Moving overseas; leaving everything familiar behind, can be quite a daunting task or on the other hand, may be met with excitement.

People just don’t move overseas for no reason. It could be work-related, a relationship, for or with family, a gap year, to study… It is usually no easy feat. Often it requires much planning and organisation. It usually involves cashing out from everything at home such as either selling or renting your property if you have one or finishing the lease of a place if you rent. Storing or selling your belongings, taking the family pet with or leaving them behind. Then it may involve the trouble of organising visas, flights, and a place to stay.

I moved to Morocco in 2015 and whilst I had been there three times before it was still a shock to the system. I moved to be with my fiance. Yet never thought much beyond the fact of the excitement of being with him full time. I had three panic attacks within the first two weeks after unsuccessfully looking for a job each day. It was terribly hard and I had naively not even foreseen this as a problem. We ended up buying and running a cafe which was an adventure in itself.

Whilst I was mostly content with my new life, there are some sacrifices that you will have to consider upon moving;

• You will miss out on events back home - friends and families birthdays, parties, births, deaths. It is something that takes a while to sink in. Whilst it is not critical you be there you can’t help feeling like you are missing out

• People stare. I was a white woman in a black country. I obviously stood out wherever I went. I was thankful for my dark hair though so never had the need to wear a scarf. You may even get the evil eye, people wondering what you want

• People will be interested in why you are living in a foreign country. They will ask. Be prepared to answer questions, lots of questions

• People will ask you what you think of their country. How do you compare Australia to Morocco? I always had an answer planned so I did not offend and made sure I was grateful for being there.

• You will experience culture shock and then reverse culture shock if you ever return to your country. The reverse culture shock was worse for me. It took me three months to be able to leave the house.

• You have to learn to find your community, to make friends again in your new location. I suggest going out after your hobbies and creative interests and exploring new activities and interests.

• If you still have things at home you will have the expense of paying to store your items. If you decide to part with your belongings before heading overseas, this takes time, patience, and you may even have to list things quite cheaply just to move them on quickly in your time frame.

• You will miss people. You will miss family and friends. You will miss not being able to hug them. Facetime, Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, and Zoom calls are all great but they are not the same

Of course, there are many rewards for moving overseas. You are following your dreams, you are making dreams come true, experiencing a new way of life, a new culture. It enriches your life, gives you stories to share and memories that are yours forever.

Have you made the move overseas at some point in your life? What did you enjoy or maybe not enjoy about the experience? We would love it if you joined the conversation and left a comment below.