How to Become an Expat

According to the British media more Brits than ever are dreaming about starting a new life abroad; these would-be-expats seem to have a million different reasons for wanting to change country - reasons as diverse as the weather, the government, debt, relationship problems or just a will for adventure.

Whilst people’s reasons for wanting to live abroad are diverse, the very factors that will determine whether or not these people are successful if they expatriate are actually universal.  In this article we explore the qualities, traits, attributes and essentials and show you how to become an expat who’s happy in their new life abroad.

The first thing you need to know is that on every expatriate forum and chat group on the internet and at every expat social event in any country in the world you can approach anyone and ask them whether or not they were actually well prepared mentally and practically for their move abroad.  While many will answer in the affirmative for the latter, everyone without fail will tell you that ‘no’ actually they were not at all prepared for the culture shock and simple disorientation that they experienced when they first moved overseas.

While we at ShelterOffshore have written about this point many times, it seems that no amount of warning people that they will suffer a certain amount of culture shock seems to help – people just need to accept that there is actually no way of avoiding it and that it is a natural part of moving to live abroad – don’t fear it or plan to avoid it, embrace it and go with the flow.

You don’t believe us? 

Well, from our experience even those people who move to live in another English speaking country or to a country where they drive on the same side of the road, have the same supermarkets or where the person in question will be doing the same job – even those people who have expatriated before or read all there is to read about the process, the country they are moving to or who have stayed on an extended holiday in the location they will be living in – yes, even all of these people go through a process of disorientation and a process where they have to settle in to their new life.

So, with that point made, reinforced and hopefully clarified let’s move on to discuss how to become an expat!

Think carefully about the following eight points and evaluate yourself according to the questions that we will raise; if you find that you come out of this test positively looking forward to your new adventure then it’s highly likely that you’re ready, willing and able for expatriation and that a new life abroad awaits you. 

If on the other hand you determine that you aren’t quite as flexible or adaptable as you need to be to survive a relocation abroad for whatever personal or practical reason, perhaps you should go back to the drawing board and think again about what aspects of your life you want to change and how, other than by moving abroad, you can exact the necessary changes to your every day life.

1) How do you cope alone?

When you first move abroad – even if you move with a partner and children – you will be leaving your support network of family, friends and even well known colleagues behind.  It can be difficult starting out alone with no one immediately on hand to help you – how will you cope alone during times of stress and feelings of insecurity?  If you think you can get through good times and bad times alone then you will survive as an expatriate during the tough times.

2) Are you financially stable?

Moving and starting up a brand new life are expensive actions to take.  Even those who plan well and are lucky enough to have financial relocation assistance will find that initially they have a large financial outlay – from eating out to getting taxis, from buying new cars, school uniforms, pieces of furniture or just paying for a flight back home.  You need to have enough money in the bank to tide you over, you should have a sum set aside to get you back home in the unlikely event that you hate your new life abroad and basically you should never seriously think about running away from debt because money problems don’t just go away.  Get financial affairs in basic order before thinking about expatriating.

3) Are you mentally and physically fit?

Moving is quite an emotional upheaval and moving abroad is significantly draining both physically and mentally.  You need to be in the right frame of mind and the right state of health to cope with the hard mental and physical work associated with making the move and settling in.  Furthermore health care services overseas may not be available to you as soon as you expatriate, many health insurers will only cover you after you’ve lived in a country for a period of time and what’s more some countries have poor medical facilities therefore if you are less than 100% healthy you should seriously reconsider your expat plans.

4) How do you feel about travel?

Those who move abroad seldom sit still, after all the new country needs exploring and there will be many more chances to get out and about and see the surrounding area and nearby countries for example – if you hate the thought of further travel are you sure you want to live abroad?  Even if you are certain that you won’t be travelling about to see your new surroundings just think about the number of times you’ll be on a plane or in the car travelling ‘back home’ to see family and friends – how do you feel about that?

5) How do you feel about adventure?

Becoming an expat is just the start of the adventure…once you’re living abroad you’ll be exposed to a million new situations, opportunities and events – can you embrace the concept of action and adventure in your life or do you prefer a quiet life?  Think carefully!

6) Can you adjust and adapt well?

There are so many unknowns when it comes to living abroad – you can only read so many books and surf so many forums before you actually have to bite the bullet and make the move and inevitably some things will go wrong, some things will be so far from what you expected and you will have to adapt to shifting situations and adjust to new ways of being and doing…does that sound like you?

7) Are you capable and resourceful?

How would you cope if your car broke down in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language and you have no phone number for a mechanic?  How would you cope in a new house when the electric or water go off and you have no one to ask about getting them reconnected or even where the main taps or fuses are?  Would you break down and cry?  Would you roll your sleeves up and get on with it?  You will need to be resourceful when living abroad and you will need to be capable of at least holding it together in the face of adversity!

8) Can you make friends?

You will need to develop a social network and fast – why?  Because in the LIKELY event that some things will go wrong and some things will happen that you don’t know how to handle you will need people you can call upon for advice.  Luckily expats are generally a very helpful and supportive network of people and if you can put yourself out there, introduce yourself, make friends and be prepared to ask for help and offer it in return you will thrive.  If on the other hand you hate walking into new places, confronting issues and asking for help, friendship, support or assistance you’ll wilt and hate every minute of your life abroad!

So – how did you fare with the above mini-survey?  Do you have what it takes to become a happy expat?  If you do then what on earth are you waiting for – there’s a world out there waiting for you to discover it.  If not, don’t stress it, the most important thing is that you are happy with your life – if you are unhappy try and determine the root cause of your unhappiness and deal with that first before you make any other life changing decisions.  And – good luck,

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