7 Things You Will Experience Living Abroad & How To Deal With Them
“All great changes are preceded by chaos.”
Hi there Stylish Friends,
When I moved abroad to Japan, I thought I was so ready for it. But when the actual day came I got this insane rush going through me. I was suddenly thinking a million things about this step in life. Will I have enough money? Did i bring everything I need? Why am I so determined on this again? What if I fail?
So many things that showed insecurity, but once I got on that plane, it all went away. It felt right. Now, 8 years+ down the line, I gained so many experiences living abroad and I wanted to share what I noticed personally which, most likely, you will too.
No Place Like Home.. Right?
That’s what I thought at first, but I find it hard to decide where home really is right now. This might sound sad, but relying on a ‘place like home’ is holding a lot of people back. Comfort makes people lazy and if you never get used to the comfort of home, you’ll forever be a bit less lazy. But don’t worry, whether it’s your new place or your hometown, you’d be surprised how much both will feel as equal, which is unique to people living abroad.
Appreciating Your Roots More
I come from a family that has a lot of different mixes in terms of roots and ethnicities, and this always resulted in me being judged on one of these cultural stereotypes. Whenever I am loud, I’m the American. Whenever I am late, I am the Indonesian. Whenever I am being cheap or straightforward, I am the Dutchman. It never really bothered me how people saw me, as long as they find me cool as a person. But moving abroad has made me realize how cool all of my cultural backgrounds are. Especially my Dutch part, because being overly proud of being Dutch in the Netherlands is usually not perceived well.
Building Friendships is Difficult
Making friends with locals seems to be the first logical step, but you will soon find out that this is more difficult than it seems. International friends are way easier to make and it is best to start of there until you have mastered the local language/culture a bit more, or find locals that speak a language you speak too! The downside of international friends is that a lot will come and go, because settling long term in one area does not happen often in these circles. It’s easy to end up in a bubble, so be aware of how your friendships are balanced, and don’t forget that everyone is different.
Weird Nostalgias
The last time my parents sent me a care package, it included some items (well food lol) that reminded me of home. This is normal but when I was still living there I did not buy that specific food frequently, but i had this sudden craving for it when making up a list. This made me realize how many items are so specific to your home town or country. Besides the type of items, it’s also the way you eat them. all at once or stretch it out as much as you can? receiving care packages is certainly a fun thing, so make sure to arrange one once in a while.
Responsibility towards your Family
Living abroad means that you can not just go see your family whenever you want or need. This means that you will see them less than before. Missing your family is always going to be part of life, but always keep in mind that something might go wrong with you or them. I am definitely recommending a fund just for family emergencies, as you missing out on these events will make you feel quite bad, especially if you could have done something about it.
Adapting to the Local Ways
Seems like a very normal thing to do, but in Japan a surprisingly high amount of people say ‘I don’t do that because I’m not Japanese’. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I feel like no matter how illogical things are, sometimes you just got to suck it up and adapt.
Managing your Budget
Moving is usually a great way to implement new habits. One of the habits you can think of is budgeting. Since you’re using a different currency as well, there are 2 new factors in life. New means there is no habit formed yet, resulting in unique opportunity to create new habits and lifestyles. Emergency funds will become more important too because of family members being far a way too, so think about this when you have the chance to do so.
Life abroad breaks your cycle of habits, forcing yourself to adjust habits you’ve always had. Use this opportunity to improve your life, even though sometimes you might up being less comfortable than before initially.
