Pittsburgh natives Dave and Barbara Albanese had no intention of ever leaving the New Brighton home they so loved. Surrounded by family and friends, the boomers were enjoying suburban life with their three children, Lorenzo, 15, Giovanna, 11, and Luciano, 5. Picking up and moving more than 6,000 miles away was something that had never even crossed their minds.

“It was never in our plan,” says Barb.

But a whimsical comment Dave left on a friend’s voicemail would change everything. Set to move on from his job in the human resources department at Geneva College, Dave called a colleague and friend who worked in the human resources office of Carnegie Mellon University’s. Her voicemail message mentioned something about being at the university’s Qatar campus. Dave joked that if she was in need of an HR director at the Qatar campus to call him.

Much to his surprise, she did just that. The prestigious university just opened an undergraduate branch campus in the small, Middle Eastern country of Qatar, which is situated between Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, and needed a human resources director. Knowing Dave had more than 15 years of experience with university human resources departments, he was offered the job.

“At the time I didn’t even know where Qatar was,” Dave says. “I thought it was an island somewhere.”

Dave found out exactly where the desert community was located but didn’t tell Barb at first. Instead he simply told her about the job offer. Thinking the branch campus was possibly in Altoona or Harrisburg, Barb was thrilled. But when Dave revealed the true location, Barb gave a resounding “absolutely not” and refused to discuss it.

Having spent a semester abroad while a student at North Allegheny High School, Barb soon realized living overseas could be a wonderful opportunity for the family. So she got out a map and showed the kids where Qatar was located. They were thrilled at the chance to move to such an exotic locale, so the family decided to pack up and head to Doha, Qatar’s capital.

“We came into it with an open mind. Initially it was hard culturally and socially, but the kids thrived and made friends very quickly,” says Barb, who gave up a successful career in pharmaceutical sales for the move.

It didn’t take the family long to realize they had many misconceptions of the Middle East. Similar to Pittsburgh, Doha is a small city with a strong focus on family. Rich with oil and natural gas, the desert community is also a melting pot of people from around the world. A large ex-patriot community of Americans, Europeans, Canadians and Asians brings a rich and varied culture that is hard to duplicate. The Albanese children attend an American school with a diverse student body and are exposed to much more than they ever were at home.

Five-year-old Luciano already speaks a bit of Arabic, though he would rather talk about his beloved Steelers, and pre-teen Gia quickly made a circle of friends from around the globe. Lorenzo, who will be entering high school in the fall, has traveled to nearby Abu Dhabi and Kuwait for sporting tournaments and to Sri Lanka for the eighth-grade field trip to aid tsunami victims. Dave likes to joke that his son has been to more countries than he has.

And since Doha’s airport is serviced daily by several major airlines, the family has taken a few international journeys including a week-long missionary trip to South Africa. Something they would have never been able to do while living in New Brighton.

Plus the whole experience of moving from a town in which they knew everyone to a city in which everything and everyone is new, has helped them grow even closer as a family. Had they made this move as a young couple, the Albaneses may not have appreciated the culture, the place and the people as much as they do as mature boomers with a young family.

Living in a small country also has many perks, according to Dave. The family has attended several professional sports tournaments including a tennis match featuring Martina Hingis and a Grand Prix style auto race. And there is never an admission or parking fee, which is a perk for a family of five.

Dave’s job has afforded him the chance to meet former U.S. president Bill Clinton and attend a luncheon with Qatar’s Emir. Also athletes, politicians or celebrities that are typically surrounded by bodyguards and layers of protection in places like the U.S. and Europe walk around freely in a small and safe country such as Qatar. So the family never knows who or what they might see on a day out.

Though many of their friends questioned their decision to move to the other side of the planet – especially to the Middle East – at a time in their lives when most other boomers are setting down permanent roots, Dave and Barb have no regrets. They knew shaking things up a bit and jumping into a life that was completely and totally different would be a priceless opportunity.

Now many of their friends are expressing interest in taking such an adventure either with their family or after their kids are grown. “If people knew what an amazing opportunity living abroad is, they would line up,” Barb says. No matter what age.