Half a World Away

For this empty-nester expat – with college-aged kids back home – FOMO means something quite different.

Amanda Jaffe

Back in the United States, when my youngest of two sons was in high school, I used to joke that I’d rent out his room when he left for college. When the time came just over a year ago, and our nest cleared out, my husband, Mark, and I outdid ourselves: We rented out the whole house – and moved halfway around the world, from New Jersey to Singapore. Our oldest, Ian, now 23, was about to begin his last semester of college, while our youngest, Noah, now 19, had just finished his first.

If you take parenting out of the equation, my ex-pat life thus far has been the essence of YOLO. Untethered from a job for the first time, I’ve been discovering my inner extrovert, as I throw myself into the “work” of making new friends here. I’m watching hornbills frolic from the balcony of our condo in Mount Sophia. I’m finally becoming a writer after 29 years as an attorney. If empty-nesting can lead to a midlife crisis, I’m having the best midlife crisis ever.