How do you deal with the perceptions people may have about not earning as much as your husband?

"The dynamic for expats here is that the man has the expat contract and the wife is here, but she legally cannot work in the country. The wife ends up doing freelance work, selling pastries, crafts, blogging, something on that end. They're a little looked down upon. I am physically able to work here, and the freelance work I am doing is contracted, legal, paid work, but I still feel like I’m getting lumped in with all these other women.

"Part of me feels like I don’t want to be a part of that group, and then I think, Am I a bad person for not wanting to be part of that group? Because a lot of the wives were primary breadwinners at some point in their relationship. One of our closest friends, the wife used to be a CMO at a major fashion brand, and she moved here so her husband could have more flexible hours. He makes a little less now, but they have more time to be together. It’s interesting that we’re all seen as housewives, even though we all make an active contribution — and we all have made contributions to our relationships. It’s just not currently as significant as the person who has the expat package that provides the driver and the housing."