Today students often favour going on Erasmus to Europe, or on a J1 to the U.S in the summer to experience new areas before entering into the working world. These types of trips can be tricky as it often is difficult to fully adapt to your new surroundings. You aren't the long enough to fully establish roots, yet two or three months (In my case 5 months) can be a long time to spend away from home.
Anyone who has spent some time living in a different area knows how difficult it can be to get used to your new surroundings and get over the struggle that is homesickness. It is a scary thing to move to a new country, with new people, languages, foods etc. Leaving your comfort zone and things you are used to, be it for employment reasons or otherwise, can lead to hard times but it can also be a huge opportunity for personal growth if the challenges are overcome.
In order to reap the benefits of travelling to a new country it is important to first overcome the obstacles which could prevent you from getting the most out of the experience. You can find several articles online with lists of essentials when moving abroad and telling you how to adapt to a new city. In this blog I am going to use personal experiences of both working in France for a summer and studying in Australia for a semester to create my own list of guidelines. I think that different things are more important for different people so this list is not exhaustive, but never the less it’s a good starting point and may spark other ideas.
1. Organise your bedroom
Although this sounds silly, from my experience the best thing to do when you arrive in a new place is to fully unpack and make your bedroom as comfortable and neat as possible. This is coming from somebody who’s bedroom could be excused for a demolition site on any given day, however I believe that the worst thing you can do is live out of a suitcase upon arrival. In order to limit the feeling of being in an alien place, it is important to make your bedroom as familiar to home and a place you’re happy to return to at night-time.
2. Get familiar with the neighbourhood
Once you feel that you are set up at home, I usually like to wander aimlessly around the area and try find my way around without using google maps too much. This is a good way to slow down and take the new area in without having google maps tell you where to go. The more places you find that you like the easier it will be long term to settle in. Stumbling across quiet little restaurants or shops that can become your ‘local’ can particularly help people from smaller areas adapt to big cities.
3. Join a sports team
Sports is in my opinion the easiest way to meet new like-minded people and begin to make friends that can help you settle in to the area. Local people can show you places that most tourists won’t know of and can introduce you to other people in the area. A sports club is a great way to feel part of a family, as cringy as it sounds. Being part of a group with the same interests and the comradery that comes along with it can often make you settle into an area quicker.
4. Do things that scare you
One of the weirder things about moving to a new city is that it is almost like you have a fresh start. Often people get stuck in a routine by having the same friends and doing the same things every day. Coming to a new city, you can basically create whatever lifestyle you want to have (within your budget of course). In my opinion it is a useful exercise to try to do things that you usually would be too afraid to do at home, this could be starting a new activity, taking up a new hobby, or could be as simple as trying to talk to more strangers.
5. Keep in touch with home
The fifth and final tip I have is to continue your relationships from home, of course with your family but also try keep in touch with your friends. Skype is a great tool and I think it is very good for getting over homesickness. Speaking to your family in the morning or before you go to bed can help you from missing home. When living so far away in Australia, I would often skype my parents and they would carry the ipad around the house, playing with my dogs and having a conversation with the whole family as though I was sitting in the kitchen with them.
In my opinion, for the most part, new experiences should always be welcomed. Where there is struggle there is growth and when you move to a new area, even for a short amount of time, you can learn a lot about yourself. As a young person, I believe that there is very little risk to moving abroad and a lot to gain. Although I love where I come from, I think that I would be look back on my life with regret if I didn’t go and explore other places. When moving to a new place, you need to get into a normal lifestyle as soon as you can in order to get a real feel for the place and what it is like to live in the area. My experience on Erasmus was quite strange as it was a mixture between a long holiday and lifestyle move. Although I was studying and going to college, it was difficult to avoid living life as a tourist, however I followed the 5 rules listed above and I believe that they helped me to really see the area and understand what life is like there. I would highly recommend for anyone thinking of moving to a new city to follow these 5 tips and try to make the new city feel like home as soon as possible.