Every time someone asks me if I ever regret becoming an expat, my answer is always the same: Nope, not one bit. There would be questions about how can I leave everything behind, language barriers, culture shock, and the list goes on. Since I became an expat, I discovered that it’s all about your mentality and perspective. If you view the opportunity to leave your home country as a positive move, your whole experience and perspective changes for the better.
Have I ever considered becoming an expat before turning 24? No way. As adventurous as I am, it is intimidating to leave my friends, family, and then-girlfriend-now-wife behind to start a new life in a new country. That meant packing my life into a few suitcases, hop onto a plane, and fly across the globe knowing well that there’s going to be nobody picking me up at the airport.
So how did I decide to become an expat? Coming out of university, broke and all, I was fortunate enough to be offered a full-time job at a financial firm where I worked as an intern. The catch? Relocate to Hong Kong. I still remember when I was invited out to lunch with my potential boss. We would make some small talk about school, family, plans for the summer. Then we jumped into the reason why we’re having lunch in the first place.
Boss: So we do have a head count and we fully intend to hire you.
Me: That’s great. When do I start?
Boss: We can arrange a date that works for you. Thing is, it’s not going to be in Toronto.
Me: What do you mean?
Boss: We want you to work in Hong Kong.
Right then and there, I must’ve blanked out for a good 10-15 seconds. They didn’t need an answer right away and gave me some time to think about it before giving them an answer. Over the next few days, the decision really came down to 4 things and these are the lessons learned that I want to share with you all – things that anyone should consider before becoming an expat.
#1 – Finances
Back in 2013, the job market wasn’t great in Toronto. Many of my friends were struggling even to land interviews and I was lucky enough to be offered a job, even if it meant flying across the world. I was the typical grad who finished school with a mountain of debt. A job would allow me to start paying back my student loans and start to set financial goals. As an expat, this meant more.
Being an expat jump-starts your finances because fortunately, if an employer decides to relocate you, it usually comes with what they call an “Expat Package”. This is just a fancy way of saying “we’ll pay you your salary and then some”. That would, more often than not, include covering your housing, some spending allowance for food and day-to-day essentials, and decent medical coverage. As broke as I was, this was definitely an added bonus.
#2 – Career
The other end of the equation around expat jobs is whether it adds value to your career. Since I was a college grad, it didn’t really matter at the time. Any experience would help my resume! But in hindsight, and I’m sure there are others who agree, international experience is more and more sought after in today’s day and age. More companies are changing their businesses to become more global and that meant they are looking for people who’s lived and worked in other countries. Even local companies may see international experience as a valuable asset to bring in new ideas and new ways of doing things. It will make you stand out from the competition in the future.
#3 – Relationships
This is natural. You think about your family, your friends, your significant other. It meant detaching yourself and becoming more distant. Although technology today allows us to Skype or Facetime with our family and friends, we still encounter challenges like time-zone differences and making time out of our busy schedules. You may start to feel alone but this encourages you to go out there and make new friends! It’s not about replacing your friends back home; it’s about expanding your social circle.
If you’re dating someone, like myself at the time, it can get tough. Long distance relationships are not easy – no matter what other people tell you. They require more effort and commitment from both of you. My girlfriend and I would send emails and weekly vlogs to each other. We would send gifts and letters in the mail. We would plan trips together – I visit home or she visits me in Hong Kong, or we meet somewhere in the middle. If you put in the effort, the relationship gets stronger. I proposed to her when she came to visit me 4 months after I left Canada in 2013. We’ve now been married for over a year. Soon after, I relocated to the UAE and she decided to quit her job and move with me.
#4 – Experiences
This one is probably the most significant because it encompasses many different aspects. You will get to…
- Try new activities and do things that may be out of your comfort zone (and that’s a good thing).
- Feel out of place (it’s called culture shock but you will get over it, I promise)
- Meet new people and make new friends that expands your network (this is super valuable)
- Develop a sense of independence; learning how to do things by yourself and boosting your self confidence
It may seem scary at first, but as you adjust your lifestyle and adapt, you learn to embrace the new. You start to feel excitement the next time you travel or move. Fall in love with the culture, the people, the food. You grow as an individual and your outlook on life changes drastically, in an amazing way. Your experiences become your story and you share that with others who’s in the same boat, wherever you go.
Change is good – trust me.
Are you an expat? How did you decide to become an expat? What have you learned living abroad?
