10 Weird Ways Moving to a New Country Changes You Forever

Though the data on American emigration abroad is tough to accurately quantify, there has been a definite upward trend in the phenomenon in recent years. As the internet shrinks our world, the desire to actually go and see it becomes more and more pressing for many Americans, and it seems a rather large number of them end up deciding to stay gone indefinitely.

While there are certain expected changes, there are other experiences many expats simply aren’t prepared for. Even for someone moving to another Western nation, the nuanced cultural differences can be pretty jarring.

Apart from new languages, different taboos and standards, dietary differences, and unfamiliar geography, there are certain fundamental things about oneself that change forever once you leave home for an extended period of time.

If you’re thinking about uprooting your life and starting over somewhere new, it’s best to be as prepared as possible. To that end, here’s a list of ten weird and unexpected ways moving to a new country can change you.

1. Home Looks Different

In many ways, not noticing the little details of the places we grow up is a way of streamlining the mental work we have to put in every day. But once you live abroad, home sweet home ends up looking much different.

Even if you live somewhere huge, multicultural, novel, and exciting like New York City, after a while, the place you live starts to look pretty much the same. After spending time living in another country, that changes forever. The things you take for granted become brand new, and the things that might have never bothered you before suddenly become apparent and annoying.

There’s nothing quite like that first trip back once you’ve been gone for a long time. Streets you may have walked every day of your life now have a new quality to them. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve experienced it, but rest assured, it’s a very real phenomenon.

2. The World Gets Bigger

Even though seeing more of the world might make it feel smaller, in many ways, it can do just the opposite.

Once you’ve spent some time in another country, the places you’ve only been able to imagine up until then become real. Suddenly, the world isn’t a thing you think about conceptually, it’s a place you can actually go out and see. And you can bet you’ll want to.

Once the whole world starts to feel real, it also starts to feel much larger.

3. You’re Suddenly Multilingual

If you live anywhere for an extended period of time, it’s pretty hard not to pick up some of the language. Even if you don’t become fluent, the idea of understanding or speaking more than one language becomes – excuse the pun – a lot less foreign.

There are lots of weird ways to learn a language, but no matter how you go about it, you’ll almost definitely pick up at least a little bit. Just like the physical act of traveling, the world seems much bigger when you suddenly acquire the ability to directly understand more of it.

4. You’ve Got Double the Stuff

Understandable and maddening all at once, common things are just a bit different from place to place. If you’re used to having one phone charger or SIM card, you might as well prepare yourself to welcome in doubles of just about everything.

From currency to regionally coded video games and movies, you’re going to have to buy more of a lot of things you already have. Luckily, this doesn’t apply to every single thing, but you’ll still never look at an AC adapter the same ever again.

5. Asking For Directions Gets Easier

If you’re a man who buys into the old adage about guys never asking for directions, moving to another country will rid you of that habit pretty darn quickly.

Even though we live in the age of smartphones and GPS, there are certain questions a smartphone can’t answer. Living abroad will force you to either suck up your pride and ask questions, or become hopelessly lost. The former is far preferable.

6. You Get Nostalgic For Weird Stuff

It’s weird getting cravings for things you never even thought you liked, but it will happen when you live abroad.

Even if you find yourself firmly on the side of thin crust in the Chicago vs. New York pizza debate, you could very well find yourself jonesing for a slice of deep dish while living out in the world. It’s just one of the many weird side-effects of expatriating.

7. You Need Less

Making a huge move makes you really consider what you need in your day to day life. There’s nothing worse than having to move a metric ton of things overseas.

Learning what it is you can and can’t live without is such a valuable skill, and it’s one that will never leave you. You’ll find you need a whole lot less than you think you do when you’re really put to the test, and you’ll learn a lot of useful travel tricks along the way.

8. You Become More Capable

The amount of new skills you have to acquire when moving to a new country is hard to overstate. Whether it’s learning to drive on the opposite side of the road in the UK or buying a home on an orchard in Australia, you’ll learn to do things you never thought you’d have to.

And that follows you everywhere. After you’ve filled out paperwork in Japanese, going to the BMV in the States suddenly doesn’t seem so challenging.

9. You Feel Kinship With Other Non-Natives

Being alone in a new country is challenging, which means any moment to bond with someone else in your position is precious and impactful.

Even though your relationships with native folks will be just as important, the immediate connection you feel to another expat is hard to describe. When you find another traveler on the road, you stick together like glue.

10. Goodbyes Are Easier

Saying goodbye can be tough, but once it becomes a part of your cycle, it suddenly doesn’t seem so bad.

Traveling back and forth between places to see family and friends just becomes part of the routine, and farewells tend to get less and less tearful.

It doesn’t mean the impact of leaving loved ones becomes less, but just that you’ll be more accustomed to the process, which is never a bad thing.

Moving to a New Country Is Worth It

Moving to a new country definitely comes with good and bad, but it’s well worth the challenge. There’s really nothing like taking yourself out of your comfort zone and experiencing something new.

Cliche or not, life is short, and any opportunity to live in a new way should be taken. Even if you don’t think it’s the lifestyle for you, it’s worth giving it a shot.

Don’t sit on your laurels and let life come to you. Get out there and experience it yourself. Wake up and live!

Weirdomatic is the place where all weird things come to life through the amazing world of photographs – a corner of our wild imagination or the whimsical face of the reality?