Charmingmarie
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Expat life
    • Are you an Expat Feeling Down About Spending the Holidays Abroad?
    • Can you Easily Live in the Netherlands Without Speaking Dutch?
    • American Things I Miss the Most While Living Abroad
    • Here are the best places to Live in Europe if you want to Leave the US
    • What I Wish I knew before Moving Abroad
  • Destinations
    • What to do when Visiting the Hague
    • The Beautiful Ouzoud Waterfalls of Morocco
    • Experience Pismo Beach This Year
    • What to do in Rotterdam for a Weekend Getaway
    • Why You Must Visit California Now
  • Categories
    • Dutch Culture
    • Love & Dating
    • Dutch Cuisine
  • Contact
Featured posts
  • Reasons To Move To The Netherlands
    • Netherlands
    5 Reasons To Move To The Netherlands
  • Easiest Countries For Americans To Move To
    • Expat Life
    The Easiest Countries For Americans To Move To
  • How To Get A Job Abroad
    • Expat Life
    How To Get A Job Abroad
  • Expat Struggle
    • Expat Life
    The Expat Struggle is Real: Here are 4 Reasons Why
  • Why is Everyone Leaving California?
    • California
    Why is Everyone Leaving California?
Social Links
Instagram
Pinterest
Charmingmarie

California girl in the Netherlands

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Expat life
  • Destinations
  • Categories
    • Dutch Culture
    • Love & Dating
    • Dutch Cuisine
  • Contact
Expat Struggle
  • Expat Life

The Expat Struggle is Real: Here are 4 Reasons Why

  • 3 minute read
Total
0
Shares

Moving abroad is always a step out of someone’s comfort zone. You’re starting over in a country and culture that is different from your own and this comes with its own set of challenges. Here are the aspects that an expat struggles with the most. 

Being Homesick is Inevitable

Having bouts of homesickness is part of being an expat in general. You are physically distanced from your family, friends, pets, favorite local places and foods – all the time. And frankly, leaving your support systems behind is the hardest to adjust to. When I go through these feelings I find it best to remind myself why I came here, what I’m thankful for and ask myself whether going home solves anything. During these times it’s important to reach out and connect with others. 

Half of my heart will always be in California but when I go through rough patches of being homesick it’s nice to have friends to connect with. Keep in mind that for expats it usually takes about 18-months to 2 years for their life to stabilize.

Making Friends is Hard 

Many expats are moving to a country where they have no roots so it’s important to make connections and friends. As social beings, we need this human interaction,  especially when you’re on your own abroad. However, making friends in a new environment and culture can be scary and is the number #1 expat struggle foreigners have. I had no issue making friends when I moved abroad for university. However, moving abroad for work became a real expat struggle. It’s easy to feel isolated when your colleagues have their own routines and set of friends. Depending on the country and culture this may be harder to easier to break and fit into. 

But what you can do is join a club, sports team, and even getting a part-time job can help with meeting people. When I lived in London going to the gym provided a way to meet people. We already had a similar interest, working out, so it wasn’t too hard to find some common ground.  Signing up for expat events like meetup.com. Events are planned every day and a great way to step out of your comfort zone and meet people. 

Ongoing Language & Communication Issues

If I can sum this up in one word I will go with stressful. Language is one of or the most difficult aspects expats struggle with. If you don’t speak the language, yet alone at a native level, then there’s going to be a continuous communication barrier. You feel frustrated and it makes it hard to do simple things like grocery shopping. For instance, I had been studying French for a few years during university but once I actually moved to Paris, things were different. The slang, local dialect, speaking with employees proved to be harder than I thought I was ready for. 

This is why I suggest learning the local language as fast as possible in order to ease adjustment and put off anxieties. Once you start learning and getting a hang of the language, a whole new world of perspective and opportunity opens up. You understand the culture, its people and start to feel that this place is home.

Weather and Climate

Depending on what geographic location you move to, the climate and weather can take some serious adjusting. Moving from Southern California, where we have sun and blue skies throughout the whole year set the bar high. Moving to the Netherlands was and is an expat struggle because of the climate and rainy weather. It can be depressing during the wintertime because of the lack of sunshine in colder climates. The same struggle can be for countries with warmer climates. 

Total
0
Shares
Pin it
Share
Tweet
Save
Share
Share
Hannah Scott

You May Also Like
Easiest Countries For Americans To Move To
View Post
  • 6 min
  • Expat Life

The Easiest Countries For Americans To Move To

How To Get A Job Abroad
View Post
  • 7 min
  • Expat Life

How To Get A Job Abroad

10 Things You Only Find in the USA
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Expat Life

10 Things You Only Find in the USA

Learn a New Language
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Expat Life

6 Reasons Why You Should Learn a New Language For the New Year

Dutch Citizenship
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Expat Life
  • Netherlands

5 Things They Don’t Tell You About Obtaining Dutch Citizenship

View Post
  • 5 min
  • Expat Life

The Top 5 Places to Live in the Netherlands

Save Money to Move Abroad
View Post
  • 8 min
  • Expat Life

How Can you Save Money to Move Abroad?

Legitimate Ways for Americans to Move Abroad
View Post
  • 6 min
  • Expat Life

Legitimate Ways for Americans to Move Abroad

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Charmingmarie
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie declaration
California girl in the Netherlands © 2021

Input your search keywords and press Enter.