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Your First Days As An Expat: A Brief Survival Guide: The Ria Exchange

Tips before Expat

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Payasam Abhilash
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Your First Days As An Expat: A Brief Survival Guide: The Ria Exchange

Tips before Expat

Uploaded by

Payasam Abhilash
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Ria Exchange

Official Blog of RiaMoneyTransfer.com

YourFirstDaysasanExpat:ABriefSurvival
Guide
January8,2015(http://blog.riamoneytransfer.com/firstdaysexpatbriefsurvivalguide/)

(/) (/) (/) (/) (/)


(https://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=https%3A%2F%2Fptop.only.wip.la%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fblog.riamoneytr
survival
guide%2F&title=Your%20First%20Days%20as%20an%20Expat%3A%20A%20B
Yourvisaisapproved,yourbagsarepacked,andyourereadytostartanewchapterof
yourlife.Eventhoughyouthinkyoureready,thereinevitablywillbeanadjustment
periodinyournewhomecountry.Whetheryoustillhaventmasteredthelanguageor
donthaveabudgetplaninplace,usethisasaguidetoeasethetransitionduringyour
firstfewweeks.

Overcoming the Language Barrier


Whilespeakingthelanguageofyournewhostcountrybeforeyoumovethereisideal,
youdontalwayshavethetimeorresourcestolearn.Ifyouronlyexperiencewithyour
newcountryslanguageislisteningtoaudiotapesontheplaneridethere,dontfret.
Followthesethreetipstodivingintothelanguage:

DontassumeeveryonewillspeakEnglish.Itstemptingtosettleintoyourcomfort
zonewhenyoudontknowtherightword,buthopingeveryoneelsespeaksyourlanguagewonthelpyoulearntheirs.Tryyourbesttocommunicate
usingthelimitedvocabularyyoudoknow,andmakeanotetolookuptheonesyoudontlater.
TurnontheTV.Watchingsoapoperas,dramas,andevenrealityshowswillteachyouhowthecountryusesdifferentphrases.Ifyoureusingthe
EnglishsentencestructureinaSpanishorFrenchspeakingcountry,thenyoulikelywontmakeanysense.
Findalanguageexchange.ManycountriesandcitieshaveclubsforpeoplewhowanttolearnEnglishandEnglishspeakerswantingtolearnthe
nativelanguage.Notonlywillyoulearnthelanguageinacomfortableenvironment,youllalsomeetnewpeopleandmakefriends.

Calculating Your Budget and Anticipating Shortfalls


Toputitbluntly,financialplanningforexpats(http://blog.riamoneytransfer.com/financialplanningexpats8keyconsiderations/)isnotasimpleproposition.
Youmayarriveinyourhomecountrywithabudgetthataccountsforhousing,food,andotherexpensesforeachweekormonthhowever,thanksto
unforeseencircumstances(orpoorplanning),youstillcouldfindyourselfgoingoverbudgeteasily.Youlikelywontknowexactlyhowmuchfoodcostsuntil
youarrive,anditcouldbemorethananticipated.Alternatively,youcouldgetcaughtupinthenewcity,spendingmorethanintendedwhilediningat
restaurantsandenjoyingthesightsaroundyou.
Fromthemomentyouarrive,trackyourgrocerycostsandexpenses(inbothUSdollarsandthenewcurrency)tounderstandwhatyouractualbudgetshould
be.Thiswillalsohelpyoubetterunderstandthecurrencyconversionrates.
Ifyoufindyourselflowonfundsasyoulookforajoborwaitforyourfirstpaycheck,youcancheaplyhavemoneytransferredtoyoufromtheUnitedStates
throughaninternationalmoneytransfer(https://www.riamoneytransfer.com/).Movingforward,makeanefforttobudgetandspendwisely,andyoullsoonbe
onyourfeetandconvertingsmartly.

Figuring Out the Driving Patterns


Manycountrieshavedrivingpatternsandlaws(http://www.dmv.org/articles/learningthetrafficlawsofaforeigncountry/)thatareunfathomableto
Americans,whetheritsdrivingontheothersideoftheroadinLondonornavigatingtheloudandcrowdedstreetsofDelhi.Startbytakingadvantageof
publictransportationoptionsforyourdailycommute,andeaseintodrivingifpossible.
Oneofthesimplestwaystolearntotheforeigntrafficpatternsistoheadintothecountryside.Youwillbeabletogrowyourconfidenceonthehighwayand
getusedtotrafficpatternsbydrivingthroughsmalltowns.AroundaboutinasmallhamletwithtwoothercarsisaloteasiertonavigatethantheArcde
TriompheroundaboutindowntownParis.Dontfeellikeyouhavetoimmediatelycutyourteethincitydrivingstartinthecountryandworkyourwayin.

Helping Your Child Adjust


Whenyourchildfirstarrivesinthecountry,heorshemightbejustasexcitedasyouaretostarttheirnewlife.Afewweeksin,however,heorshemightstart
actingout,beingdisruptiveinclass,orsulkinginhisorherroom.PsychologistscallthisExpatChildSyndrome(http://www.expatinfodesk.com/expat
guide/movingwithyourchildren/expatchildsyndromeecs/),anditoccurswhenachildishavingahardtimeadaptingtothenewculture.
Oftentimes,themoredifferentthecultureis,themoredifficultitwillbeforyourchildtoadapt,meaningheorshewillhaveahardertimemovingtoBrazilthan
Scotland.Tohelpyourchildgetusedtothechange,setupplaydateswithfriendsfromschooltogetthemexcitedtogotoclasseachday,workwiththeir
teacherstotracktheirprogress,andtryspeakingthelocallanguageathomewheretheyfeelmorecomfortablepracticing.
WhileECSisarealconcernforyourchild,heorshemighthaveaneasiertimethanyoudo.Manychildrenactuallypickuplanguagesmorequicklythan
adults.

Dealing with Homesickness


Itsinevitablethatyoulllongforyourfamily,friends,andculturewhenyoureinyournewcountry,nomatterhowmuchyoureenjoyingyourtimethere.
SometimeshomesicknesscanbecuredwithaSkypecallhomeorajarofpeanutbutter(araretreatinmanycountries),butothertimes,itcanaffectyourday
todaylife.
Onecommontechniquetoovercomehomesicknessisoverexposure(http://www.gooverseas.com/blog/19waysreducehomesicknessabroad).Take
whatevermakesyounervousandimmerseyourselfinituntilyoufeelcomfortableandathome.Forexample,ifyoufeellonelyfromnotbeingableto
communicate,challengeyourselftotalktoatleastonepersonadayinthenewlanguagefrommeetingsomeoneatabartoaskingquestionsinastore.If
youfeelnervousonpublictransportationorinacrowdedmarket,tryexperiencingthosethingsdailyuntiltheybecomenatural.Eachtimeitwillgetalittle
easier.
Whenleftunchecked,homesicknesscanturnintoresentmentforacultureandcountry.Tokeepthecityasmagicalasbeforeyouarrived,setasidetimeeach
weektoexplorethecity.WhetheryouvisitanewmuseumeverySundayorgotoanewrestauranteveryFridaynight,trytokeeptheexcitementofatourist.
Thefirstfewweekscanbethehardestforexpatsmovingtonewcountries,butifyoufollowthisadviceyoushouldfeeljustascomfortableinyournewhome
asyourold.Giveyourselfsometimetoacclimateandfaceyournewchallengesonedayatatime.

Tags: expats(http://blog.riamoneytransfer.com/tag/expats/)

RetiringOverseas:6PracticalConsiderationstoKeepinMind
(http://blog.riamoneytransfer.com/retiringoverseas6practicalconsiderations
tokeepinmind/)

8TipsforBudgetingWithaVariableIncome
(http://blog.riamoneytransfer.com/8tipsbudgetingvariableincome/)

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