{"id":4241,"date":"2017-06-05T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T08:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=4241"},"modified":"2017-05-22T15:41:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-22T15:41:00","slug":"5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

The expat life can appear to be glamorous and chock full of exotic locations. While this may ring true, it also comes with its fair share of mental stress. Making a big move anywhere can be nerve-wracking. Imagine throwing in a new culture, language, and way of life to boot and you can see how the stress might increase tenfold. As a new expat, you\u2019ve got to find ways to cope with the changes that will seem to bombard you left, right, and centre, and we\u2019ve got 5 great tips to help you do just that!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo via Flickr<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

1. Find a social group<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the first things you need to do when you arrive in a new place is find people to hang out with! Having friends will go a long way to helping you deal with homesickness and culture shock, and if they have similar interests to yours it\u2019s even better. There are lots of great sites online that cater to helping locals and expats meet like-minded individuals. But don\u2019t just hang out with other expats, find ways, such as language exchange, to meet and make friends with locals. They can give you great insight into the culture and help you assimilate much faster than if you just spend time with other foreigners.<\/p>\n

2. Tackle new things<\/b><\/p>\n

Living too long in one place can give you a sense of complacency and you\u2019re less likely to tackle those things you\u2019ve always really wanted to do. Being surrounded by friends and family can be distracting and moving abroad is a great opportunity to finally take on some new and exciting challenges! Dust off that list of must-do things you\u2019ve shelved somewhere at the back of your mind and start checking items off. Since you won\u2019t know many people at the start, you\u2019ll be less distracted and have more free time to get them done. Write out that business plan you\u2019ve been saying for years you want to finish. Or read that book you\u2019ve been putting off. These little accomplishments will make you feel like you are doing something good for yourself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo via Flickr<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

3. Schedule time with family<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the downsides of living overseas is that you\u2019re removed from your usual social circle and talking to your family isn\u2019t quite as easy. The good thing is that you\u2019ll never again take those phone call with Mom for granted! It\u2019s essential when you move abroad to schedule time to talk with your family back home. Conflicting time zones and schedules make it necessary to set aside that hour or so every week for a chat and it\u2019s excellent for your mental health too! This way you avoid feeling down about calling back and forth and never seeming to catch one another. When you start to miss them you can comfort yourself knowing that you\u2019ll have the chance to talk it out.<\/p>\n

Learning a new language? Take a <\/b>free placement tests<\/b><\/a> to see how your level measures up!<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a04. Carry a memento<\/b><\/p>\n

It may sound silly, but having a memento or item that has special meaning to you can help with the mental stress of moving overseas. Have this item always on hand so that when you start to feel despondent or homesick you can pull it out and be reminded of home. It can be anything from a music album that reminds you of happy times in your childhood, or a lucky necklace your mom gave you when you were a teen. These small things hold memories which can comfort and make you feel a little less lonely, even when you\u2019re thousands of miles from home.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo via Flickr<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

5. Accept s*** happens<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s obvious that some personalities deal better with big changes than others. Even if you aren\u2019t a part of the group that adjusts quickly to change, you can help yourself by trying to just let go. Nothing will be quite the way you expect it should be when you move abroad. Yes, some things will work out wonderfully, but others will not. The sooner you accept that you will probably have really crappy days where really crappy things happen, the easier it will be to cope with them mentally when those days do <\/i>come around. It\u2019s also important to remember that the bad days will pass and there will be times where you\u2019ll be having a blast and wondering why you ever doubted that moving abroad was the right choice for you!<\/p>\n

What has helped you mentally cope with an overseas move? Share your tips with us!<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The expat life can appear to be glamorous and chock full of exotic locations. While this may ring true, it also comes with its fair share of mental stress. Making a big move anywhere can be nerve-wracking. Imagine throwing in a new culture, language, and way of life to boot and you can see how(\u2026)<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t \t\t\t\tCONTINUE READING »<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":4242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236,1,28],"tags":[42,662,102,30,661,660,285,664,663],"class_list":["post-4241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-must-know","category-uncategorized","category-culture-travel","tag-culture","tag-expat","tag-foreigner","tag-language-learning-2","tag-living-abroad","tag-moving-abroad","tag-study-abroad","tag-tips-and-hints","tag-travel-abroad"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As an expat, you have to find ways to cope with the changes that will seem to bombard you from every which way and we\u2019ve got 5 great tips to help you!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As an expat, you have to find ways to cope with the changes that will seem to bombard you from every which way and we\u2019ve got 5 great tips to help you!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Listen & Learn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-05T08:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-22T15:41:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/photo3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"399\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Juan Nario\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Juan Nario\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/\",\"name\":\"5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/photo3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-05T08:00:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-22T15:41:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2cc6d646e6b7265c8b92790ea039e20\"},\"description\":\"As an expat, you have to find ways to cope with the changes that will seem to bombard you from every which way and we\u2019ve got 5 great tips to help you!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/photo3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/photo3.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":399},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Listen & Learn\",\"description\":\"Language Courses and Language Services UK\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2cc6d646e6b7265c8b92790ea039e20\",\"name\":\"Juan Nario\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ee857fbb0c1aa175853162109a9371b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ee857fbb0c1aa175853162109a9371b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Juan Nario\"},\"description\":\"Juan is an English major with a passion for languages. Upon getting his B.Ed. in English, he has been collaborating as a content writer with clients from all around the globe. A language enthusiast, Juan is now learning French and German and hopes to always be learning new things. When he is not working or learning languages, he likes taking pictures of people, reading novels, and watching films.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/author\/juannario\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad","description":"As an expat, you have to find ways to cope with the changes that will seem to bombard you from every which way and we\u2019ve got 5 great tips to help you!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad","og_description":"As an expat, you have to find ways to cope with the changes that will seem to bombard you from every which way and we\u2019ve got 5 great tips to help you!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/","og_site_name":"Listen & Learn","article_published_time":"2017-06-05T08:00:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-05-22T15:41:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":399,"url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/photo3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Juan Nario","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Juan Nario","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/","name":"5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/photo3.jpg","datePublished":"2017-06-05T08:00:18+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-22T15:41:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2cc6d646e6b7265c8b92790ea039e20"},"description":"As an expat, you have to find ways to cope with the changes that will seem to bombard you from every which way and we\u2019ve got 5 great tips to help you!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/photo3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/photo3.jpg","width":600,"height":399},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/5-tips-to-help-you-mentally-cope-with-moving-abroad\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Tips to Help You Mentally Cope With Moving Abroad"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/","name":"Listen & Learn","description":"Language Courses and Language Services UK","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2cc6d646e6b7265c8b92790ea039e20","name":"Juan Nario","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ee857fbb0c1aa175853162109a9371b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8ee857fbb0c1aa175853162109a9371b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Juan Nario"},"description":"Juan is an English major with a passion for languages. Upon getting his B.Ed. in English, he has been collaborating as a content writer with clients from all around the globe. A language enthusiast, Juan is now learning French and German and hopes to always be learning new things. When he is not working or learning languages, he likes taking pictures of people, reading novels, and watching films.","url":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/author\/juannario\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4241"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4247,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4241\/revisions\/4247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}