My very fictional, very premature bid list
It's no big secret that I want to go into diplomacy. It's been a dream of mine since I was 10, and now that I'm in college I've started (albeit foolishly) thinking about the specifics.
Inspired by this blog post, written while the FSO was in his first tour and thinking ahead to the second, here is my list of preferences in posts, as of December 10th, 2018.
These are my general preferences, given that FSOs general switch off between "hardship" posts and the more cushy positions. I have to say, I grew up at a hardship post (without the benefits of being an Embassy worker like pay incentives, security, commissary, shipping privileges), so I'm not too concerned about my ability to adjust
You’ll observe some of my general preferences:
In general, I’ve placed the Middle East, North Africa, South East Asia, and Eastern Europe above all else. Followed by Southern Europe, Horn of Africa, South Asia, South America. Anything that is described in the real post reports as an "island paradise" is pretty low, unless there's something I find interesting going on there, politically.
My priorities are as follows
Is something political going on there that I find interesting?
Is the language spoken there a language that I speak or would be interested in learning? This also will factor into Language Designated Posts and the language requirement
Is it a post where there is demand? Would I be needed? (For example, I am envisioning not having children if/when I join up, so is the location a no-go for family)
$$$$ (Student loan repayment, hardship pay, danger pay)
Is it an embassy, a mission, or a consulate? On the whole, I would prefer embassies, mostly because I prefer living in capital cities.
Have I visited or lived there, and did I like it?
I’ll also note that I have included a couple of posts that don’t currently have diplomatic missions, in the hopes that they will be opened or re-opened in the next decade. Call me an optimist.
Finally, I want to put this into perspective. For those who aren’t familiar, the Foreign Service Bidding system works so that you take the posts available (not necessarily this entire list, it has to be boiled down based on what positions are available) and you split them into “high” “middle” and “low.” You can still be sent to your low-rated posts, and you still have to be willing to go to them.
For me, it is difficult to demarcate where high, middle, and low begin and end on this list. Regardless, I’ll try:
I would say my high rated posts are post number 1(Sana’a, Yemen) until number 101 (Chiang Mai, Thailand). I have moved this line 9 times. It’s quite a few highs, but of course any actual bid list would take into consideration which posts are open, and which ones fit with my cone, narrowing the lists.
101 (Chiang Mai, Thailand) until 158 (Tokyo, Japan) are my mediums. These are all places I would be excited and interested to live in, but don't necessarily fit in with my professional interests and visions.
Everything after that is my lows. All places I have either visited (most of which I have loved), and decided I don't want to live there long-term, AND I don't find these posts politically interesting, to my knowledge. For example, I know and love Western Europe and Canada, and would be interested in missions to International Organizations there, but in general I don't think I would be challenged in the ways I want to be at most of the consulates.
I didn't include either of the US posts - DC or New York. I would be ready and willing to serve in either at any time, if the bureau and office placement really suited my interests (e.g.- at the UN or with the Office of International Media).
Subject to change, and guided only by my current wishes, interests, and desires, here it is:
Highs: (In yellow because it's my favorite color)
Sana'a, Yemen (when re-opened)
Erbil, Iraq
Baghdad, Iraq
Kabul, Afghanistan
Damascus, Syria (when re-opened)
Tripoli, Libya (when re-opened)
Khartoum, Sudan
Juba, S Sudan
US Mission to ASEAN Jakarta, Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia
Cairo, Egypt
Skopje, Macedonia
Beirut, Lebanon
Amman, Jordan
Ankara, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey
Rabat, Morocco
Islamabad, Pakistan
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Tunis, Tunisia
Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
New Delhi, India
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Doha, Qatar
Basrah, Iraq
Jerusalem
Dubai, UAE
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Asmara, Eritrea
Djibouti
Muscat, Oman
Bamako, Mali
UN Mission New York, USA
Havana, Cuba
Rangoon, Burma
Manila, Philippines
Algiers, Algeria
Karachi, Pakistan
Lahore, Pakistan
Peshawar, Pakistan
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Dili, Timor-Leste
Yerevan, Armenia
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Bangkok, Thailand
US Mission to Somalia (prev. Nairobi, Kenya, now reopening in Mogadishu, Somalia)
US Mission to the African Union
Addis Ababa, Ethiopa
Kampala, Uganda
Kigali, Rwanda
Nairobi, Kenya
Conakry, Guineau
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Hanoi, Vietnam
Kolkatta, India
Phenom Penh, Cambodia
Vientiane, Laos
Zagreb, Croatia
Belgrade, Serbia
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Accra, Ghana
Free Town, Sierra Leone
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
Mumbai, India
Manama, Bahrain
Tirana, Albania
Pristina, Kosovo
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Brunei
Ulaan Baator, Mongolia
Abujua, Nigeria
Banjul, The Gambia
Bangui, CAR
Luanda, Angola
Rome, Italy
Port Moreseby, Papua New Guinea
Abidjan, Coite D'Ivoire
Lima, Peru
Santiago, Chile
Bogota, Columbia
Caracas, Venezuela
Montevideo, Uruguay
Mbabane, Swaziland
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Maputo, Mozambique
Antananarivo, Madagascar
Kinshasa, DRC
Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
La Paz, Bolivia
Florence, Italy
Tblisi, Georgia
Bratislava, Slovakia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Athens, Greece
Podgorica, Montenegro
Warsaw, Poland
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Kyiv, Ukraine
Mediums: (in Rust, because it's my second favorite color)
Taipei, Taiwan
Hyderabad, India
Quito, Ecuador
Chennai, India
Windhoek, Namibia
Lome, Togo
Libreville, Gabon
Lisbon, Portugal
Paramiribo, Suriname
Madrid, Spain
Chisinau, Moldova
Katmandu, Nepal
Berlin, Germany
Paris, France
The Hague, Netherlands
Kingston, Jamaica
Niamey, Niger
Monrovia, Liberia
Budapest, Hungary
Mexico City, Mexico
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Lusaka, Zambia
Maseru, Lesotho
Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, Fiji,
Vienna, Austria
Baku, Azerbaijan
Tel Aviv, Israel
Nicosia, Cyprus
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Naples, Italy
Brussels, Belgium
Prague, Czech Republic
Panama City, Panama
Pretoria, South Africa
Dakar, Senegal
Luanda, Angola
Cotonou, Benin
Harare, Zimbabwe
Ougadougou, Burkina Faso
Gabourone, Botswana
Port Louis, Mauritius
Guyaquil, Ecuador
Belmopan, Belize
Bridgetown, Barbados
Nassau, the Bahamas
San Jose, Costa Rica
Brasilia, Brazil
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
San Salvador, El Salvador
Asuncion, Paraguay
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Managua, Nicaragua
Singapore
Hong Kong
Tokyo, Japan
Lows: (in Sage, because it's my third favorite color (I'm terrible, I'm aware))
Minsk, Belarus
Marseille, France
Frankfurt, Germany
Dusseldorf, Germany
Hamburg, Germany
Leipzig, Germany
Wellington, New Zealand
Milan, Italy
Valetta, Malta
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dublin, Ireland
Copenhagen, Denmark
Helsinki, Finland
Lyon, France
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Oslo, Norway
Recife, Brazil
Georgetown, Guyana
Munich, Germany
Hamilton, Bermuda
The Holy See, Vatican City
Strasbourg, France
Stockholm, Sweden
Quito, Ecuador
Barcelona, Spain
Seoul, South Korea
Beijing, China
Switzerland – All
London, England
Thessaloniki, Greece
Bourdeaux, France
Rennes, France
Toulouse, France
Reykjavik, Iceland
Luxembourg
Shanghai, China
Japan - other
Mexico – other
Vilnius, Lithuania
Talinn, Estonia
St. Petersburg, Russia
Canada, All
Australia, All