Moving Abroad: Facing the Fear and Doing It Anyway

Happy February! I wanted to talk a little more on the blog about living and moving abroad. We’re only two months and one week into our new life in the States, so I’m by no means an expert on the topic, but I wanted to share a few of my insights so far.

First things, first: moving abroad is a big deal and no matter where you move to, life will be different from what you’re used to. From the big stuff, like cultural and language differences to simple things like where to buy stamps or which bus to catch, you have to learn to adapt and indeed embrace the changes.

One of my mission statements for our move to San Francisco was to say yes to as many exciting opportunities as possible and to (try) not to be afraid of the unknown. While this way of living comes easy to some, it doesn’t to me, but I’m challenging my desire to stick within my comfort zone as much as possible.

Since our move I’ve joined a running club, sparked up conversations with near strangers, tried my hand at skiing, been on ‘friend dates’ and taken leaps of faith in many small, seemingly inconsequential ways. None of these things were easy for me – all of them took a little inner cheerleading to get me out of the front door.

If you’re thinking of moving abroad, no matter how scary it is, my advice to you would be to say yes as much as possible in those first few months. You never know where it will take you. Of course you might decide that you don’t click with a person or that the activity at hand isn’t for you, but at least you’ll learn more about yourself in the process.

Take a course, say yes to that random Tuesday night out, pick up a new hobby (or reignite an old one), try the dish on the menu you’re unsure of, go for a walk in a different neighbourhood, introduce yourself, take a trip, be brave – what’s the worst that could happen?

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