What It‘s Really Like Being an Expat

Moving overseas is everything you think it will be, and the opposite, at the same time. It‘s as fun as you imagine it will be, between exploring a new city, finding a new place to call your own, and making new friends with likeminded people. It‘s also as tough as you think it will be, experiencing things like homesickness, overwhelm, and a general feeling of what-is-going-on.

At the beginning of 2019 I decided to make a change for the better and move my whole life to Europe. It was something I felt deep within my heart that I wanted to do. I had been to Europe about four times on holidays so I really felt I knew what I was getting myself into. Between the fun adventures, new job, and new friends, I also realised how deeply it affects me to be away from my first home. I think there are a lot of expectations around what being an expat is really like, and what it really means — so this has been my experience of it, almost one year and counting.

You‘ll Miss Everything

OK let‘s get the homesickness thing out of the way. It almost embarrasses me to admit this but for the first time in my life I feel homesickness now on almost a daily basis. Sometimes it‘s something as simple as missing the weather I got used to my whole life, then it ranges to missing the smell of wattle and the sound of the waves lapping the shore. It‘s really weird because these things before I just assumed were part of life. Now they‘re a vague memory and something that is now part of an old chapter of my life. When I moved to Europe, I really wanted to (and still want to) experience something totally different, and while I do feel at home in Austria and do really love being here, there‘s this weird looming sense of missing the comforts you once had. Homesickness isn‘t rational, and it doesn‘t mean I want to get on a flight and go home, but it does mean that everything that wasn‘t important to me about my home suddenly is.

You Find Yourself Confused on a Daily Basis

I don‘t know whether it‘s the fatigue, or the way your body and mind adjust to all the new things around you, but everyday things will now become incredibly confusing. It ranges from being paranoid that you‘re on the right tram and haven‘t missed your stop, to going to the supermarket and suddenly not knowing what vegetables you enjoy. It‘s this weird feeling of not knowing what you like or what you want to do, and some days it seems easier to just stay inside. In my experience, this phase only lasts a couple of months in your new place, but it also has reappeared for me when I moved cities within the same country. I love the new experiences, but I don‘t like that grocery shopping is overwhelming, or going to a new cafe just feels weird.

You Can Reinvent Yourself

I absolutely love self development so for me, the thing I love most about being an expat is the chance to reinvent myself. This is the upside of all the change and all the new things along your path — you can now actively decide what‘s in your life and what isn‘t. Nothing in your life has been there before. You don‘t have to struggle to rid yourself of old routines or places or people, you can now actively create the life you want. I can choose what style I dress myself in, where I go after work, what my hobbies are, and on top of all of that integrate new things I‘ve never done before like climbing or stand-up paddle boarding. Somehow, it‘s just easier. There seems to be no “glue” binding myself to who I used to be. No-one knows your past here, and you can make new friends based on the type of person you are now, not based on the person you were in high school when you were still figuring yourself out. It‘s the best chance to be the freest, happiest, most out-there version of you.

You‘ll Do Things You‘ve Never Done Before

This goes with the reinvention thing, because now you‘ll look at everything you‘ve ever wanted to try and just do it. It‘s like some force takes over you and all the excuses you had not to do things before become irrelevant. Sometimes you‘ll even try things you never knew you wanted to try before. When I first moved to Austria, I thought it would be a good idea to just say yes to everything, even if I was unsure, and honestly it has given me the most amazing experiences. I went to Germany on a whim with a friend, got into stand-up paddle boarding and climbing, and met up with friends in a foreign city by myself. For the first time in my life my daily life began to feel like an adventure, and I could do the exploring. I‘m still getting outside of my comfort zone and trying new things, but the thrill hasn‘t worn off yet.

You‘ll Feel More You

I think this is the real sign that you‘ve moved to the right place. If you feel more and more like yourself everyday you wake up, then you‘ve chosen correctly. I think it‘s because you‘ve chosen from the heart. Choosing where you want to be based solely on your own desires and needs as a person, not dependant on anyone else, means you‘re choosing only the best for you. I have these moments where I‘m just walking down the Danube in Vienna, or when I would cycle by the Salzach in Salzburg, and I feel like I am exactly where I am meant to be.

I love my new life living in a foreign country, although sometimes it gets rough and I crave the comforts of home. I also remember the burning desire within me one year ago to make a change and to live a life I love, and then suddenly it all becomes worth it all over again. No matter how hard things get you have to keep your head up, and just keep walking.