10 Questions to Ask While Exploring a Global Move

“Could Singapore be our next home?”
Kenji Moriyama looks out the window of their Munich apartment, watching the autumn leaves flutter outside. He and Anna have been back and forth with the offer from Kenji’s company, relocating to Singapore for a three- to five-year assignment. It’s exciting, promising, and also impossibly complex.

Their children, Lina (6), Jonas (11), and Mika (15), have begun to ask their own questions, sometimes quietly, sometimes directly. At the dinner table last night Jonas dropped, “Will I make friends here?” Mika asked just now, “Will I fit in?” And Anna wondered aloud, “Am I giving up my career for this?”

In the hum of possibility and uncertainty, the Moriyamas are moving from dreaming about a global life to exploring whether it could, and should, become reality. As they navigate their conversations, the Moriyamas are asking some of the same questions many families do at the Exploration Stage. These reflections might help you consider what a global move could mean for your own family.

1. What season of life are we in, and how might this move fit or clash with it?
   Kenji and Anna sit across from each other one evening after the kids are in bed. Lina is just beginning school, Jonas is approaching adolescence, and Mika is firmly in the middle of her teenage years. The timing of a move could feel like an adventure or a collision with too many developmental shifts at once. “We’re in three different stages all at once,” Anna reflects. “Will this be good for all of us, or overload us?”
2. What do each of us need to feel like we belong, and how might this move nourish or disrupt that?
   Belonging is layered. For Lina, it’s her art class and the treehouse in the courtyard. For Jonas, it’s the local football team. For Mika, it’s language, identity, and friendships. Kenji finds grounding in meaningful work. For Anna, it’s the quiet constancy of familiar friendships and family nearby. The move to Singapore promises connection as a family unit, but also the loss of deeply rooted attachments. They wonder what it will take to feel at home again.
3. How might our past experiences with change shape our hopes, fears, and expectations about doing it again?
   Anna remembers their earlier move from Tokyo to Munich. It brought growth, but also loneliness and long adjustment periods. Kenji says, “We thought we knew what to expect, but the emotional side caught us off guard.” That experience gives them pause now. They realize this decision isn’t being made from a blank slate, but from the wisdom and wounds of their past.
4. How might we need to parent and partner differently in a new culture?
   The Singapore lifestyle will be different: a new school system, new climate, new pace. Kenji will likely travel more. Anna anticipates needing to advocate more strongly for the kids in unfamiliar systems. “We’ll have to be more intentional, both with the kids and with each other,” she says. They begin thinking through what it will take to sustain strong relationships in a very different setting.
5. How might our unique needs, whether medical, emotional, or educational, shape this journey?
   Jonas has dyslexia. Anna lives with chronic migraines. These aren’t footnotes; they’re foundational considerations. Can Jonas get the support he needs? Will Anna have access to similar treatment protocols as she currently has in Germany? They begin mapping what needs to be in place to protect their health and capacity, and what would make the move viable for the whole family.
6. What might it take to stay healthy emotionally, physically, and relationally in this new place?
   In Munich, the Moriyamas have a rhythm: morning walks, family dinners, community sports. In Singapore, those routines will shift. “What helps us stay well now might not be automatic there,” Kenji notes. They talk about building in emotional check-ins, creating new rituals, and making space to rest and recalibrate, especially in the first few months.
7. What might we need to grieve, and are we willing to face that loss together?
   Jonas says, “I’ll miss my teacher.” Lina clings more tightly to her favorite stuffed animal. Mika is quiet, but Anna notices her scrolling through photos from school trips. Kenji and Anna start naming their own anticipatory grief: leaving friends, family traditions, even the comfort of predictability. Together, they begin to acknowledge that letting go is part of moving forward.
8. How might this move impact our children’s identity and development?
   “Will I still feel German upon entering university, if I grow up somewhere else?” Mika asks. Jonas wonders whether his academic confidence will slip away. Lina doesn’t have the words yet but clings more closely to familiar routines. Kenji and Anna talk about helping their children build identities that are rooted but adaptable. They agree to prioritize connection to culture, family, and self, no matter the geography.
9. How aligned are we on the purpose, timeline, and trade-offs of this move?
   One evening they make a list: Why are we considering this? What are we hoping to gain? What are we prepared to give up? Kenji’s career, Anna’s personal growth, and the children’s expanded worldview are all on one side. Stability, community, and the known are on the other. They agree to a trial period with clear check-in points. “We don’t have to get it perfect,” Anna says, “but we do have to be honest.”
10. Who might we become as a global family, and what story might we write together?
    As they walk through a park near their home, Anna asks, “If we go, what do we want to carry with us?” Kenji answers, “Curiosity, resilience, a sense of togetherness.” The children each chime in. “The pancake breakfasts,” says Lina. “My football jersey,” Jonas adds. “My books and my playlist,” Mika says. They begin to imagine not just moving, but evolving. This move isn’t just about location. It’s about identity, memory, and the kind of family they want to be.

Maybe you’re reading this and recognizing pieces of yourself in the Moriyamas. Maybe you’re currently picturing what life could look like in Sydney or in Amsterdam. The idea is taking shape, not just as a fantasy, but as a possibility. And along with it come the questions: Will our kids be okay? Can we make this work? Are we chasing something, or building something?

These questions are not a sign of hesitation, but of care. They are the beginning of thoughtful decision-making, where both imagination and realism have room to speak.

The ten reflections you’ve just read are meant to guide honest conversations, strengthen your sense of connection, and help you discern whether a global move can serve your whole family, not just on paper but in real life.

When you’re ready for next steps, our Global Family Checklist: Exploration offers practical tools and milestones for families like yours. And if you need more structured support, our Guidance Plans for Global Families are here to walk with you, every step of the way.