A typical but unfulfilled dream for many Americans is to live and work in Europe, at least for awhile. Long enough, perhaps, to learn that language they’ve always wanted to learn — French, Italian, or even German.
Well, guess what. It’s a lot easier to do than you might think. In fact, you could get on a plane tomorrow and find a job in Italy in a matter of weeks, or even days (if you’re lucky).
Nearly twenty years ago, I arrived in Brussels, Belgium after graduate school in Italy. I had no money and no job but I wanted to stay in Europe. Through the grapevine, I heard about a customer service job at a nearby US military installation. Veterans will recognize it immediately as the local ‘PX,’ or Post Exchange.
Post Exchanges have a long and interesting history. For those who have not served, they’ve been run by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service since 1895. AAFES‘s job is to give US soldiers and their families access to the American goods and services that they could not otherwise find. AAFES exchanges follow around US military bases in a global web that I like to call the Yankee Archipelago.
Back in 2001, I didn’t have the legal status for a regular Belgian job. But I could work for AAFES, bagging groceries for NATO big-wigs and stationed soldiers. Granted, it wasn’t the sort of job that two MA degrees had prepared me for, but it did keep me in Belgium for several months. I had fun, learned a lot of French, and made contacts that would later help me land a real job at NATO Headquarters. There, I ended up working as a speechwriter for the NATO Secretary General for several years.
The beauty of it all? You don’t need a local work permit. AAFES jobs are not regular, ‘on the economy’ jobs. They’re special jobs covered by Status of Forces agreements, and they usually employ Americans.
In Belgium, you don’t even need to show up with a visa. If you find a job on a US army base within 90 days of entering the country, then legally, you’re good to go.
It’s not the most glamorous work. Whaddya gonna do? It’s customer service. You’re either stocking shelves or arranging baby shoes in the toddler section of a department store. But in Cleveland, you can’t walk out of a Wal-Mart and catch a short train to Paris. (That’s Paris, France — not Paris, Ohio.) And there’s always a chance that you could trade up for a better job on the base, or off it — as I did.
Of course, there are other ways to work in Europe. You could join the Foreign Service, although that would take a while, assuming you passed the test. You could get your company to transfer you, although those jobs are rare. But if you want to support yourself in Europe in a month, or a week, or even a few days from now, well… there’s an option.
A warning. You really have to want to learn the language. That means getting away from some of your American co-workers after hours. If you take full advantage of your cultural opportunities, living in Europe will change you forever. If you don’t, then you might as well be working in a 7-Eleven in Paris, Ohio.
So do you want to learn French, or German, or Italian, or Dutch? Do you just want to soak in some European culture, but never thought that you could afford the cost? Why not support yourself by working in English, but living it up after hours while learning (or perhaps just improving) the language you’ve always wanted to learn? AAFES has Exchanges all over Europe, particularly in Germany and Italy — and all over the world, for that matter.
In Belgium, there are at least four positions open as I write. Go have a look!