Benefits of a living and working abroad experience

Back in 2019, we embarked as a family on a life changing experience, packing our things and moving to a different Continent, different Country, and different City. On August 30th 2019 we landed in a sunny and warm Toronto that received us with its arms wide open.

We knew challenges were coming up, and Oh Yeah, sure there were difficulties and hard times (and it really became an Extreme Challenge when Covid disrupted our lives J). Nevertheless, it has been a great endeavor and an exciting time.

First point I would like to stress is that leaving your comfort zone, embracing this kind of experience is not an easy decision, and it should not be taken lightly. It requires a lot of thinking and considering multiple aspects. Many just consider the possible benefits linked to higher wages, or a better living standard (depending on where you are coming from). However, what living abroad can bring goes much further than just the material gains; there is a lot more aspects to look into, many of them intangible (or that might only be visible in the long term). Here is a summary of some of the benefits of living abroad we would like to highlight (according to our experience):

Learn new stuff and develop new skills

When you move abroad, you are often separated from your support system. Landing in a new country, will require you to develop your skills and knowledge in many areas. In these moments, you might probably find out that the necessity is a great tool to accelerated learning, and a great opportunity to recap on some skills you have not put into practice in a long time.

This will reflect both in personal and professional levels. You will probably become better in cooking or snow shoveling :), but it will also push you towards developing professional skills. You will most probably need to adapt your communication style or a new working pace or methods.

Improving your self-esteem

Moving to a new place away from your Home comes with its own set of challenges. In general, it means you are starting a new life and most of the decisions and tasks to carry out will also mean new challenges: from finding accommodation, to sorting out different administrative matters and paperwork, learning how to select your utilities supplier or even finding out how to pay your bills, and getting around with local transport. ?These sure are stressful and tough days. However, once you figure all these things out, the feeling of satisfaction you will get is definitely worth it. Knowing that you can manage in a completely unknown environment will give you the confidence you need to tackle other challenges in life.

New mindset and life perspective

It does not matter where you are moving from or into, moving abroad will give you an invaluable new perspective on life. Seeing other cultures’ mentality and approach to life can help you expand and enrich your own worldview and establish your personal values. In our case, we can easily see changes in our personality and way of facing life, and how it has evolved during these last four years.

One of the best things aboutis that you get to learn more about other cultures. We have automatically been exposed to the local culture and way of life. This was an excellent opportunity to learn about new customs, traditions, and beliefs. We have even picked up some new customs and traditions of our own! On the other hand, as well as learning about other cultures, we have also gain insights into how others perceive our own culture. This experience was in many cases a real eye-opener to help us understand others’ views on our own countries and cultures.

Improve your communication skills

Landing in a complete new environment means you will have to build new social and professional circles. Luckily, we are not too shy and this was a period where we managed to expand our networks, both on a personal and professional level. For most people, it is not an easy task to meet new people and it will definitely be challenging. I can now say that our ice-breaking skills are on a much higher level than they were when we moved here! Moreover, undoubtedly a quality that is well worth having and that I really value as an example that we setting to our kids. This has not only affected us as adults, but I can see how it has also become something natural for our kids.

Foreign language skills

Immersion is critical to improve your skills in language. Living 24 hours listening and speaking is something that I am sure we cannot see the value of it, at this stage. I believe this is one of the assets that will remain long after this experience comes to an end. As an adult it is something that takes time to adjust, but you will improve. Now when it comes to your kids, you will probably see the return on the investment coming up much earlier, once you notice your kids switching from one language to another multiple times without even noticing with great accent and pronunciation… it sure does make me smile.

Besides, we were lucky enough to move into an extremely multicultural place where diversity is around every corner. It has made us more understanding and tolerant towards other cultures, which is an invaluable asset in our increasingly connected world. We had the chance to learn in first person how to communicate with people from different backgrounds and cultures.

Enjoying Travel Opportunities

Before moving here, we were avid travelers. That is definitely something we have always valued and something we have always liked to do. However, this has granted us a chance to travel as a family and to transmit our kids the joy of traveling and visiting new and different places. On our free time, we have been able to explore the local area or visit nearby countries. This is a great way of experiencing new things and learning about different cultures. This is something that probably would not have been possible if we had not moved here in the first place.

Main take aways from our experience so far:

• A more open mindset, the World is bigger and more different than we imagined
• The new skills we developed here will be coming back home with us and will surely be useful to open up an even wider career path
• We have grown personally as well. We are more complete in many senses, more open to challenges, we adapt easily to new realities and we are more motivated and determined than before
• We made great New Friends!

#livingandworkingabroad #expatlife #personalgrowth #aventurasenfamilia