I’m about to embark on my own journey as an expat. I’ll be living in Paris with my EU husband.
I speak good French and having lived in France twice before for 9-mo stints each, I am familiar enough with French culture to empathize with the negative and positive critiques that people share on this subreddit. In other words, I know what to expect.
Nonetheless I am still nervous about the move; fitting in, finding a community, finding my tribe. I’m nervous about feeling like I’ve made a colossal mistake to sell everything and move here.
The truth is is that reading this subreddit does not make me féel very optimistic. I read posts lamenting the move abroad, the regrets you have, the challenge adapting, and none of which are unwarranted! I get it Expat life is difficult!
……But my question is…is there anyone here who is happy with their decision to have moved abroad?
It’s a bell curve—most people are somewhere in the middle, living life. Some are miserable, some are deliriously happy.
It is totally normal to feel anxious and unsure as you prepare to leave what you know for something new and unknown. It is totally normal to have lonely blue moments as you settle in. Our brains love familiarity, they love habit.
Get to your new home, build habits like a morning walk route, a favorite coffee shop, a cute wine bar you pop into every Wednesday night. Explore and enjoy with your husband but make sure you seek out friends and activities of your own too. There are expat groups everywhere that offer a great start and valuable advice; and over time you’ll start to settle in and make local friends too.