You’ve moved abroad? Hooray! Living abroad will change your life forever. It will open your mind to new horizons and definitely be the best lesson about the world and yourself.
However, as soon as the honeymoon period is over and the novelty of living abroad wears off, you start wondering what’s next? Exciting as expat life is, it doesn’t come without challenges which go beyond the logistics and paperwork. Why? Because you have to completely reinvent your life. Living abroad means adapting to a foreign culture, learning a language or two, finding new friends and hobbies, navigating a new workplace, which altogether may lead to general overwhelm, confusion, loneliness.
Expats, digital nomads, global citizens, immigrants, skilled workers - whichever you identify with, we often struggle to build a home away from home. But what if you don’t know which way is home, what if you decide to stay or go back or move on to another country? Not knowing can be emotionally draining, however, even if you don’t know your final destination, it doesn\'t mean you don\'t need a direction. I can relate, as I lived abroad for 20 years, 10 out of which I’ve spent working with expats. They all confirm that the emotional aspect of living abroad is very often overlooked and leads to what’s called ‘expat fatigue’.
However, not many talk about it as they fear being judged. How can they dare complain if they are living the life many can only dream of. Following their curiosity, drive and ambition, they embarked on their adventure abroad and decide to deal with any possible challenges all by themselves because admitting their struggles would be seen as failure. And high-achievers, who there are many of among expats, don’t take failure well. So they only survive rather than truly thrive abroad.
Fortunately I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to suffer in silence. It’s okay to want more without feeling guilty and it’s possible to thrive abroad, tapping into your passions for learning and achieving your full potential.
Who is the service for?
The service is designed for first-time expats, long-term and repeated expats.
What’s included?
- A helicopter view of current situation and identifying challenges
- Defining success
- Gaining clarity of priorities to focus on
- Mapping out the next steps with specific goals to have a direction, structure, control over the many new aspects of life: your environment, socialising, hobbies, relationships, your career and growth etc.
- Discovering your strengths and brand
- Cultural dimensions and intercultural aspects of integration, foreign language learning, unspoken rules of communication
- Dealing with culture shock
- Concept of home, identity and belonging
- Your motivators and life purpose
What are the benefits?
Living abroad is so enriching if you take advantage of everything it has to offer. You want to have a plan for your life abroad and live it with intention rather than just see what happens. When you know what you want and why you want it, you experience life in a completely different way.
Therefore, having a direction is so crucial. Even if it might change, it doesn’t matter. Knowing where you’re going gives you the motivation to get out of bed every day, making life worth living and meaningful. This is where you thrive instead of just managing.
Book your free appointment
Our recommended service provider is Lucy Bolin Coaching. Lucyna Bolin is an expat coach working with internationals around the world, having been an expat herself for 20 years in 5 different countries. She\'s a certified coach with a MA in Culture, Communication and Branding and a BA in Teaching. She worked in multinationals in London, Frankfurt and Barcelona as a corporate soft-skills trainer and coach. It’s her mission to empower expats to make their stay abroad meaningful and worthwhile according to their own definition of success.
Complete this form below and Lucy will contact you to schedule a 40’ complimentary session to understand your current situation and define how she can best support you. Since every expat journey is unique, the service will be tailored to your specific needs if you decide to work together.