International Movers on the Benefits of Living Abroad

15 Mar

If you’re planning on a relocation abroad, you may be somewhat leery. Even though you are excited about living and working or studying in a different country, you face the prospect of leaving the life you are familiar with behind. But cheer up! International moving companies, the professionals who have helped innumerable individuals and families to relocate overseas, report that there are many benefits to sampling life in a foreign country. Here are some of their observations.

Living abroad expands your horizons

The old chestnut “travel broadens you” has proved itself true over many years. Viewing how people of very different cultures from your own live, work, feed themselves and play will expand your mental horizons, and even more so when you are not merely passing through their country as a tourist. Experiencing life as a temporary or permanent resident in a foreign land will give you a feeling for the local customs and mores as nothing else can. (Of course, you and your household will probably benefit most from this adventure if you prepare in advance by taking some courses in the language and culture before you relocate, perhaps through an ex-pat from your destination country.)

You will create some unforgettable memories

Even if you spend just one short year abroad, it is likely to produce a lifetime’s worth of unforgettable memories, especially if you share the experience with your family or a partner. You will take some of your most amazing photos ever and collect meaningful souvenirs such as local handicrafts – or simple objects like a colorful rock picked up on a special afternoon spent at the beach. Even your difficulties will one day become amusing anecdotes to share. Just remember to keep a cheerful, open minded attitude and the experience, with all its ups and downs, will work to bring you closer.

Your children will learn about the world first hand

Global geography will come alive for your children. Traveling and living abroad is likely to have the effect of whetting their curiosity about the lives and feelings of others. If they are the outgoing type, your youngsters may well be the pioneers of your family, reaching out to make friends with neighborhood kids of their age before the international movers have even finished unloading your shipment of household effects. Shyer children should be allowed to acclimate at their own pace. Consider whether they would do better at a private school or English speaking international academy, if “total immersion” in the country’s public educational system might prove to be overwhelming for them. Whatever the case, be prepared for your offspring to pick up a charming trace of the local accent.