Whether you are asking yourself: "Is expatriation something for me?" or if you already have a couple of experiences behind you, this article will either help you put yourself in the situation and understand the changes it might imply, or it can help you reflect on this unique and life-changing experience.
Before we deep dive into it, please note everyone is different. Every experience might vary depending on the location of expatriation. Before starting your expat life, we recommend to search some basic information and most importantly find a solid reason WHY so we can make the best out of it!
Here are 10 life-changing situations you will notice as soon as you become an expat.
Let's start with some obvious ones:
#1
Learning a new language
When you arrive in a new country, the first thing you will instantly notice is the difference in language. You might be “lucky” and not be lost in translation because the area you have just landed speaks the same language as your home country or your mother tongue.
Maybe you still have a good level of that second language you picked up in high school, or simply because the new city you are now living in is very international and you can pretty much find your way out using English everywhere. For the others, Google Translate will be your BFF for a while but you will quickly understand it is not your most reliable bilingual friend. Learning the local language, or at least the basics, becomes a necessity, not only for your daily life and paperwork but also to communicate with others so you can understand and be understood. For some, it will feel easy and natural to pick it up. For the ones that have more difficulties, don’t give up! Start small and walk your way up! Remove those linguistic barriers and a whole new world will open up for you!
#2
Embracing a new culture & food
Would you agree that even within one country, you do find diverse cultures? Each city has its own historical background and architecture, some regions have distinctive cuisines, various sets of habits, and ways of living.
So you can imagine when you go live in another country, and even more striking when you change continent, you can expect a completely different vibe than your home town. Be prepared to live and experience something different from what you are used to. Open your mind to new tastes, different venues, specific customs, enrich your fashion sense, etc... You might be surprised how quickly you pick up a couple of these new habits in your daily life. Just embrace it and enjoy the uniqueness of this experience!
#3
Living in a new environment
Similarly to embracing a new culture and food, living in a new environment will certainly feel brand new. However, this one does not have a “touristic element” as the previous point does.
Searching for a new place to live will make the experience feel a bit more long-lasting if you will. All of a sudden you are not just visiting a foreign country but you will live there for more than 2 or 3 weeks! This time you will park your luggage aside, eventually buy furniture, and bring a couple of items to make your new place feel like home. Searching for accommodation is one of the very first tasks you will be facing. Depending on the city you are living in, you will be confronted with different problems: which neighborhood suits my situation, which budget am I allocating for accommodation, should I consider rental properties or should I buy if I already know I will stay longer term? If I am renting, should I share and look for housemates or can I afford to live on my own? So many open questions will pop up and perhaps a saturated market will make it even more challenging. But somehow. we all naturally find a place to call home at some point.
#4
Finding out you are way more resourceful than you think
Moving abroad and building a completely new chapter of your life somewhere else is anything but easy. You will soon realize how independent a woman you can be.
Between managing your new daily life, adapting to your new job and social life, making sure you understand all the rules you need to comply with, scanning for the best football school for your kiddos...You might find yourself lucky on certain occasions but just like life in general, things can get challenging sometimes. Now that you are living abroad, things are working differently, which is making it more difficult. However, you will discover how much resilience you have. As with any tough challenge, you will find a way to make it through and come back stronger than yesterday!
#5
Making new friends
Let’s admit it... Expat life can be a pretty good experience but an expat life with a bunch of beautiful individuals around you is even better!
We won’t preach it enough, one of our “Strong Core” values is to build and maintain strong relationships with your friends (the ones that are worth it). Even if you are living abroad, you will inevitably cross the path of wonderful people to share a piece of this adventure with. You will be thankful for this experience abroad, as you probably wouldn’t have met these special people if you were not an expat at the right time. There will be many occasions to spark a new connection with someone new, but maybe just a few will be meaningful and feel special. So choose well! To make this experience a unique adventure of a lifetime, the quality of friendship is much more important than the quantity.
#6
(Re)-Discovering human relationships again
Not to overgeneralize too much but in a world where economic growth and our jobs are leading our daily lives, we sometimes forget to take care of our inner-self but also the meaning of authentic relationships. The good news though, it is totally up to us to prioritize and incorporate these in our busy lives.
What does it have to do with this being a life-changing situation? Well, I personally noticed that if I was in my home country, I wouldn’t necessarily reach out to help me deal with simple paperwork or contest a fine because I haven’t subscribed to the national health insurance, (That’s maybe a story for another time – all I want to say is it was an honest mistake 😉 ) If I was in my home country, I would have get some recommendations but I would have dealt everything by myself, which is perfectly fine, don’t get me wrong! The point is I could feel the generosity and the genuine energy over simple tasks from local people. They still took their time to support and did not want anything in return. I appreciated it and from that moment on, I knew my expat life would be fine 🙂
#7
New ways of thinking and perspectives
Traveling to a new country as a tourist gives you a hint of some specific habits, behaviors, and cultural differences.
However, being an expat will extend the experience. It will deepen the knowledge and understanding of the population as you will spend much more quality time with them. You will catch little details that you wouldn’t if you were just popping by for a short city trip. Absorbing a dose of this diversity, learning about new perspectives in life, and new ways of thinking, together with applying them to your life can be so empowering! It is like a gift that opens your mind and adds another layer of greatness. When we were telling you being an expat will change your life... you will never be the same!
#8
Enjoying the time spent back in your home country
Of course, living abroad does not mean you will leave and burn all the bridges down with your home country. Sometimes you do not miss it but most of the time you always keep it in a corner of your head.
If you still have family and good friends there, they do pop up in your mind, sometimes randomly. They do make you feel safe, loved, or smile. You will probably miss them so every time you have the chance to go back, you will just enjoy every moment. Returning to your home country becomes a special event. You appreciate doing things that were once your routine or you love discovering new places. You become a tourist in your own home town, more present, enjoying every single minute.
#9
Creating exciting new ventures with locals
You might cross the path of smart, eager, innovative human beings who just want to make a difference as much as you do. If you both believe in the potential of a project, why not give it a go?
Not only will you push each other forward, but you will also have more support and motivation to get things done faster. Moreover, the combination of both of your skills, enthusiasm, and diverse perspectives can drive you to a unique concept! Weigh the pros and cons, do some market research, start networking, build a prototype, and test the water!
#10
Opportunity to start from scratch.
If you ever wonder how to start a fresh new life, then maybe being an expat is an option to consider!
What better place and moment could you have than starting a brand-new life while you are an expat? Unless you are joining family or friends, nobody knows you. Even if a few people do, you still have a lot to establish. In a way, this gives you the chance to escape the daily routine trap and be the person you always wanted to be, build (little by little) the lifestyle you always dreamed of, learn or do anything you like without the fear that someone will pull you back or judge you... Things are not going to be perfect right away, but you will have the opportunity to empower yourself and your life through this unique experience!
Bonus
Forgetting how to speak your mother tongue
How strange is this one? I thought I was the only one dealing with this awkward phenomenon but after sharing this with a couple of fellow expats, I noticed I wasn’t (the only one) losing my mind 😉
After some time living away from your home town, you might expect some vocabulary missing, some grammatical mistakes or even mixing 2 or several languages... Well, you will be spending 24 hours in a foreign country, being 100% exposed to another language, so your mindset will be adapting to the new environment. You will be putting all your attention on understanding every word, trying to reply to a simple sentence with the new words you have just learned... You will be living, breathing, and slowly doing and dreaming in that other language. You will be of course still fluent in your mother tongue but mastering a new language does require a lot of effort and mixing the 2 with a few remarks from your friends about it will be the price to pay 🙂
Being an expat is choosing to be on a new adventure. Make the best out of this unique experience of a lifetime!
Being an expat is choosing to be on a new adventure. You will have the opportunity to open your mind to learn new things, explore in-depth new cultures, and cultivate a growth, curiosity, and generosity mindset. Feel the genuine energy coming from the hosts or other expats. New ideas, friendship, or passion might emerge and lead to something greater than you ever dare to think of. Who also thought you would be learning a new language, surviving somewhere without knowing everyone or everything? Some challenges will definitely be there but knowing that you can always go back to your home country anytime if needed makes it less scary. So if you are ready for it, make the best out of this unique experience of a lifetime and ENJOY IT ALL!