The Pros and Cons of Working Abroad

Moving abroad can be a very good chance to start over. It is known that people that move from their country usually have socio-economic problems which have to be another topic to discuss, but in this article, I want to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of starting over in a new country.

Our major fear is how are we going to adapt to a new country and all the other things related to that, such as finding new accommodation, not knowing very well the city, the new language, finding a new job, trying to adapt to the culture there, etc. Sometimes being at home without a job to provide for the family or yourself is very hard, that’s why people find themselves in need to immigrate and seek a better life for themselves and their families.

In my family, a lot of my family members moved to Europe to seek a better life and to provide for their families. I’m very familiar with the idea of not having my father with us, and how I suffered that. I was only a toddler when he first went abroad. Usually, little girls are more attached to their dads and I was one of them. I used to cry over the phone when he would call me. Nowadays with the technological innovations, a lot has changed, now you can talk anytime you want and see your family on video calls. I didn’t know why my father went outside the country, or maybe I knew it by I couldn’t understand at that time. Now as a parent myself more than ever I understand what it’s like to be far from your child, but also understand that you would do anything for them so they can have everything they need in order to have a good life.

As a kid, and also when I grow up, along with my family I had to move to different countries for several years, so trust me I know very well what you can expect when moving abroad, the advantages and disadvantages that come with that.

The Benefits of Starting Fresh in a New Country

• As you move abroad, you need to accommodate and get familiar with the city, whether you come from a village, a small town, or a big city, moving to a new country you have to learn everything, from where you are going to shop for groceries, where to pay the bills, the public transport you are going to use, etc. Knowing you can manage all of this in a completely unknown country, will give you the confidence to go ahead.
• Living abroad will make you learn new skills out of necessity, because you will need to learn and do things that you normally wouldn’t do at home, for example, you will learn how to cook. So yes, of course, you will learn some new skills.
• You will have a new perspective in life, you will learn and see a lot of multicultural people, that will help you have a better vision of their culture and mentality and this will help you expand your worldview.
• You will learn how to speak better the language of the country you are living in because no matter how good you think you know the language you will learn it better when you start living in the country that speaks it.
• Having in your resume your work abroad experience will never go unnoticed, so you will have more potential to get the job over the other job seekers.

The Disadvantages of Moving Abroad

Even though I don’t like to talk about the disadvantages of moving abroad, it is good to know and have a mirror of what you may expect if you decide to move abroad, so you need to make this decision prepared and with your expectations managed so that you can enjoy your move abroad.

• As you move abroad the first thing you will miss is your family
• You will miss the friends you used to have in your country
• Learning a new language could be challenging
• Trying to be familiar with their cultural perspective may be hard
• Missing the food of your country. Oh, yes, this is a fact. No matter how good is the food of the country you will be living in, you will see that nothing tastes the same as the food you used to have back home.
• It will be hard to find new friends. You might feel lonely because sometimes it can be hard to make a new friend and to find someone you can trust, but with time you definitely will have some new friends, maybe a coworker, a neighbor, or someone from your hometown.

But hey, you don’t want to discourage yourself, think more about the good things you are going to face when living abroad, the opportunities you will have that someone else can only dream of. So be brave, embrace your future with open arms and live your life to the fullest. You never know what the future holds.

Photo: El Nariz/shuttertock.com

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