Dating foreign service

Prospective FSO Seeks Spouse

I am 22, single, and excited about the opportunity to serve abroad. My question comes from a struggle I face daily, and it has to do with dating. Few people I interact with know about the Foreign Service. What little they do know has come from knowledge I have shared. When I tell girls I want to become a diplomat, they seem to shy away. This occurs perhaps because of their need to have stability in a relationship, or maybe even because of news coverage that tells often of embassy bombings, threats, or deaths of diplomats abroad.

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Hey Travelers! A lot of you ask me to talk about relationships and the Foreign Service. This is something that I definitely wanted to know about before becoming a diplomat. There are many different sides to relationships in the Foreign Service like being single, dating, long-distance relationships, married, married with kids, and divorced in the Foreign Service. I plan to talk about these different areas to the extent that I can.

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Her story is one shared by many in the Service, but not one readily discussed because of its hard truths. A career in the Foreign Service has many perks: the profession, the chance to visit and live in new and beautiful places, the opportunity to meet cultures and people you normally would not be able to, and much more. However, there are many drawbacks, and it is critical that you be made aware of them, and understand them. I very much look forward to reading about your thoughts in the comment section. If you were to randomly ask Foreign Service Officers to describe their experiences, you would probably see a lot of common themes about their careers and living abroad.

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Relationships and The Foreign Service

Here is a medley of perspectives on what it is like to be single and serving at a U. What is it like to be single and serving overseas? According to the Family Liaison Office, about one-third—or 7, out of approximately 22,—of direct-hire employees from all agencies serving under chief of mission authority overseas are single. There are many types of singles—the young, unmarried, gay entry-level officer; the specialist with a Member of Household retired parent; the middle-aged entry-level officer; the divorced or separated mid- or senior-level officer, with and without children; and other combinations and permutations. Each type and, indeed, each different personality tends to have a different view of their situation.

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