Picture yourself in your new life. You’re living abroad. Maybe you’re in Europe or Asia, or some other enchanting part of the world. You step out of your apartment or quaint house and wander your way to the town center to meet a new friend for coffee. Floral aromas or fresh citrus fill your nose on your way, and you’re rehearsing some words and phrases in your newfound language to practice upon arrival. The day is glorious, but you are simply living life — you just happen to be doing it abroad. Nonetheless, the change of self is inevitable, and it is beautiful. Here are some things that will happen when you move abroad.
You adopt new customs.
Moving abroad is bound to bring you new habits, daily rituals, and ways of living your life. You might find things in your chosen country that just make sense and you find yourself adopting them little by little.
Over the years, I’ve incorporated many aspects of the Spanish Barcelona lifestyle into mine. My love for a daily coffee out a cafe, never using a dryer even when I have access to one, sharing tapas with friends, and realizing a beer or wine at lunch is perfectly acceptable during your break from work are a few things that have easily intertwined into my life thanks to living in Spain.
You'll still celebrate your homeland's holidays.
At least some of them. I may be living in Spain or Scotland, but I still throw down a big ole Thanksgiving dinner for all my American friends and even foreigners who are curious (and hungry).
You’ll too find that one of the things that happen when you move abroad is that you realize how much you love certain home holidays… and how much you actually don’t care about some the others.
But you'll celebrate new holidays, too.
Whether it’s new Christmas traditions like drinking mulled wine by a wintry market or celebrating Carnival for the very first time, you’ll soon find there’s much to celebrate.
In Spain, I quickly learned that this country loves to party and celebrate absolutely anything. In Barcelona, every neighborhood has its own festival along with dozens of other annual festivals, special holidays, and unique traditions.
Fully embracing a country’s traditions is easy when you become an expat by teaching English abroad. See my guide on the best teaching programs around the world.
When you visit home, you come back differently.
Maybe your style has changed. Maybe you have a different aura about you. Maybe you realize you’ve outgrown your friends, your old ways. Or maybe you just like different foods and have a new coffee order. Only time will time.
For me, I feel very different when I’m in Tennessee. Despite being part Scottish, I have always felt different, but now it really feels evident. I’ve lived in several different countries, and slowly that has reshaped me.
It sounds proteinaceous, but I dress differently, do things differently, and just live a completely different type of life compared to the people who still live in my hometown. That doesn’t make me any better, of course not, but nonetheless my fear is that people will think that of me. That I think I’m different because I chose a different path. So, when I’m back in Tennessee, I avoid old faces and hardly speak about my life in Europe when I do see people.
What are you like when you go back home? I’m very curious, so do let me know in the comments. <3
You become smarter.
More often than not, you’re going to find yourself chatting with people from around the world — not just the locals of your destination country. And with that, you’re going to learn so much from each other. A lot more than you would have ever covered in your school books. If you’ve spent your life in a small town, you’re going to love the challenge of different perspectives — and you’ll likely open your mind to new ideas and concepts.
You’ll also be visiting museums, learning about different customs, and growing your brain in more ways than just fun-facts and book smarts… You’ll learn how to take care of yourself, be independent, and thrive in a new world.
You learn to put yourself out there.
In so many ways! You may have to strike up conversations at a bar, go out to group meet ups you found online, or use a dating or friend-finding app for the first time.
Or, you may be learning a new language in your chosen country. Coming to Spain with prior Spanish knowledge helped a lot, but I’m still learning everyday. I’ve accepted that I’m going to make mistakes, and that’s okay. In the end, the only way to learn a language is try, make mistakes, and find a way to be understood. Embrace it!
