Throughout my years of living on my own abroad I have experienced a lot of things. I am very happy to share some of them with you. I know that there is someone out there looking for advice or even for some extra information before taking a major decision as is that of moving to a new country. Below you will find 5 things I wish I knew before moving abroad.
1. Be extra careful and cautious when you are finding a place to live. I had to learn this the hard way several times over and over again. Sometimes you're so exited to find a home, especially if you live in big cities where finding a place takes forever, that you forget to see the red flags that might be just in front of you. When I was looking for flats to rent in Edinburgh I was back home in Albania because I was still waiting for the British Embassy to issue my visa. So I had to go through the whole process of finding a flat online, I was doing online viewings and such. I cannot stress it enough when I say, always be there in person! Always! I know it might be difficult sometimes. I personally thought I had no other choice rather than do the viewings online but when I think back I actually could have emailed and asked somebody from my university's student society to help me and do a viewing for me. You could ask somebody from work or if you are a student email the student association of your university and they will help you a lot. If I had done this I would have not lived for two months with a flatmate who owned two hunting ferrets and one falcon. I am terrified of bird feathers and let's say I did not sleep much for those two months.
2. Open a local bank account. Maybe this one is obvious for some people but when I moved from France to Scotland I first kept using my French credit card and because of the exchange fees I spent a lot of money. I advice you to open a bank account in the country you're living in. It will cost you nothing and it will be much more convenient for you.
3. Speaking another language with that language's native speakers is tough. When I moved to France from Albania for my undergraduate studies I really suffered with the French language. I kind of felt embarrassed with myself because back home I studied in a French high school and I had a really good level of French. The thing is that speaking French with French people in the everyday life is tough. People have different accents, they use different slang etc. One thing that helped me a lot was listening to French radio every morning before going to uni. I started using expressions they used and little by little I had no more problem interacting and expressing myself in French. Everything takes effort. Another thing that I always do to better my articulation both in French and English is reading books out loud. I feel that this method has really helped me be more fluent and speak quicker.
4. Get a multi-country adapter. This might also seem very obvious to some people but when moving abroad we tend to get concerned over major things and forget about the small things that might end up ruining our day. Moving to the UK I had forgotten to buy a plug adapter so I had no battery charger for a day and my parents went crazy. It also is a major nuisance because moving somewhere where you literally know nothing you need to have access to the internet to see where you are going. Long story short, GET AN ADAPTER!
5. Have patience. It is not easy going to a new place and starting over. It will take time getting used to it, it will take time perfecting the language, it will take time adapting to the culture and making good friends. Be patient and open minded. Everything will fall into it's own place sooner or later.
Hope you find this post helpful. Let me know in the comments below if you liked it and if you want to know more tips on preparing to go abroad. Taking the step to live alone in another country is a very huge deal and boy don't I know it. If you are taking this decision I am proud of you! Follow these tips and you will have an awesome time living abroad.
Fiori <3
Comentarios