With any walk of life, everyday routines sometimes get a bit
too comfortable. Although nobody really
likes to admit it, people can find themselves stuck in a bit of a rut. This applies to expats as well. Feeling comfortable is great, but being too
settled could stop you from making the most of your expat adventure.
Smaller changes
to your everyday routine can make a big difference to your overall expat
experience and the memories you make. It’s important to keep things fresh to
continue making the most out of your expat experience. If you can relate to some of these expat-in-a-rut
symptoms, here are some suggestions to keep things interesting!
Symptom: Expat
complacency
Did you move with a long list of things you wanted to tick
off – be that sightseeing, trying particular street foods, or visiting
galleries or museums, but find you haven’t done that much? Unlike visiting somewhere on holiday, being
an expat means there is no time limit on your stay, and it’s easy to forget
about the typical ‘tourist’ activities you initially wanted to do.
Expat remedy: Be a
tourist once a week – pretend you only have a week left in your host country,
and tick off that bucket list!
Image Source:
Creative Commons / SuccessTiming
Symptom: Unvaried
expat diet
Indulging in local cuisine is by far one of the greatest
perks of expat life, and by now you will probably have expert knowledge of
where to get the best street
food, the best coffee and other local delicacies. Perhaps you’re an expat in Bangkok, and now
an expert on where to find the best Pad Thai.
But inevitably, this also means that expats can end up sticking to the
same old favourite dish.
Expat remedy: How
often have you tried cooking these dishes for other people? Take a trip to some local food markets, buy
some ingredients you haven’t used before!
Host a dinner party for new friends, and show case your culinary skills.
Symptom: Over-settled expats
Getting to know your local area is great – and it’s
fantastic to feel like you are really ‘at home’ somewhere new. However, don’t forget that a short drive,
train or bus journey away, there are new places ripe for exploration!
Expat remedy: If
you haven’t left your local area for a while, reserve one weekend a month for a
road
trip to get to know your neighbouring cities or villages.
Symptom: Unadventurous
expats
The prospect of becoming an expat is both exciting and
daunting at the same time, and often comes with visions of an adventure-filled
future. However, after being settled in
a place for a while, the element of adventure can start to dwindle.
Expat remedy: To
reinstate that feeling of excitement, how about becoming an adrenaline junkie
for the day? Do something that scares you, be that finding some adventure
sports facilities in your local area, or joining up to a new club by
yourself.
Image Source:
Creative Commons / Szanyierika97
Symptom: In an expat
bubble
If you’ve made a good circle of friends since moving, that’s
fantastic, and an important aspect of feeling settled. But this isn’t to say you should try and stop
making new friends.
Expat remedy: Set
yourself a target of speaking to one new person every week – be that another
expat, or a local. You’ll be surprised
how quickly you pick up hints and tips about local life where you are, and
perhaps some new friends as well.
Whatever you are looking to get out of your expat
experience, visit our hints and tips pages
for more tips from expats, for expats.