Originally Posted by
GregWTravels
On arrival times, I think you'll start to figure out what the acceptable time to show up is based on the first few flights. You'll soon enough learn how little time you can get away with.
Commuting like this can get you down. I did it for 10 years before giving it up. I was a bit of an old-timer by that time - most people can do it for a couple years before giving it up.
A few key approaches help in making it bearable.
First, I think you need to use the opportunity to explore where you are - treat it as a bit of adventure to go out and explore a new city each night.
Second, you can't carry guilt about those back at home - the wife and kids in your case. If you are constantly feeling guilty while eating in a restaurant in Paris thinking about the wife back at home making beans and toast for the kids, you'll burn out quickly.
Easier said than done. I did this for 7 years. I always felt guilty eating out. So I tried not to. Some days,I would get back to my apartment witn little or no food in the fridge or the pantry. It's not easy to keep them stocked if you travel home on the weekends and work long hours weekdays. On one of such occasions, I was too tried to even go out to eat. My dinner was boiled beans and an egg broken over the beans. It was simply ghastly.
Originally Posted by
GregWTravels
Finally, do take opportunities to treat the family. Instead of flying home, have them met you in Paris. Perhaps dump the kids on grandparents / aunts and uncles and treat the wife to a romantic weekend in Paris. Or a trip to Disney for the family.
Greg
I can absolutely attest to that. I worked on the U.S. Gulf Coast and the family lived near Washington, D.C. Some weekends we met in Europe--Paris, Lisbon, Madrid, Budapest, Istanbul. My reasoning was that going home meant more work for my wife--wake the kids up, haul them to the airport to pi8ck me up around mid-night Friday night, get my washing done on Sat, pack me up on Sunday and drop me off at the airport on Sunday night. meeting in Europe saved her from all the dreary chores.