Moving countries as an expat comes with amazing excitements and new opportunities. But it also brings its own set of challenges. One common challenge is deciding whether to maintain friendships back home, focus on building new social circles abroad, or juggle both aims. Figuring out what to prioritise and taking steps towards it sometimes requires thoughtful navigation. You may feel enriched by knowing people across borders but also have a sense of losing something when you must cross them at the moment of separation. Amid the unique experiences of being an expat, this dilemma is nearly universal.
You may wonder: what can you hold onto when social circles seem in constant motion?
It may be comforting to acknowledge that:
- Change is normal. Everything will keep shifting, possibly even for a long time. After all, you started this experience by moving, so naturally, things around you will follow that motion.
- Change can be exciting and scary at the same time.
- We always carry our loved ones within us even when we don’t share a daily life anymore.
- Building and maintaining strong and meaningful relationships takes time, effort, and prioritising.
- The next meaningful relationship might be standing right around the next unexpected corner or just a short swing outside your comfort zone.
The more you explore and accept yourself within this motion, the more likely you’ll find the connections you want to have with your friends back home and/or abroad. Begin with following your sparks of interest, scribbles of curiosity, pieces of passion, and appealing hobbies.
Some connections may be fleeting, while the next encounter might last a lifetime. Not everyone will stick, but each connection will still play a meaningful role—whether it’s helping you discover your place in this new puzzle or bringing you closer to the missing piece that fits perfectly into the bigger picture. Let time pass, and bravely put yourself in situations where relationships may or may not stick. You’ve already made the biggest move once; trust that the waves of change will eventually take more solid form. Though expat challenges are all unique, you’re never truly alone in finding your new anchor(s).
Co-written by Heini Karlsson @heinikarl and Eva Papastergiou @psy_and_art_therapy
Photo by Unsplash