There are many reasons people choose to relocate to another country. Perhaps you need to move because of a new job opportunity. Maybe you met a special someone from abroad and you are ready to start a new life with them in their corner of the world. Maybe you are retiring and want to settle in warmer climes, or maybe you just crave a new experience among fascinating peoples in exotic lands. Whatever the case, with even the remotest places on earth now more easily accessible, and with the flexibility the internet affords those who are lucky enough to have jobs that allow them to work remotely, relocating to a new country has never been easier.
However, there is a big difference between relocating and settling. Anyone can pack up a life and move it across the ocean, but making that new life a successful and happy one takes a lot of work and a special kind of person.
There are certain characteristics that almost all successful expats share. Now, this doesn’t mean that if you don’t possess one or more of these traits your relocation will fail. It just means that you might have to put in a little extra effort and be prepared to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
What Makes a Successful Expat?
1. Be Open to Change
First and foremost, you have to be open to change. Even if you are relocating because you have to, i.e. a job transfer, you have to face the reality that almost everything will be different. If you can’t see yourself embracing the changes to come, then at least try to accept them. You can psych yourself up (and ¬your family, if they are coming with you), by reminding yourself that change can be a very positive thing. Change can help us grow and find strengths and attributes inside us we never knew we had.
You can help yourself and your family by keeping things as familiar as you can at first. Source out stores that sell foods you are used to, even if you have to pay a little more for the (now) imported items you cannot live without. Take some time to acclimate and have some fun. If you don’t have to start your job right away, visit local attractions, or check into a hotel or spa for a couple of days. In other words, treat yourself as a tourist until the money runs out or until it’s time to join “real life”.
2. Find Your Inner Adventurer
Next, successful expats are those who have a sense of adventure. If you re-frame your mind to think of relocating as an adventure, you can face any adversities as challenges rather than problems. And what does every good adventurer need? A faithful sidekick, someone to share the adventure with, of course.
Making friends and establishing contacts in your new location as soon as you can is imperative, especially if you are now living in a location that, on top of everything else includes the need to learn a new language. Be in touch with the consulate of your former country or go online (if you didn’t before you moved) to find out if there are any organizations or associations for expats like yourself. Introduce yourself to your neighbors. Ideally, if you are lucky, your co-workers will soon become your friends and include you in their adventures. And when facing a new challenge, always ask yourself WWIJD? (what would Indiana Jones do?).
3. Curiosity and Adaptability
Two other characteristics that help expats adjust quickly are curiosity and adaptability. It’s important to develop and show interest in the culture and native people of your new country. Instead of surrounding yourself with fellow expats, hang out with the locals and try to learn all you can about them; their language, customs, foods, celebrations, and especially what is or isn’t accepted in your new home. After all, the quickest way to alienate people is to offend them, even if it is inadvertently.
The onus of adapting to the new place is totally on you. If everyone seems to move slower or faster than what you are used to, adopt their pace. If people expect you to take your shoes off when you enter their homes, graciously remove your shoes. If shouting is frowned upon, keep your voice down. In other words, you have to adapt to your new surroundings, not the other way around.
4. Flexibility and Patience
If you want to be included among the ranks of successful expats, you must be flexible and patient, especially if you have moved to a country that is vastly different than the one you left behind. If you leave the US for England or Australia, your experience will be somewhat easier than if your destination is, say Abu Dhabi or Poland or Timbuktu. But one thing all successful expats have in common is that they worked hard over time to become a part of their new home rather than stay apart from it.
Inevitably, you might find yourself having to change long-standing habits and routines. You might have to get used to eating strange new foods or to dressing in a different way than what you are accustomed to. You might even have to reconsider long-held opinions and biases. And although at first you might resent having to be the one who makes all these changes, if you are patient, you will most assuredly reap the rewards of having adapted to your new surroundings.
In order to become a successful expat it is imperative that you arm yourself with information before you arrive at your destination. Scouring the internet, joining expat chat groups and consulting with experts will you give you at least an idea of what you will be facing. The intel you gather will also help you form a realistic picture of what you will need to make your absorption more comfortable and help you adapt more quickly.
5. Be Realistic
Finally, to become a champion expat, you must be realistic and accept that it can take quite some time before you learn all you need to learn and experience all you need to experience in order to finally feel like you are truly home. It could take weeks or years, but it will happen. Along the way, you will find that most people are more than happy to help you adapt to their culture and habits. Just remember to be an enthusiastic and respectful student!
All successful expats share one other thing in common. They were all eventually able to not just adapt, but to flourish in their new country, even though at first everything surely must have seemed as totally foreign and insurmountably overwhelming as it now does to you. Bon Voyage and Good luck!
