I haven’t lived in my home country for three years now and recently wrote an article about the things I love about living abroad. And I do! I love living abroad (otherwise I wouldn’t still be doing it, right?) and I encourage everyone to give it a try if they are thinking about it. However, I don’t want to pretend that everything is all sunshine. Living abroad can be hard. I want to give a realistic picture of what it’s like living in another country, so I guess it’s time to shed more light on the downs.
Many Things Are Inconvenient
A lot of things seem a lot more difficult when living abroad. Many, many things are different in other countries, and so it is almost guaranteed that you will spend a lot of time trying to figure things out in the beginning. I was shocked when I moved to the States and realized I had to pay my rent via cheque. I had never written a cheque before, so it took me a while to get a checkbook and to figure out how to fill out the blanks (I actually had to google it every time I paid my rent…#noshame). But even after three years in Ireland I still have those moments when I realize I am doing something for the first time - like how do I change a gas provider? How do I rent a car? How do I make a reimbursement claim? I know enough expats who try to avoid seeing a doctor unless they have no choice because it is a lot of effort trying to figure out how things work. Since I definitely cannot recommend that, I think it’s just one of the things you have to accept and once you figured it out, hope that it gets easier.
(CULTURAL) DIFFERENCES
Living in a different culture is part of the deal when moving abroad. And I generally enjoy the exposure to new cultures, but I do have to admit that there are some differences, I find a little harder to get over. Why is it, that in Ireland you drive on the left side of the road? Even after three years of living here I still find it requires quite an effort when I drive a car, to stay on the left side (particularly when taking turns). Why do all the plugs have to be different? There are just these few things I cannot seem to get over (yet).
YOU CAN’T HAVE IT ALL
I wish I could pack my family and friends and move them with me. And since we are talking about it, I would also like to pack the Californian weather, the German pretzels, the Irish banter, and smash it all together to create one super-place that I can call home. Unfortunately, you cannot have it all. You can have an adventure abroad, but you will have to live with leaving your friends and family behind (if you figure out a way you don’t have to, please let me know!).
Of course there are many good sides about living abroad! But these are the downsides I personally sometimes struggle with. I would love to hear from my fellow expats what it is that they have a hard time with!
Kate recommends: I recommend a copy of The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. Of course, its alright to mope around for a while, and be homesick or annoyed. But at some stage, you have to get back up there and keep rocking on. In The Happiness Advantage, Achor describes how happy people are more successful and what you can do to boost your mood!