5 Tips That Will Facilitate Your Move Abroad
'To travel is to take a journey into yourself.'
As a true expat that has lived in many different countries, I can assure that moving abroad has many great benefits. You get to know parts of you that you never thought possible, you meet many different people and see very different landscapes. The more you travel, the more you get curious about what you do not know and the more you wish to explore what you already know. The more you move the more you get used to the challenges and benefits of it. Many times it becomes even a very addictive experience, since you always feel like you have not yet seen anything.
However, it is not always that easy. Do not forget that moving abroad is not just going on holidays to some fancy hotel with nice weather. There are many aspects that you have to have in consideration before moving.
Here are the five tips that will facilitate your move abroad:
1. Be open-minded and be prepared to face possible cultural shocks. Moving abroad means not only leaving your home, friends and family behind, it also means letting some nationalistic tendencies at home, such as language and cultural ideologies. You need to give yourself space to absorb the aspects of the new country where you are going to. This means be prepared to question some of your values, absolute truths and educational standardization that you experienced through your life in your home country. This does not mean change fully according to where you are living. It just means you need to open up for possible differences and opinions. This will permit you to integrate much better.
2. Give yourself time to adapt to the new situation. When you move, some things will not be as expected, even if you plan everything to the detail. Part of the experience of moving abroad is to be able to deal with improvised situations and having to adapt to new ways of living. The good thing is that this will give you a bigger sense of responsibility and organizational skills which will be beneficial for you even at work.
3. Have a clear objective of your goals. While the experience of moving will bring unexpected circumstances, if you plan beforehand it will minimize the risk of experiencing negative situations. You should have a clear idea of where do you want to work/study, where are you staying and which kind of results you want to take from the experience. This is not always possible, but at least try to plan as much as you can. 4. Try to integrate in the community. The best way to really discover and integrate in the new environment is to force yourself to get out of the house, join new activities and try to meet people. This will make you feel more at home and will make the adaptation quicker.
5. Learn the language of the country. Most likely you will be able to survive with English, but my personal tip is that you should always try to learn the language of the country. You do not have to speak it fluently, but it will definitely give you a sense of belonging. It can be frustrating not to be able to understand what people are saying around you and it can lead to misunderstandings. If you at least try to engage with the new language and traditions people will try to help you. You will also feel a deeper connection with the country, which will make your experience much more positive. Think about it, don't you like when foreign people try to speak your language?
Most importantly, do not quit straight away! The decision step is the most important one, the rest is just positive attitude and curiosity!