats, types away, and asks questions. It’s very different from what I’m used to. And he’s young. Really young. At some point you start wondering if you taught your doctor.

Greg:
That happens when you get older. Everyone starts looking younger.

JP Mint:
It’s true. There’s a moment where you realize it’s not them—it’s you.

Cat Guy:
Yeah, exactly. And another thing that’s surprisingly difficult is answering basic questions. People ask, “Where do you usually shop?” or “What doctor did you see last year?” and I don’t have normal answers. Everything requires a long explanation.

Greg:
Yeah, you're not just grabbing things before heading back overseas anymore. You're actually living there now.

JP Mint:
You don’t need to stockpile things anymore either—like socks, clothes, or specific brands you can’t find abroad.

Cat Guy:
Exactly. I’m still adjusting to that. Normally, this would be the time I’m heading back to my host country. But now, I wake up and think, “What am I doing today?” It’s still a bit of a honeymoon phase.

Greg:
Until someone flips you off in traffic.

Cat Guy:
That already happened. But overall, things still feel pretty magical right now.

JP Mint:
What about your home life? Any changes there?

Cat Guy:
Yeah, we got two cats. The ITP crowd will remember we lost Nunu last year, so we waited about a year. Now we’ve got two kittens, about three months old, and they’re a lot of fun. We’ve basically been staying home just watching them run around.

Greg:
You’ve only been back a short time and already committed to cats.

Cat Guy:
We knew we wanted them. It just didn’t make sense while we were still traveling. Moving pets internationally is stressful and expensive, so we waited until we were settled.

JP Mint:
Have you named them yet?

Cat Guy:
One is named Tafita—we went deep into mythology for that one. The second one is still unnamed, although I’ve been calling her “No Name” as a placeholder. My wife is not thrilled about that.

Greg:
That might stick.

Cat Guy:
It probably will. But this is what life looks like now—thinking about cat names instead of lesson plans.

JP Mint:
That’s quite the shift.

Cat Guy:
It really is.

JP Mint:
So looking ahead, are you thinking about working again?

Cat Guy:
Yeah, I’ve got an elementary school right down the road and several districts nearby. I think it comes down to two questions: do I have to work, and do I want to work? The answer is probably yes to both, eventually.

Greg:
That’s a luxury position to be in.

Cat Guy:
It is. But after 20 years of always having a schedule, it feels strange not to have one. That structure becomes part of who you are.

JP Mint:
That’s something a lot of teachers will relate to.

Cat Guy:
Definitely. And even if you don’t need to work, that feeling doesn’t completely go away.

Greg:
I don’t think I could stop working completely either.

JP Mint:
Same here. Even in retirement, you still think in school-year cycles—September feels like the start of the year.

Cat Guy:
Exactly.

JP Mint:
Alright, before we wrap up, quick updates. JP Mint Consulting is heading into busy season. August through October is when teachers start preparing for recruitment.

Greg:
And school is starting soon for me. I’ll be teaching technology and future lab again.

JP Mint:
And Kent is officially staying on as co-host.

Cat Guy:
Absolutely. I’ll keep sharing my experiences—and probably a lot about cats.

Greg:
Alright, that’s a wrap. Thanks everyone for listening, and we’ll see you next episode.

[End of transcript]