Moving to a new country is hard, and not many people do it. Only 3.5% globally according to the United Nations’ 2020 “World Migration Report”. However, as someone that has lived in 7 countries, I’m telling you that if you get a good opportunity do so, and are able to depending on your personal circumstances, then you should. It can be quite life-changing and lead to significant personal growth in the following ways:
Understanding others’ world view: Being in a new environment and talking to people from a different background/culture/upbringing than your own exposes you to different ways of thinking. Although all of us are unique to a certain extent, these differences are greater when you move to a different country, and can be seen in all aspects of life. For example, when moving from Egypt to the States, I noticed a completely different culture and a greater focus on the self compared to family / society. Later, when transferring from the States to the Netherlands for the same firm, I experienced a significantly different work culture — one geared more towards “working to live” than “living to work”. These are of course gross generalizations and specific to my experiences, but still, they made me realize that there are multiple ways of approaching the same issues / topics, and all of them are equally valid and context-dependent.
Increased communication skills: So we’ve talked about how there is a greater chance of interacting with people that are different than yourself when you move to a new country. A big part of settling down after the move is getting along with your new colleagues / neighbors / friends. Interacting with these folks on a daily basis will explicitly and implicitly improve your communication skills. Explicit changes might have to be made to your language (I know, duh), your sentence structure, or your choice of words. On the other hand, implicit changes might have to be made to your communication style altogether (e.g., I found that I had to be much more direct in my communications in the Netherlands than in the States). This ability to modify your communication approach depending on who you’re interacting with is extremely useful in almost every aspect of life.
Increased capacity to deal with ‘stuff’: If the previous two points were a bit too fluffy for your taste, this one might appease you. Moving to a different country means you have to deal with a lot of ‘stuff’ — how to get all immigration requirements in order, figuring out global tax obligations, dealing with a different healthcare system, figuring out a new schooling system for your kids, etc. At a very basic level, doing all these activities increases your capacity and self confidence to deal with similar challenges in the future. For example, once you move between countries, any future domestic moves will seem like a relative breeze.
I know moving is hard, and settling down in a new country surrounded by new people can be lonely and challenging. But if you are willing to adapt and put in the required effort, it will be a great experience filled with personal growth.
