A millennial who’s lived in 4 countries in 5 years shares which places offer the cheapest childcare, food, and housing

Chris Oberman has lived in South Korea, China, Iraq, and the Netherlands since 2019.

Moving to a new country can come with its share of financial obstacles. Chris Oberman knows this better than most.

Since 2019, Oberman, his wife, and their two cats have lived in five cities across four countries. His wife, who preferred to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, has a government job that requires them to move every few years.

They started their journey by moving from the Netherlands — where Oberman is originally from — to Beijing, where they lived for about two years before moving to Shanghai. They lived there for almost two years before moving to Erbil, Iraq in 2022. The couple resided there until they moved to Seoul, South Korea about two months ago, where they live with their infant son.

Oberman said the financial impacts of living across the globe have been a mixed bag. While his wife’s company now covers their moving expenses, they had to fund their first couple of moves themselves — among the reasons they chose to sell a lot of their belongings. Additionally, the costs of food, housing, internet, cell service, electricity, and public transportation have varied significantly by country, making budgeting challenging at times.

Moving so often has also made it difficult for Oberman to find steady employment, so he’s had to adapt. Over the last few years, he said he’s earned some income from DJing, producing music, and photography. He also started a travel blog that he hopes he can turn into a side hustle.

“With a creative background, I bring some flexibility to our travels,” the 38-year-old told B-17 via email, adding, “I have options to work no matter where we land.”

Over the past year, B-17 has interviewed several people who have moved away from their home countries. While some have moved for an adventure or a job, others have done so to save money on expenses like housing and healthcare.

Oberman shared the financial pros and cons of the four countries he’s lived in over the past few years — and the hardest part about being away from his home country.

The financial pros and cons of South Korea, China, Iraq, and the Netherlands

Chris Oberman said full-time day care is “really cheap” in Seoul.

Since moving to Seoul, Oberman said he’s found groceries and housing to be “quite expensive.” He and his wife expect to pay over $4,000 a month for a three-to-four-bedroom home with an outdoor space — they’re living in a hotel in the meantime.

However, they were pleasantly surprised by the cost of childcare. The couple found a full-time day care option that charges roughly $400 a month for children less than one year old, according to a document provided to B-17. That number declines to about $350 a month for one-year-olds and $300 for two-year-olds.

“Full-time day care is really cheap,” Oberman said, noting that is the first time he and his wife have actively explored day care options.

In China, Oberman said one of the biggest financial pros was that he found plenty of DJ work.

“I performed shows, worked for a Chinese company, produced music, and even got paid to judge a DJ contest,” he said. “I received job offers or other opportunities almost every month.”

Oberman said one of the biggest financial challenges he faced in China was that buying things like food with his cellphone was in some ways almost too “convenient.”

“Society is so consumer-oriented that it’s easy to end up spending a lot and buying more than you intended,” he said.

In Iraq, Oberman said much of the food was fairly affordable, and that a $20 gas tank — which the couple used to cook — lasted them five months.

“Every week, a little truck would drive around, playing an ice-cream truck-like tune, offering full gas tanks for exchange,” he said. “I found this so fascinating.”

Oberman said the financial downsides of Iraq were that it was hard for him to find job opportunities and that he didn’t trust the quality of certain goods.

“Let’s say you want to buy a car — you never really know what you are buying,” he said.

Oberman said the best thing about his home country of the Netherlands is the healthcare and schools — which he said are both high quality and affordable. He said he and his wife went back to the Netherlands for a few months for the birth of their child due to the “substandard” healthcare in Iraq.

He said the Netherlands’ biggest financial downsides are that rent, groceries, public transportation, and energy costs have gotten more expensive in recent years.

The adventure of traveling the world has been worthwhile

Chris Oberman said he sometimes misses friends and family, but that he loves the “adventures” that come with living internationally.

More than any financial challenge, Oberman said the toughest part about living internationally has been being away from friends and family.

“Whenever I’m back home, the stories I tell don’t quite resonate with them,” he said. “Not being able to really share those adventures is something I didn’t expect would happen.”

However, he doesn’t regret the path he and his wife have taken.

“We chose this life because we love to travel, and living abroad is much different than a week’s holiday,” Oberman said, adding, “We love a culture shock, the new possibilities, and even small things like going to the supermarket can be a new adventure.”

He said they hope to keep exploring the world even as their son gets older.

“If he prefers to stay in one place or in our home country, we will definitely consider that, of course,” he said. “But we hope he likes traveling just as much as we do.”