Before we begin, let me say moving abroad is not easy and although everyone loves to write about the benefits, it’s not a fairytale. It’s especially hard if you’re moving to a country unemployed like I did, but whether you can get a job depends on a lot on your field, qualifications, visa, language skills, and the country itself. These are the seven things that I wish someone had told me a year ago to make moving abroad easier.
Contents
- 1 1. Know your Visa & Working Rights
- 2 2. Learn the Language
- 3 3. Think Ahead. Get a Career, Not a Job
- 4 4. Figure Out the Culture
- 5 5. Make Friends
- 6 6. Challenge yourself and Don’t get too comfortable
- 7 Click for Google Translate Hacks!
- 8 7. Travel
- 9 My fellow expats: where do you live and what did I miss? For anyone else: would you consider living abroad?
1. Know your Visa & Working Rights
2. Learn the Language
Even if you’re living in a country where 93% of people speak English fluently, learn the language. If you don’t speak the language comfortably, you’ll miss out on socializing with the locals, screw up your recipes, comically misinterpret text, or send a graphic with a curse word on it to your manager. Even worse, I’ve had mini meltdowns whenever a cashier would ask if I wanted a receipt. People will really appreciate when you learn their language, even if it’s just being able to explain that you don’t want a receipt.
It can be tempting to not learn because you can communicate with others using your own language, but you’ll find anything official stressful. My serious attempt at learning Dutch surprised a lot of potential employers who expected me to know a handful of words and it landed me a lot of job interviews where they usually don’t consider expats. My FREE favorites for learning languages: Duolingo, HelloTalk, and Duolingo Facebook groups.
3. Think Ahead. Get a Career, Not a Job
I meet a lot of expats who hope that they can find a job identical to their former job(s) AFTER moving to a new country. This is usually not the case and you’ll need to adapt to your new country in terms of qualifications, language, and the job market. Please think about this beforehand. Even an administrative assistant or service job may be out of reach without speaking the language, even at an international company (where fluency in both might be required). Finding a job is not easy and you may need to do some serious work to improve your skill set or qualifications to compete. Being able to understand the language at the A2-B1 level is a great start.
The most expats that I’ve met who’ve stayed abroad the longest are specialists in their fields who have had successful careers both domestically and abroad. They made the move after establishing their career in their own home country, which is the best way to move abroad. This is how my boyfriend was able to move abroad as well as most of our non-European friends. People often assume you need to be young to do this, but you can be ANY age. A good expat job often pays for moving expenses as well as a regular salary to pay the rent with. The biggest perk of working in your field outside of your home country is that your international experience should help you further your career even after heading home. Otherwise, you’ll need to explain your job history, which can be really hard when there’s not a pattern beyond earning an income.
4. Figure Out the Culture
Gaining the insight into the culture is the slowest process. Even if you’re moving between “similar” countries, things can be quite different, but sometimes surprising in the best way (2 days of Easter!?). Experiencing the public holidays is a fun way to get acquainted with cultural references, including the infamous ones (like Zwarte Pete!).
The hardest things are the subtle things. It took me a long time to figure out that the “How are you?” greeting is weird. I’ve also learned how to interact at a work birthday, which involves three kisses and cake. As an American, it took me a while to get over the initial uncomfortableness of non-family members kissing me on the cheek, let alone colleagues. It’s good to be aware of what makes you uncomfortable as integration involves challenging your own assumptions of what is “acceptable.” I will admit to being shocked when I realized that I had to bring in enough cake for my entire department plus every colleague who had invited me to their birthday, however it’s someone else’s birthday the other 364 days of the year.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your behavior might not fall in line with the behavior norm in your new country. After hearing so much about bluntness as part of Dutch culture, another expat that I know from the US had assumed that he should be very direct with work colleagues. However, he was informed by his coworker that he was being too direct (although he didn’t see the difference) and he was advised to be more careful when communicating. It takes time to learn these nuances, but the sooner you learn them, the better as not everyone will explain how you’ve offended them.
5. Make Friends
It’s good to have friends at home, but you also need some friends in your new country, especially if there’s a time difference. The more, the merrier as it can be lonely.
In my opinion, it’s important to find someone where you’re moving. I was lucky to have a friend in Amsterdam who was miraculously seeking a roommate. The reality is that you won’t know how a lot of things work and a savvy local is essential to figuring out the move/housing market. I suggest joining the local expat groups on Facebook, Internations, Meetup, Girl Gone International, and Couchsurfing to link up with some friendly locals. Classes (whether it’s comedy or dance) are also a great way to make new friends abroad!
If you’re in a major city, it’s easy to meet people if you’re outgoing via the ways above. However, the expat groups often limit your circle of friends to fellow expats and I suggest branching out to others from your new country. It’s always harder for introverted people although focused group activities can be a good way to bond over a hobby, such as climbing, community gardening, hiking, or board games. At minimum, introduce yourself to your neighbors.
6. Challenge yourself and Don’t get too comfortable
I ended up needing to learn how to read Dutch for some aspects of my job. As I learned how to do my job, I used Google Translate to translate text, however I increasingly realized I’d be hurting myself long-term if I kept doing this. I ended up pushing myself to learn to understand Dutch in a business context, even if it meant looking up lots of words every day.
I was surprised how rapidly I became comfortable working partially in Dutch and I still learn new words every day. I’m definitely far from fluent, but I can do what is necessary.
Click for Google Translate Hacks!
As an expat, it’s easy to reject things that are uncomfortable, strange, or unfamiliar, but push yourself to try to do better. Often what I think might be true based on my own experiences in the U.S. cannot be generalized and challenging yourself to learn how things ARE versus how I think they are is important. This often forces me to really listen to my friends/colleagues and admit that I don’t know. I think living abroad has the potential to make you more curious, appreciative, and receptive, but there’s two sides to it: you need to open yourself to new experiences.
7. Travel
My fellow expats: where do you live and what did I miss? For anyone else: would you consider living abroad?
Awesome post! I completely agree with all your suggestions, especially not getting too comfortable! I think a lot of the time, we can justify settling into our comfortable little box because we have pushed ourselves to live in another country and that is challenging enough, but even living in another country gets easy with time! very inspiring, well done 🙂
Elaine, thanks so much for reading and commenting. You nailed my exact sentiment 1000%. It definitely gets easier as you go on, however it also gets easier to stop making the effort to meet new people as soon as you find friends. In life, challenging yourself is always a good thing. 🙂
Great post! I really can relate. I am French and expat in The Hague, so not far from you! I lived in the US, Shanghai and Singapore. It is not always easy and your suggestions are all very good. Taking advantage of where you are and explore is so important as you never know when it will end.
I’ve been living abroad for 10 years now and I absolutely agree with every single point you made in your post. I think one of the most important points is the differentiation between finding a career vs a job. It is also risky, because in case your expat adventure does not pan out, it will be hard to explain the 2 years of random jobs abroad when you return to your career.
Thanks so much for reading Maria. I completely agree I wouldn’t have came along if I felt like I was destroying my career prospects long-term for two years of expat life with my boyfriend. I’ve been very lucky to find a good job here, but it’s scary and there are no guarantees if you move without a job. The great part about having a career both at home AND as an expat is that you always have that to fall back on even if you’re not able to stay abroad long-term.
People definitely underestimate the importance of a traditional career abroad as I never see it mentioned beyond trying to become a writer/digital nomad/teacher. I’ve already gained a lot of really valuable work experiences working here in the Netherlands and I look forward to learning even more. I also love asking my colleagues about their favorite places in the Netherlands, which always motivates me to see more of the Netherlands.
Yes, the Hague. Not far at all! Thanks so much for reading, Christine. You definitely would know this expat life much better than me as this was my first move, however I definitely agree about really taking advantage of your new place. What’s the point of living abroad if you spend all your nights at home!?
Great post! I think learning the language is key…you’ll learn SO much more about where you are if you can speak with not just your friends in depth, but also with random strangers you meet. Plus, just vocabulary can open up insights to the culture that you wouldn’t get otherwise!
Excellent tips — should be a must-read for anyone considering a move abroad (whether it’s for work or not). Sometimes I think it’s really easy to focus on the positives of moving abroad and to think everything else will just fall into place or that you’ll deal with issues as they come up. But thinking ahead and anticipating some of the hardships will only better prepare people as they embark on life abroad. Well done!
This is quite accurate and learning the language really goes a long way:) Like you, I remember being surprised in Paris at work, where you bring your own treats on your birthday and even for your goodbye party. For me the biggest takeaway is remembering that you are not “home” and being okay with the uncomfortable. Great post 🙂
Not getting too comfortable is one of the BEST tips. It’s so easy (especially when you just moved into a new home or apartment) to just stay in all the time! And learning the language…I am still working on it! I have been in Belgium for almost 2 years and my Dutch is just mediocre at best.
This was such a nice read! As you read on my blog this topic is very much what I am experiencing in this very moment. AND I AGREE WITH ALL 7 POINTS! Again, thank you for sharing this great post 🙂
I agree with all your points. The one about understanding the culture is definitely hard sometimes, especially if you go to a country very different from yours. I come from Croatia, and for example, I had no problem adjusting when I was living in Spain and Czech Republic, but when I moved to Vietnam it was quite hard for me to make friends with the locals, due to the language barrier, very different culture, ways of hanging out, and relationships between men and women here are also so different here. I would say it is a good thing to choose a place where you can have access to both local and expat circles, so that you can get the best of both worlds! 🙂
There are so many true comments in there – moving abroad can help you find a better job but it can also be the other way around. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for sharing websites like “Girl gone international” – I had no idea about them and find them really cool and useful initiatives.
Cheers from an expat living in Denmark 🙂
There are so many true comments in there – moving abroad can help you find a better job but it can also be the other way around. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for sharing websites like “Girl gone international” – I had no idea about them and find them really cool and useful initiatives.
Cheers from an expat living in Denmark 🙂
Hi Karen, I appreciate the tips. I’m an American hoping to move to Denmark and have been reading all I can about the culture and how to work abroad. I am an esthetician by trade and want to own my business so I still have a lot of research to do!
Hi Karen,
I’m curious if you used any other methods to learn Dutch, for example, language classes? Or was it all largely self-taught through Duolingo, Google translate, etc? How long did it take you to feel comfortable speaking and/or actually understanding what someone said in Dutch?
Thank you!
I had a weird journey with Dutch compared to many as I was immersed early on and I was mostly self-taught (Duolingo/Dutch textbooks/newspapers/TV shows). I understood well (A2+ level?) about 2 years into my time here, but this was thanks to studying hard, immersion at my previous work (one of the only non-Dutch speakers), and consuming Dutch media regularly. I could follow conversations mostly within a work context, but couldn’t speak properly at the level that I should have been at. I also struggled with conversations besides basic orders, but always did well with reading.
Still, I never got very far speaking-wise until I did a remedial A2 course last year (year 3) as the school wouldn’t allow me into a higher due to my spoken Dutch level. I have since done two courses and I’m around B1+ if I had to guess (year 4). I can hold down a conversation with native speakers on most topics, watch Dutch media, and just understand a lot of written documents. I understand most everyday conversations if I’m paying attention and I’ve switched most of my friendships with fellow native speakers to Dutch. Still, I’m not always 100% comfortable doing everything in Dutch to be honest, but I can survive doing most things in Dutch at this point.
I’m planning to get to B2 within the next year although I still have some issues with structure/grammar/pronunciation. I’d recommend going the school route if you can as it tends to be better for motivation. To be clear, I am someone who is pretty good with languages and Dutch isn’t my first fluent language. My husband has had a harder time becoming fluent, but I’ve been more into learning it as a hobby.
Thank you for the detailed reply! Very helpful. Yes, I think classes/school would be ideal.
Thank you for sharing your story—sounds like you’ve done a good job at immersing yourself (newspapers, media, etc.) in a country that doesn’t necessarily require it.
Thank you a lot for taking the time for you to share such a piece of good information.