The Third Culture Kid Experience by David Pollock and Ruth van Reken, 2000. 1. Being raised in a genuinely cross-cultural world. Instead of simply watching, studying, or analyzing other cultures, TCKs actually live in different cultural worlds as they travel back and forth between their home and host cultures. Some TCKs who have gone through multiple moves or whose parents are in an intercultural marriage have interacted closely with four or more cultures. Being raised in a highly mobile world.
Mobility is normal for the third culture experience.
Either the TCKs themselves or those around them are constantly coming or going. The people in their lives are always changing, and the backdrop of physical surroundings may often fluctuate as well. Many TCKs are raised where being physically different from those around them is a major aspect of their identity. Even when external appearances are similar to either their host or home culture, TCKs often have a substantially different perspective on the world from their peers. Unlike immigrants, third culture families usually expect at some point to return permanently to live in their home country.