11 Things That Change Forever When You Move Abroad

Some things will just never be the same. After experiencing life in other parts of the world, the definition of home changes and returning to your town of origin can seem more stressful than pleasant. Here are a few items we published a while back on Hayo, see the link below for full list!

1. Adrenaline becomes part of your life.

From the moment you decide to move abroad, your life turns into a powerful mix of emotions – learning, improvising, dealing with the unexpected. All your senses sharpen up, and for a while the word “routine” is dismissed from your vocabulary to make space for an ever rising adrenaline thrill ride. New places, new habits, new challenges, new people. Starting a new life should terrify you, but it’s unusually addictive. 

2. When you go back, everything looks the same.

That’s why, when you get a few days off and fly back home, it strikes you how little everything has changed. Your life’s been changing at a non-stop pace, and you’re on holidays and ready to share all those anecdotes you’ve been piling up. But, at home, life is the same as ever. Everyone keeps struggling with their daily chores, and it suddenly strikes you: life won’t stop for you. 

3. You lack the (and yet you have too many) words.

When someone asks you about your new life, you lack the right words to convey all you’re experiencing. Yet later, in the middle of a random conversation, something reminds you of ‘that time when’…, and you have to hold your tongue because you don’t want to overwhelm everyone with stories from your ‘other country’ and come across as pretentious. 

4. You come to understand that courage is overrated.

Lots of people will tell you how brave you are – they too would move abroad if they weren’t so scared. And you, even though you’ve been scared, too, know that courage makes up about 10% of life-changing decisions. The other 90% is purely about wanting it with all your heart. Do you want to do it, do you really feel like doing it? Then do it. From the moment we decide to jump, we’re no longer cowards nor courageous – whatever comes our way, we deal with it.

Keep reading the full article on Hayo!