The decision to live abroad can be tremendously exciting. Moving temporarily to another country can open up huge financial, educational and cultural opportunities. You may want to spend a semester doing an internship in London. Aside from the adventure factor, however, living abroad can have advantages and disadvantages.
Different Cultures
Living abroad for a period of time can expose you to an entirely new way of viewing the world. You can explore how people view such constructs as time, proper manners, addressing the elderly or very young, and even how they sit down for a meal. This can provide insights into your own culture and help you understand the motivations of people around you even better.
At first, adapting to your new country may be met with many challenges as you try to get used to the different culture. Everything from the currency exchange rate to the national holidays to the weather will take some getting used to. You will need to adapt to the social customs of the people, the shop hours, the work ethic, the cuisine and so on. On the other hand, you may end up preferring some of your adopted country’s customs to your own and have a new appreciation for previously unfamiliar conventions.
Language Fluency
One of the very best ways to learn any language is via immersion. Immersion means that you are surrounded with people who are fluent in the language. They may have some knowledge of English or even fluency to help you if you need it. But you will have the opportunity to read, write and speak a foreign language such as French, German or Japanese as often as you choose. This can help you gain fluency and understand nuance and idiom directly. Firsthand knowledge of a foreign language can open up all kinds of economic and social doors. Studying a foreign language so closely can also better your understanding of the structure of English.
It is very difficult to live on a day-to-day basis where your communication skills are limited by a language that is foreign to you. If you are moving to a country where your first language is not their first language (or not spoken at all), you will want to start learning the native language right away. Even if you share a common language with your new country, you may be surprised at the confusion you may still face. For example, you may speak American English and move to the U.K. or Australia. Although the language is technically the same, you will find that many words have different meanings in British English and Australian English.
Distance
Homesickness is a common complaint among new expatriates. Many say it takes up to two years to fully assimilate into a new culture and lessen feelings of loneliness. Depending on your financial situation and the distance between you and your family and friends at home, visits may be few and far between. Fortunately, technology can help you get your fix from your loved ones in the form of phone calls, email, social networking sites and webcams. If you don’t have many ties in your home country, however, moving abroad can give you that fresh start you might be craving.
Location
Your new home country may be very convenient for some things and very inconvenient for others. For example, if you move to Europe you will have several countries that can be reached in one day or less by car. Many languages and cultures will be easily accessible to you, and you can easily travel to many places that you may have only dreamed of previously but were hampered by finances and time. At the same time, if you have relocated to an island such as Ireland or Hawaii, the remote nature of the location will mean higher prices for goods, since it will take more time and effort to ship them there.
