Moving Abroad: How To Adapt To A New Country And Be Happy.

I don’t know exactly what is going on, but at lot of people from our circles are moving abroad, for work or for pleasure. It is so exciting to see how they are getting ready, to read their posts, see the pictures, etc. It is like going back to the time when I moved away from home.

I moved from my native Venezuela first time in 2003 to the USA, but I went back to Caracas after few months. Later, I moved to Finland at the end of 2004. Here I have been almost eleven years. I can say that I have faced all the possible phases of my living abroad experience -from the excitement of “here we go, Finland” to “I am done with this country”. Yes, living abroad has its ups and down.

Here some tips which have made my life easier when living abroad:

Get to know the locals: As foreigner living abroad it is easier to go and try to connect with people with similar background than ours, or with other foreigners who are living similar experience. It is great to have some support from people facing same realities, you will need this, too. However, if you really want to get all from the experience, try to connect with locals. For me it have been easy to meet locals by joining sport activities, studying in the local university, taking short courses, etc.

Learn the language: it is easier to connect and especially, it is easier to manage your personal and business things in the local language. In addition, it is very nice to understand what is happening in the place where you live now and what people are talking about.

Get to know their traditions: There is nothing as amazing as enjoying different traditions. It really make you see the world under different perspectives. Join them in different tradition such as religious activities, celebrations, holidays, festivities, and even sport competitions. 

Candles in a Cemetery in Finland.

 

Religious figures in a Venezuelan beach

Respect their culture: you don’t need to like everything there, what they do or how they do it, but, respect is essential to manage your relations with people.

Eat local food: don’t be the one who needs to find all the stores where they sell food from your home country. Or the one who only eat a plain safe brand that you recognize. Taste new food, learn to prepare local food, enjoy the new spices and aromas. Food is an essential part of surviving abroad. Make it fun. 

 

Finnish Traditional Christmas food

Get to know the place and its surroundings: Now that you are in a different places, don’t stay inside the house. Go around, visit the places selected for tourism and those who are not yet found. Discover what this new home city or country can offer you. Take the bus, take the metro and take your car, you will see the place under different perspectives. 

 

The view of Keitele Lake (near Kuopio) in Midsummer

 

The view of a beach in Venezuela in December

Keep the complainers away: This is perhaps the most important learning from my own experience. When living abroad you will meet people who does not like to be there, and they don’t want that people around them like to live there either. Keep the distance. You don’t need all the negativism in your life.  Instead, look for those who find all the positive things about living there, those who want to show you the best places, introduce you to the people there, etc.

Be yourself, be free: You are away of the life you have known, and therefore you are away from all your society’s expectations. Do whatever you feel like doing. Don’t care a -think- about what the others are expecting from you. Don't compare yourself to other people there. Don't let people tell you "you need to do this and that". This is your life. This is your adventure.

There is a lot we don't know about the world, see this move as an amazing opportunity to see that, to get to know yourself better. Moving is not easy, you will miss your family, your friends and even your lifestyle. You are going to be humbled by challenges, but later you will feel awesome when you overcome them. Take your open mind with you. Learn from the people there, the locals and those who have been longer than you. See their way of doing things and mix it with your own way of doing things and your values. Enjoy the journey. And take pictures.