At least, I am unique at our current post. I knew going into this weird lifestyle that trailing husbands were rare, but ho boy they weren’t kidding. Here in Shenyang, I’m one of three trailing husbands. One of the others has a house full of kids he’s busy with. And the third one just left post for a job opportunity. So, I’m the sole trailing husband with no kids here. Hey, at least I take care of our cat.
Now, Shenyang is a small post, less than 50 Americans work here. Presumably the expat demographics in Brussels will be very different, but for now, I’m a man alone. Not a big issue for me, I tend to be a loner anyway, and Diplowife and I have friends (her coworkers) that we socialize with regularly. But you should know going in: don’t expect a lot of fellow childless husbands to hang out with.
On the bright side, back at FSI when I went to spouse orientation, there were a lot of other trailing husbands. So, hopefully the Foreign Service’s demographics are shifting and one day we won’t be such a rarity.