Raising a Family When Your Partner Travels: A Life With Frequent Business Travel and International Moves

Discover expert insights on long-distance relationships, raising children abroad, and staying connected across distance with frequent business travel.

Shortly after relocating to the United States, Flor Bretón Garcia finds herself juggling motherhood, a new language, and a partner who travels frequently for work. Looking back, she sees a young mother who was isolated, overwhelmed and lonely. Many globally mobile parents face these emotions and experiences. Having a travelling partner is one of the top stressors for accompanying partners ¹. And they wonder if they can truly manage on their own. The answer is yes, but not without intention, support, and self-compassion.

In episode #92 Of Holding the Fort Abroad, Flor joins Rhoda Bangerter to share how she and her husband navigated years of frequent work travel, both also moving internationally.

Listen to the full episode HERE.

1. Lazarova, M., McNulty, Y., & Semeniuk, M. (2015). Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility: Key Characteristics of the Successful Moveable Family. In (pp. 29-51). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17647-5_3

Let Go of Perfection: A Survival Skill for Globally Mobile Parents

You don’t have to be the perfect parent or partner. When careers pause or shift due to relocation, many parents attempt to compensate by excelling at everything else.

But the goal is not perfection, let that one go! Focus on being present.

Flor encourages parents to:

• Practice deep self-compassion
• Accept that some things will fall short
• Recognise that survival, in itself, is an achievement

For families separated by work travel, this mindset shift is essential.

The Hidden Challenge of Living Apart: Isolation

One of the biggest challenges for parents living apart from their partner is isolation.

Even when surrounded by people, it’s easy to stay at surface level, especially when navigating new cultures or languages. It’s hard to reach out, not because we don’t need help, but because we’re exhausted and unsure how to ask for it.

Her advice is clear:

• Seek out safe spaces for connection
• Be open to vulnerability, even if it feels uncomfortable
• Look beyond immediate surroundings, community can be global

Organisations like Families in Global Transition bring together individuals navigating life across cultures, offering both resources and meaningful human connection  for families living internationally. 

Career Challenges and Opportunities for Accompanying Partners

Frequent relocation and being the home-based parent (the one at home when partners travel) can disrupt traditional career paths, but they can also open new ones. Flor’s journey, from law to education to cross-cultural consulting, is a perfect example of a nonlinear, portable career. Rather than following a straight line, she followed a thread: a passion for human dignity, belonging, and connection.

Her advice for partners looking to rebuild a career:

• Look for the common thread in your experiences
• Embrace flexibility over rigid career plans
• Consider remote or portable work where possible

Reconnecting as a Couple After Years Apart

“There is going to come that time where you are going to be two again and you’re going to be part of those trips. But it requires intentionality, it requires a conversation. It requires to acknowledge that we are two different people.”

Children grow up and leave! Then what? After years of managing distance, routines, and responsibilities, couples can find themselves asking: Who are we now?

For long-distance couples or those navigating frequent separation, reconnection doesn’t happen automatically.

• Honest conversations
• Intentional time together
• A willingness to rediscover each other

Flor and her husband used travel as a way to reconnect—but it took effort and intention.

A Message of Hope for Families Living Apart

“There is the hope of knowing that you are raising children that are going to grow in a way that they are going to learn by example what it is to be, to adjust, to adapt, to be agile. In different circumstances, they see their mothers juggling and trying different things.”

If you are currently living this life, raising children while your partner works abroad, navigating loneliness, and wondering if it gets easier, there is hope.

The days may feel long. But the years are short. And along the way, you are building something powerful: a resilient family, flexible identity and a strong relationship. 

This journey is about showing up, adapting, and staying connected, both to yourself and to those you love.

If you are the home-based parent and are struggling, find hope here.

A cross-cultural expert who helps organisations lead global teams, co-founder of Leading Across Culture and President of Families in Global Transition, Flor brings both professional insight and personal experience. Born and raised in Venezuela, she moved to the United States at 22 after getting married. She soon began building a family while managing the realities of a long-distance marriage due to work travel. Connect with Flor on LinkedIn and on her website Leading Across Culture

Find out more about Families in Global Transitions (FIGT) at Families in Global Transition – Home and their events here. 

Want more?

Listen to the full episode of Holding the Fort Abroad featuring Flor Bretón Garcia, and check out the show notes for specific strategy links and recommended reading.And let’s keep talking: come and say hi on Linkedin . You don’t need to figure this out alone.