Living abroad has long been something we wanted to do. What a wonderful opportunity to be able to live for a while in a different country. The chance to experience another culture first-hand, learn a new language, easy access to travel in a new area, and overall personal growth … that’s the dream.
If this job in Stuttgart, Germany had not come up, we were going to rent an Airbnb in a village in Italy one fall and count that as our time living abroad. Of course one option is work and not choosing exactly where you live, and the other is a lovely long vacation. Pros and cons: one pays and one does not.
The reality … it is very difficult to live abroad. Especially when you have to set up the nitty gritty of every day life. Not knowing the language, the different and complicated processes around everything, and simple tasks such as paying your rent requiring multiple transactions, can be very frustrating. Especially when you first arrive, when every day feels like “first day of school”. Learning so many new things every single day is emotionally and physically draining.
If you’re thinking of heading out on an adventure like this and wondering if you should, we’ll share some more thoughts soon. For now we will say, it does get better in 6 – 9 months. We’ve just hit month 10. 😉
Cheers!
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