I wanted to share this article I found on cosmopolitan.com.au today. Having lived 2 years in the UK, 1 year in Spain and 4 months in Australia (already!!!), I completely and utterly identify with every single point mentioned in this article...
Why every girl should try living
overseas...
It’s something we've all gotta do at
some stage. But instead of saving up all year to spend a month at a time
getting your culture on, have you ever thought about maybe just not coming
back, for a while at least? Because there are heaps of awesome reasons why you
should live overseas! In fact, here are a few good ones we can think of:
Learn about who you really are. You never really know yourself until you're thrown into a
totally different world where you have to find a job, make new friends, get a
place to live and basically burrow down and make a life for yourself – all on
your own. At home, you know your place in the world and that makes life there
pretty easy, but everything from the social code to the meaning of
gestures can change between cultures.
Living overseas will throw a lot of
challenges your way (at first) – even down to who you're going to party with.
And how you handle everything thrown your way will teach you a lot about who
you are and it'll make you a stronger person too. Plus, it'll make you grow up
fast and teach you a few new skills, like how to make new BFFs.
But don't freak if it's all sounding really
hard, ‘cos the truth is, it's all so damn exciting, it’ll feel easier than it
is. You know when you're first in love and you can go without sleep and food
and basically live on sex and air? Living in a new city has the same thrill.
It’s all so new and you can climb mountains on that high. The
only rule? To get outside as much as you can and LIVE.
Make amazing memories. There's little chance you're going to meet an English duke and
go on some crazy escapade with him to Greece when you're stuck at home. The
strange people, the random adventures… living overseas will give you a million
stories you can laugh about for the next millenia.
Grow your skillset. With larger populations and very different markets, working
overseas means you have the chance to expand your experience beyond what you
might be able to find at home. It can also give your CV an edge when (or if)
you decide to come home.
Learn a language. The fastest way to learn a culture is to jump right in and live
there. So if you've dreamt of seducing a guy with sexy Spanish or mastering
Mandarin, the best thing you can do is move countries.
You'll learn about what you want from
life. Whether you discover you don't like
surviving on Chicken Cottage in London, or you do wanna ride your bike
everywhere like you did in Paris, you'll start to piece together what in life
is going to give you max happiness. Do you want work/life balance like the
Swedes or do you prefer to work hard and play hard, New Yorker style? You'll
soon find out!
Make new friends or meet a potential
foreign love. If Facebook tells you anything,
it’s that your friends are way too connected. Trying to find a BF who didn't
date a friend of a friend can be pretty impossible, but living overseas means
you have a whole new pool of potential dates – and they come with a sexy accent
too! You also have the potential to meet interesting people you'd never cross
paths with at home.
Learn a new place. There's something to be said for knowing a place you didn't
grow up in like the back of your hands. Whether you can navigate the winding
streets of Paris or know the best gelato in Rome, you’ll be the to-go-to girl for recommendations and advice (and that can feel really good).
Besides, you'll never get lonely with a bunch of peeps from home visiting on
rotation too.
Learn how to be good at life. Sure, if you're living out of home you still have to pay your rent
and bills, but there's a comfort in knowing your parents are a short drive
away. If you're broke for the week, you can eat at their place every night, but
that won't fly when there's an ocean between you and your family. You need to be a
lot more organised because you can only rely on yourself.
Learn to appreciate home too. While living elsewhere can open your eyes to other cultures and
different worlds, it can also teach you the art of appreciating what you've got
back home. From being near to your fab friends and family to knowing all the
social cues, you’ll learn to love what you have right here.
I have also been browsing through the following travel blogs which are so inspiring, go check them out:
