CHALLENGES OF MOVING ABROAD
Millions of people have moved abroad or are planning for different reasons, such as job, career, study, love, to learn a language or travel and experience different cultures & skills or meet international friends. In fact, in 2017 alone, about 258 million people were living outside their country of birth, according to Global People Movements.
Regardless of the country you chose to move into, there are some common challenges you would be facing. Here are a few possible ways to deal with them.
LIFESTYLE CHANGE
Lifestyle change is one of the most significant challenges of moving abroad. Your daily routine would change drastically from the way you used to live back home. Adjusting to a new environment could be very stressful especially when you realize that you cannot do some things that you used to do in your country, like doing things on your own such as shopping for groceries, cooking or cleaning the house.
But there are certain things you can do to help you make the transition. Familiarize yourself with your surroundings. While living abroad can make a significant impact on your lifestyle change, you can also use it to take advantage of endless opportunities to discover plenty of new things that give you a brand new perspective.
PEOPLE
Living abroad means dealing with new people who grew up with customs and culture different from yours. It may pose a challenge as you try to understand and learn about how they do things. You may also have a hard time meeting new friends. But doing nothing to associate yourself with the people will take you nowhere.
So make your move. If you’re a little shy with making friends due to the language barrier (if you haven’t mastered it yet), you can try making connections with your fellow ex-pats or immigrants. Who knows, you might even enjoy learning about the different backgrounds of these people in the process. You can search for some groups online. There, you might find interesting people with whom you share some common interests.
FOODS
Another challenge of moving abroad is missing the traditional meals that you grew up eating from your country that is not readily available in your new home. For example, if you move to Germany, you will find that they eat lots of potatoes, bread, and cheese.
Explore the restaurants around your city and sample some dishes. It may take some time, but eventually, you will learn to adjust to the food in your new country.
And try something new every day by going to the supermarkets. You may also consider making your meals using the local ingredients.
Most importantly, don’t be hard on yourself. There are some foods you will like, and some will not pass to your liking, and that’s okay.
“Humor keeps us alive. Food and humour. Think about food. You can feel for a week without laughing.”
― Joss Whedon
LEARNING A LANGUAGE
Learning a local language before moving abroad is essential as it will help you communicate with the people there.
Technically you might not then be able to use your native language as you have to communicate and use a different one unless otherwise you came from an English speaking country and moved to a place where people use the same language. There are so many ways to study and practice the language. For instance, you can watch video tutorials or take online lessons and courses. Of course, the quickest and efficient way of learning a language to study it and to communicate in real-world situations in a language speaking environment.
RebootGo opens the door for your language trips, study, career and a full cultural immersion abroad. A few weeks of total immersion in the real day-to-day situations with native speakers will grant you the same language skills like months of learning a foreign language at home.
RebootGo will be pleased to assist you in turning your dreams into real international chances!
As Nelson Mandela once said, “Talking to people in a language they understand, this moves to their head. Talking to them in their language, that goes to the heart.”
Some people say that moving abroad is an act of courage and they are right. The process is not always comfortable, it is sometimes chaotic, confusing, and at times, depressing, and it takes courage to deal with all of that.
“The best way to manage any challenge is to take a step back, looking at the sky, breathing deeply in and out, smile if you have to…then dive in.”
― Waylon H. Lewis
Whatever a reason for a move is, it helps to remember that like any other challenges in life, this is something that you can deal with. Just be patient and don’t be too hard on yourself. Embrace all the challenges. One day, you’ll get used to your new life without even realizing it. Fortune favours the bold!
Lastly, as Anthony Bourdain once said,
“Travel makes changes in you. Moving through the life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.”
Inhale. Exhale. Breath. Deeply. You chose this. You got this.
