Tips for dealing with culture shock when moving to a new country

Tips for Dealing with Culture Shock When Moving to a New Country

When you not only leave the family nest, but decide to leave if far behind as you decide on moving house to a different county, you will find yourself facing that little thing called culture shock. After a relocation to a foreign land, you will end up in a place you actually know very little about and you will see that Google, Wikipedia, and the tourist guide are no longer helpful or applicable to your situation. So what happens when the internet and your guidebook fail to prepare you for the experience of a lifetime?

Why, you follow these tips: •

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Learn the language. Well, of course you need to know the language of that foreign country your removal company or man and van company dropped you in and where you are trying to establish a home and fit in. Shockingly enough, English is not the answer to every problem in the world.

Take a lot of walks. Getting acquainted with your new surroundings is vital. You need to know where you are and what is there to see or make use of. With walks you can find the precious small things that city guidebooks will never tell you about – the bookshop around the corner, the family diner in the small street, the cosy cafe on the block, etc. Also, you need to know the walking distances to the different locations you will be using in case transportation options are limited.

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Mingle. Yes, you will have to talk to people. Sitting in the melancholic darkness of the room after work has never won anybody social points. If you want to meet people and make friends, you have to visit pubs, go out with colleagues, and meet the neighbours.

Dealing with the new surroundings means meeting the people who can introduce you to them and eventually help you feel at home after you establish a community.

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Dress the part. Forget about your home country’s dress code. When you move to the new country and you arrive at the new place, you look about and see what people are wearing, and you wear that type of clothes. Sticking out might attract some interest and help you meet more curious people, but it also means that you are not trying to fit in and could make you an outsider... even more so.

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Take part of events. If something is going on in the city centre, you should not be sitting at home, staring at the screen. You should run right over and see what the hubbub is all about. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, if you will. That is how you introduce yourself to the culture of the new place and how you learn about local customs and habits.

Be wary of creeping depressions. One of the things that assaults people after the initial excitement of the relocation is the feeling of loneliness and the fear of never fitting in. This is how culture shock manifests, don’t let it get to your head. Find things to do, be active in your life and loneliness in a foreign land will never be a problem.

People go through moving house abroad and dealing with culture shock all the time, so it is nothing you cannot overcome. Just find your place in your new life as soon as possible after the movers take you to your new home, and you will be just fine.