Moving ... again? (!!!)

We go where my husband's employer sends us. A "mission" can be as short as a couple of months to max. 5 years. Since we have almost reached the maximum we will probably be leaving before the summer. The destination is still unknown.
Preparing is difficult since we usually only know 3 months in advance. I guess we look at it as a challenge, a new adventure. And most of all, we love change.
Every country has positive and negative sides. You just have to make the best out of it. If you can't, you are simply unfit for the serial expat life.

@globetrotter ... so it has been in the countries shown in your profile? May I ask the industry your husband works in?

I know the feeling .... one day your husband comes back from work with 'the news' .... and everything has to stop and get ready to move again!

Yes, my profile shows where we've been since 2005.
My husband works in aviation.

Most people can't understand how we can cope with the uncertainty, but we love this life because it allows us to get to know new cultures and people. It makes us realize the grass is never greener on the other side, just different. I have learned something at every location and I feel "richer" with every new experience.

I have lived and worked in 10 different countries over the last 46 years.
I know all about the pluses and minuses of life abroad.

@Stympy - Would you share some of the uos and downs from your experience?

Downs would be getting shot at and bombed on a regular basis by the Taliban in Afghanistan.Having continuing harrasment in PNG by locals claiming compensation and stopping work.

Ups would have to be the Lao people and the acceptance of what we where doing and how they would benefit from it. The Mongolians and their thirst for knowledge.

@Stumpy - and at a personal level? organizing your everyday life with every move - have you 'stopped moving now'?

No. I am now back from Ethiopia and looking for another contract somewhere in the world. I come back to my home in Australia when I am job hunting as all of he big companies have offices here.

Have been doing this for so long now I can go at short notice subject to the usual medicals, visa  requirements and contract negotiations. 

I always stipulate that I get flown back to Laos for my leave breaks so I can spend time with my family there. Wife and 3 children aged 6,9 and 15.

After having lived in 6 countries (> 12 months each) and worked in 3 more (> 3 months), I consider myself a global citizen and enjoy the variety this world has to offer. There really are more similarities between places and people than there are differences, but it takes an open, inquisitive mind and getting over the initial barrier to realize this.

@beppi - how was the move for those three times (work related)?

Did you find a job first, or did you chose a place first?

The three work-only "moves" were more like longer business trips. I stayed in a hotel or short-term apartment.
I always had a job (well, project, since I'm freelancer) first, but sometimes searched specifically in that country.

How do you deal with the everyday life with so much moving around? - Family, friends, relationships, hobbies .. you know, the day to day outside work.

Every new place gives me new friends and experiences.
Of the old ones, some stay and some go, just as with any move. But the Internet has made things much simpler in this respect.
Family is a bit more problematic, especially if they cannot join and you only fly back once or twice a month. That's the reason I'm trying to give up this lifestyle now.