Finding Home Away From Home

Living abroad is a wonderful and enriching experience that can change your life in many ways. You’re exposed to a new culture, new customs, and new experiences that broaden your horizons and shape your worldview. During my own personal experience of living abroad, I found that I created my own sense of home away from home, which turned out to be a beautiful thing. Here are some tips on how to find home away from home while living abroad:

Embracing the Unknown

Living abroad initially can be an overwhelming experience, and it’s all about how you embrace it. You’re introduced to new sights, sounds, smells, foods, and customs. It can be scary, but it’s important to stay open-minded and curious to the new things around you. Talk to locals and fellow expats about their experiences and recommendations. This quality of embracing the unknown is what makes living abroad so special.

Finding Comfort in the Unfamiliar

Living abroad can be challenging initially, and the most important thing is to find some level of comfort in the unfamiliar. This means finding things that make you happy, even if they’re not part of the culture of the country you’re in. This can be anything from finding your favorite coffee shop or browsing the shelves of familiar brands at the supermarket or watching movies from home. Finding comfort in the unfamiliar will ease any homesickness and help you settle in more quickly.

Building Your Own Community

One of the most challenging aspects of living abroad is leaving the communities you’ve built at home, whether it’s friends, family members, or a professional network. One of the great things about living abroad is that there are other expats in the same boat. It’s essential to attend expat events, join online groups or social clubs, and engage with the locals. Creating your own community is invaluable for your well-being as you live abroad.

Exploring the Unknown

Another great advantage of living abroad is the opportunity to explore new and exciting places. Living abroad gives you the chance to enrich your life by taking trips to local attractions and getting to know the surrounding areas. This can be anything from exploring the art and architecture of your new city or taking weekend trips to nearby towns or hiking trails. Exploring the unknown gives you a sense of adventure and makes living abroad all the more memorable.

Overcoming Challenges

Living abroad has its challenges, ranging from language barriers to cultural misunderstandings, but it’s all part of the experience. It’s important to recognize that these challenges are inevitable, and to look at them as opportunities for personal growth and development. By facing and overcoming challenges, you’ll adapt and learn how to thrive in unfamiliar situations, which is a valuable skill when it comes to both personal and professional growth.

Living abroad is an incredible opportunity that can change your life in many ways. It provides a chance to learn, explore, and grow in ways that would have been impossible had you remained in your home country. While it can be challenging at first, there are many things you can do to help ease the transition and make the most of your time abroad. Embrace the unknown, find comfort in the unfamiliar, build your own community, explore the unknown, and overcome challenges. If you receive negative feedback in any sense of the word from friends or family, it is completely normal, just go with your gut instincts and you will be keep that illusive smile on your face. And, If you adopt these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to making the most of your time living abroad and creating your own sense of home away from home.

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Original story (created by me) published on Medium.com. Any changes and/or updates that have been added on Vocal.media are for content consumption purposes.

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