Advantages & Disadvantages of Living Abroad

Advantages & Disadvantages of Living Abroad

There are lots of reasons a person may end up residing abroad: army service, work requirements, marriage and higher education, to name a couple. It is an exciting prospect but can be a daunting one, as well. There are pros and cons to becoming an expatriate, so make sure you weigh each side prior to making the big move.

Initially, adapting to a new country may be met with many challenges as you try to become accustomed to the different culture. Everything from the currency exchange rate to the federal holidays to the weather will take some getting used to. You will have to adapt to the social habits of the people, the shop hours, the work ethic, the cuisine and so forth. On the other hand, you may wind up preferring a few of your adopted country's customs for your own and also have a new appreciation for formerly unfamiliar conventions.

Foreign money (Image: Fuse/Fuse/Getty Images)Distance
Homesickness is a common complaint among new expatriates. Many say it takes up to 2 years to fully assimilate into a new culture and lessen feelings of isolation. Based on your financial situation and also the distance between you and your family members and friends in your home, visits may be few and far between. Fortunately, technology can help you get your fix from the loved ones in the form of telephone calls, email, social networking sites and webcams. If you don't have many ties in your home state, nevertheless, moving overseas can give you that new start you're craving.

Lady on telephone and looking at pc (Picture: Huntstock/Huntstock/Getty Images)

Speech
It is very tricky to live on a day-to-day basis wherever your communication abilities are restricted by a language that's foreign to you. If you are moving into a country where your first language is not their first language (or not spoken at all), then you will want to start learning the native language right away. Even in the event that you share a frequent language with your new country, you might be surprised at the confusion you might still confront. By way of example, you might speak American English and move to the U.K. or Australia. Although the language is technically the same, you will discover that many words have different meanings in British English and Australian English.

Women in dialogue at table (Picture: zhang bo/iStock/Getty Pictures)Location
Your new home state may be very convenient for some things and very inconvenient for many others. As an example, if you move to Europe you will have several states which may be achieved in one day or less by car. Many languages and cultures will be easily accessible to you, and it is easy to travel to many places which you might have only dreamed of previously but have been hampered by time and funding. At the same time, when you have relocated to an island such as Ireland or Hawaii, the distant nature of the location will mean higher prices for products, since it is going to take more time and effort to ship them there.

Cliffs in Ireland (Picture: Hon Lau/iStock/Getty Pictures)Employment
By the size of your resume newspaper to your choice of interview clothing, you'll have to find out more about the cultural conventions of a job search on your new land. It's particularly crucial to work out how you are going to approach taxes to avoid any legal problems. Or your field of work might be better represented in your new country, offering chances you had not realized before.