I’m 21 years old and I want to move abroad. Really get to experience a culture that is different from the one I grew up in. I realise those are bold ambitions for someone who hasn’t even graduated university yet, but that’s just where I stand at the moment.
Latest update: 29 November 2018
My four months in Salamanca were some of the best months of my life. I met incredible people, experienced things I never thought I would and it was generally just an amazing time.
If you’re still hesitating as to whether or not you should study abroad, do it. When you live in another country as a student, nothing is holding you back from living your absolute best life.
My semester in Spain gave me the confidence that I’d be able to survive in a foreign environment by myself. Even though I’m still just a college student, I feel ready for this chapter of my life.
Before I moved to Spain for school, I was very afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make any friends. My sister can definitely attest to that, as I actually asked her questions like “But how do you make friends?” Little did I know it would be as easy as it was.
Turns out that I actually love the excitement of starting over in a new city, with people you’ve never met before and countless places you haven’t been to. I want to feel that excitement again.
I do realise that most people who say they want a fresh start are dealing with some serious problems. The same can’t be said for me, as I have everything I need and want right here. Except the feeling of adventure.
I don’t want to be dying and realise I haven’t really lived my life. Life has a lot to offer and I don’t want to pass on the opportunity to experience it.
Have you ever heard someone say “You only regret the chances you didn’t take”? If you don’t take the leap of faith, you’ll always wonder what could have happened.
Even if you do go for it and it’s not what you expected, at least you can look back and sleep easy knowing that you gave it everything you had.
I want more than a nine-to-five job where I barely get to leave the office. I want to go out for hikes and explore the surroundings of my new home.
Of course, I do realise that the odds have it that I’ll get an office job as an expat anyway. However, an office job in a foreign country is still ten times more exciting than an office job at home. To me it is, at least.
I strongly believe that the only way to get to know a culture is to drown yourself in that culture.
After living in Spain for one semester, I still don’t feel like I know everything there is to know about the Spanish culture. As expats often live abroad for longer periods of time than that, I think it would be the perfect opportunity to enrich my life.
An expat will likely never be as integrated into the local culture as an actual local is, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a try.
I’ve talked about this before. And I’ll talk about it again.
To me, it’s extremely important to figure out what my comfort zone is. Where I’m most comfortable, where I don’t have any stress and where I can settle down. I want to know this because I want to break out of that comfort zone.
The only way to grow as a person is to handle things you have no idea how to handle.
Travelling and being abroad has a way of making you do things you never thought you’d be doing. Among those things might be the one thing you’re passionate about and you might want to follow that passion for the rest of your life.
I’m still trying to find my passion.
Of course, for every reason to move abroad, someone will come up with a reason not to do it. And of course, I do realise that life as an expat isn’t all fun and games. There are times when life will be challenging and throw things at you that you have no idea how to handle.
The truth is, I’m afraid to move abroad. But all that does is tell me it’s something worth pursuing.
Read more about why fear is a sign you’re doing the right thing.
The biggest drawback of moving to another country and starting over is that you have to leave your entire life behind.
Yes, you can make friends abroad. It might even be easier to connect with fellow expats because you both have nobody else. But the real problem is that your true friends will always live in another city, country or even continent. You can never just casually hang out with them and tell stories about people you both know.
When my time of leaving to another country comes, I’m convinced that a majority of my friends will try to convince me that we’ll stay in touch. Sadly, I just don’t think that’s going to happen.
I also believe that some of my loved ones (family rather than friends) will feel guilty for my leaving. They might think that they weren’t offering me enough adventure.
Family and friends, if you’re reading this, I love you dearly. However, I just don’t feel like I’m going to stay in Belgium for my entire life.
When I left for Spain, I was prepared to feel lonely and confused. And, to some extent, I wasn’t even close to having anticipated what I actually felt like.
It was a kind of “both sides of the spectrum”-deal. For the first few days, if not weeks, I couldn’t help but think “What have I done? I don’t belong here”. Salamanca was nothing like what I had expected and I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to continue.
However, after some weeks, as I got to know more and more people, I really started to find my place within the student community. I realised that every single one of the Erasmus students felt the same. I was one of hundreds in the same boat.
That being said, I’m not as afraid of being lonely as an expat because I went through that experience as an Erasmus student. Yes, I’ll have to get acclimatised to my new surroundings, but it’ll be more than worth it.
Again, this is not as big a fear as it is for some people, as I’ve never been that bothered by what other people think of me. However, for myself, it’s obviously much more pleasant to live in a community where you truly feel like you’re a part of it than to feel like an outsider all the time.
I know that it’s incredibly difficult for expats to fit in with the locals, because they’ll always be seen as outsiders. Nevertheless, there is a substantial expat community in most major cities where I’m pretty confident I’ll find my place.
In short, no. I’m not ready to move abroad. Then again, are you ever?
The main thing that’s holding me back at the moment – aside from the fact that I’m only 20 years old – is money. I currently don’t have a steady source of income and I don’t have enough money saved up to survive abroad for a few months before I can get settled.
However, I don’t want to put off my move abroad forever. As I said, there will never be a perfect time to do it so I’ll just have to suck it up and deal with the problems as they come up.
I’m going to go with the flow, take a leap of faith and see where this crazy thing called life takes me. Remember this blog post when I’m sharing my life story with you from Canada, Austria, Ireland or wherever I end up.
It’s ambitious, but damn it, what’s the meaning of life if not to chase adventure and follow your dreams?
Thanks for reading!
-S
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