My wife and I put together our revised list of assignments we will bid on for our next assignment. We will be in Seoul, Korea until early 2007, when we move on to another country for two more years. On January 19, I wrote about my initial list of preferred locations. The initial and revised lists are not too different. The list below is our revised list based on further research and our collective preferences. We discarded some assignments that did not meet our needs. For example, even though Bogota, Colombia has an assignment I would love to do, my wife does not want to bid on Bogota because of several factors; namely, Colombia is still a dangerous place in which to live.
Dear Reader, I need your help. Have you been to any of the cities listed below? Have you lived there, and when did you live there? Did you have a good or bad experience? I’m especially interested in reading about your experiences in lesser-known places such as La Paz, Bolivia or Damascus, Syria. If you haven’t been to any of these cities, which would you prefer? Where do you think World Adventurers should blog from next year?
Here is our current list of preferred locations ranked in order of preference. This list is subject to change. I will submit my final list in about two weeks.
- Beijing, China
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Damascus, Syria
- Hong Kong, China
- Montevideo, Uruguay
- San Salvador, El Salvador
- La Paz, Bolivia
- Athens, Greece
- Asuncion, Paraguay
- Shenyang, China
- London, England
- Kuwait City, Kuwait
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Windhoek, Namibia
- Managua, Nicaragua
- Quito, Ecuador
- San Jose, Costa Rica
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Some of these locations have more than one assignment available for bidding. I know it may seem strange to prefer San Salvador, El Salvador or La Paz, Bolivia over Athens, Greece or London, England. However, my list depends largely on the job I’m bidding on as well as standard of living at the location where I will bid. For example, while London is a first-class city, the housing available in Bolivia is second-to-none while London’s housing is cramped. The cost of living in Bolivia is far, far lower than in London. We must take into account many factors when we bid, which is why London and Athens don’t automatically rise to the top of our list. New Zealand is near the top because the job, the city, and the amenities are all first rate. Chinese posts get preference because I really want to work in China. Damascus, Syria is near the top because the assignment is great, the expatriate community is excellent, and Syria is a historical and geopolitically strategic location.
