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Average Customer Rating:

Not at all what it is billed to be if you take the title and dust-jacket seriously

Customer Rating:

Perhaps I took too seriously the book's cover and title. Bills itself as "explore the world," "Let ... 15 ... families who lived in Europe, China, and South America show you ..." But the proper title and the proper cover blurbs ought read: Wanna live in an impoverished third world country? You can! Or, perhaps, "How you and your children can live in impoverished Mexico." There is not one word about China or Europe in the book. Perhaps a better title might be: "Living in Mexico for a year-and-a-half on $35,000 savings, with tips for having fun with your young children" Here's what I get from the book: Step 1: don't buy a new car and save like heck for a few years until you've saved $35,000. Step 2: ask your young children's teachers what they should cover during their year living in Mexico (the book is solely about Mexico); Step 3: rent your house while you're gone; Step 4: play with your children and anticipate that they will need your love and support during the first few months in a third world country where they don't know anyone or the language; Step 5: learn the language while you live there, and have fun; but don't expect the telephone to work. There's an oddly unfinished story about how the author's friends pestered phone company authorities to get service restored. We learn only that the person at the phone company who said she would help left town for a two week vacation. Did they eventually get their phone service restored? We never find out. Instead, there's a sentence about how bribing a policeman in a corrupt country 100 pesos can get you out of a parking ticket. Just what one is supposed to do with these anecdotes is unclear. Since I'd believed the title and the book's cover honest, I was enormously disappointed to find no words about how to live in Europe--where England costs about 4 times the U.S. (after factoring in exchange rates and actual cost of living in much of the country). The rest of Europe is also dear these days with the Euro at near-all-time highs. And, as mentioned, there's not a word on China. Please re-title and re-blurb this book. Living in a third world/developing country/Mexico is, compared to U.S. living, affordable, and one should nurture and love one's children, but I simply must disagree with the others who have reviewed this book. Proceed with caution.

Great book if you are considering living abroad with children	Customer Rating:
This book is well written and easy to read. We are planning on living abroad for 2 years and it was very useful to ready about other families that have also done similar trips. Lots of great practical advice.

Very detailed, informative book

Customer Rating:

I was so happy to find this book as I was planning a sabbatical from my university to teach overseas in a developing country with my family. The book is amazingly detailed, and provides lots of great lists that I am comparing with my own lists. The discussion about the benefits about taking the kids abroad is fantastic! I really appreciate the details that the author provides, and the story of their family's extended stay in Mexico. While this book is the best one I've found, it very much is geared toward adults who are planning on taking a complete sabbatical - not people working, volunteering, etc. overseas. The book talks about difficulties in meeting locals, boredom, the excessive socializing with ex-pats, etc. I think a lot of that can be resolved by choosing specifically where you go (perhaps not going to a place with a huge ex-pat community) and giving back to the communities you are living in through working or volunteering with local organizations. A sabbatical doesn't simply need to mean a year of rest - but can also mean a year's break from one's routine. This book is an excellent resource and a delightful read, but the options of a sabbatical year can really be thought of much more broadly than it is portrayed.

A must read on many levels

Customer Rating:

This book is a must read if you are planning a sabbatical or being dragged into one. The FAMILY SABBATICAL BOOK is filled with well-researched information about the nitty-gritty details of what to do, but it is also a well-articulated emotional testament about the journey. Perhaps we'll never take a sabbatical, it is my husband's dream, not really mine. But if indeed we go, I will have a much better handle on preparation. And if we don't make it, I have lived vicariously through the hard work preparation and steep learning curve journey documented in this book. Clearly people who take sabbaticals are way cool...and out of their minds.

Funny, Frank, Entertaining	Customer Rating:
I'm reading this book and saying, "Why didn't I have this book ten years ago??" It answers so many questions and makes the difficult seem entirely possible. It's well-written and a good read, enlightening about foreign travel in general. I often find this kind of "how-to" book sort of clunky and irritating, but this was a joy to read.