What You Need to Know about Living Abroad
By Eric Hammer - 2011
With the world changing all around us and unemployment in
the United States remaining extremely high, more people than
ever are considering the possibility of living abroad in order
to find work and build a life for themselves. However, living
abroad is not for everyone and does require quite a little bit
of adjustment in order to deal with the experience. Here's what
you need to know:
Expect the Unexpected
This simple axiom will save you an awful lot of grief when
you choose to live abroad. Different cultures have different
ways of doing things. Even moving from one part of the United
States to another (from say New York City to Columbus, Ohio)
can create a certain amount of culture clash because people have
different ideas about how things should happen.
For example, in the Middle East it's considered rude not to
sit down for coffee with the proprietor of a store whereas in
the United States, we would find it extremely odd to be invited
by the owner of a store to sit down for a cup of coffee and may
wonder if there is an ulterior motive involved.
Learn the Local Language
Even if you are moving to another country where English is
the local language, it's important to familiarize yourself with
local slang terms and to begin using them rather than the words
that you currently know. For example, if you were to ask for
the elevator in Great Britain, most people would know what you
want, but would also think it is quite strange since the British
generally refer to it as a "lift."
If you are moving to a country where the local language is
foreign to you it is all the more important to learn the local
language. Even if most people do tend to speak some English,
you'll find yourself excluded from cultural and social events
if you can't speak the local language since these events often
happen in the local language. People who insist on only speaking
their own language (usually English speakers) also tend to find
themselves enshrined in a bubble where they hang out almost exclusively
with others who speak their native language. While this can be
comforting, it doesn't help you to integrate into the local culture.
Getting a Job When Living Abroad
Another issue is getting a job when living abroad. Unless
your company has transferred you or you have applied for a high
level job with a multi-national seeking someone with your specific
skills willing to move to a foreign country, you'll find it's
very hard to land a job without physically being there. Most
foreign employers will want to meet you face to face before they'll
hire you and they'll also want to know that you're not going
to back out at the last minute, when they've already reserved
the job for you.
Therefore, if you are planning on living abroad for the long
term and hope to land a job where you'll be living, plan to support
yourself for a few months until you can find a job, or plan to
take a very menial job which none of the locals want to do.
Remember, You're an Immigrant
Finally, when living abroad, it's important to remember that
the people you live and work with didn't come to your country
and try to fit in. You came to their country and that means you
need to fit in with them. Things may seem backward to you in
the way other countries run their affairs, however if you want
to fit in and actually make a life for yourself, it's important
to try to understand the local culture and to adapt to that culture
rather than trying to force the locals to adapt to your culture.
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