Years ago, during one of my overseas sojourns, I read a magazine article which was devoted to interviews with the spouses (in practice, the wives) of local prominent expats - diplomats and business leaders, mainly. This article was surely meant to be sympathetic, but the wives themselves managed to confirm every negative stereotype you might have about people in their situation. These women were, without exception, spoiled, arrogant, unreasonable, and proudly ignorant, while their every complaint was tinged with racism and condescension towards the 'locals'.
As you might expect, the Foreign Service generally attracts people who are open-minded, adaptable, and relish new experiences rather than dwelling on hardship. So where are the Ugly Americans to be found?
Well it turns out they mostly hang out on a Facebook group called Trailing Houses.*
Look upon its posts, ye rational, and despair. Complaints about the free luxury housing (only two guest bedrooms!). Whining over the lack of Trader Joe's in Namibia. Demands that the State Department cater to their every whim and desire, from providing a car (and driver!) for all spouses to having an on-site veterinarian for the family pets.
This doesn't even begin to cover the airing of personal dirty laundry, the thinly-veiled racism, and the thousands upon thousands of posts which consist of nothing but questions that could easily have been answered with a three-minute google search
Mostly, though, the group acts as an endless source of validation. Any whine of self-pity is instantly approved and reinforced by dozens of do-nothing brats.
I suppose this is selection bias. Happy, well-adjusted, or stoic people don't spend a great deal of time kvetching on the internet. Still, it's sad to see people who would be miserable in any and all situations.
*The name is a pun on the old, pre-PC term for the husbands and wives of foreign service officers, 'trailing spouses'.
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