Starting over by moving to a new country will initially feel like an exciting adventure as you immerse yourself in new experiences and opportunities and learn about the culture around you. Although you might believe the hardest part of your long-distance move has ceased as you successfully arrived in your new location and with the help of international movers, being in the unknown evokes feelings of loneliness and a desire to return home. Entirely new surroundings will inevitably elicit feelings of homesickness that is a scourge to any big move and can override all else. Fortunately, it may help to know that you’re not alone in feeling lonesome for home and for a general sense of familiarity. Such emotions are normal when you move abroad, but they can also be quelled using certain techniques.  

Find out how you can overcome homesickness when you move abroad and how it can be substantially reduced without it completely consuming you during an exciting moment in your life.  

Letting yourself be sad without a timeline 

Letting yourself be sad may seem counterproductive when trying to reduce homesickness, but trying to stifle any visceral emotions can be more painful and elongate these feelings. While you shouldn’t let the sadness consume you, you should still acknowledge how you’re feeling and why you’re feeling this way without trying to establish a concrete timeline for an exact time your homesickness will subside. Understand that you cannot control these emotions and try not to become overwhelmed when they do not gradually dissipate in the timeframe you want them to.  

Create a steady routine 

When you arrive in your new home abroad, make strong efforts to create steady routines that will help you smoothly transition from your old routine to one better suited to your new home. Create a routine that is different from the one you used to have, so it will eventually become more familiar and comfortable to you while giving you a chance to adapt to your new home and lifestyle. While you may associate a routine with life necessities you’ve always followed, like making three meals per day and sleeping eight hours a night, it can also include fun activities that are typically out of your comfort zone. Activities like visiting a museum, going on a hike, and learning how to paint can differentiate your routine and enable you to learn something new about yourself and is an effective method to distract yourself from overbearing feelings of homesickness.  

Connect with new people 

Meeting new people and forging friendships will give you a needed source of trust and support as you adjust to your new life. A new network of people will establish a sense of familiarity in your new home abroad, where you’ll have someone to talk through your feelings with when homesickness becomes too much to handle alone. When looking for new connections, you can start by seeking activities, clubs, and volunteer opportunities to participate in that will put you in place surrounded by groups of new people who might have shared interests with you. You can also join groups on social media that consist of other ex-pats seeking to create a new network.  

Unpack and make your home comfortable 

Once the international movers you have hired have brought all your belongings to your new long-distance home, you should begin unpacking as soon as possible and make your home more comfortable by decorating using familiar and new items. By customising your space and mixing items that remind you of your old home and new accessories, you can carve out a piece of comfort that you can return to each night without feeling overridden with homesickness. The longer you leave your belongings in your suitcase and boxes, the more isolated you’ll feel from your new home.  

Involve yourself in your community  

Once you have arrived in your new home abroad, you should explore the new community surrounding you. Be to plant your roots in the place you now call home by visiting local shops, restaurants, and any local attractions. Try to make yourself get out of the house each day and simply walk around the community to get a better understanding of what your current surroundings look like. Ask around to see if there are any volunteer opportunities around the area that you can check out or if there are community spaces, like a library or public garden, you can visit. Involving yourself in any way will help eliminate feelings of loneliness or homesickness.  

Keep in contact with family and friends  

There are many steps involved to ensure your safety when you travel outside of the country, like assessing certain risks and acquiring knowledge on the proximity of a hospital or pharmacy about where you will live. But something that might be overlooked that can prohibit anxiety, depression, and general homesickness is to keep in contact with your family and friends. While it may seem hard to hear their voices and can compound the homesickness you already feel, it can also help to hear reassurance from those closest to you.

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