Maybe you thought about studying abroad for a semester. Maybe you have already missed that boat and have wondered what it would be like to live and work in another country.

Maybe you are just bored with your current situation and are looking to inject a little je ne sais pas into your life?

Whatever it is … you might be wondering if expat life is right for you.

While it is different for each of us and the situations that motivate our international moves vary, the most satisfied expats share some characteristics and qualities that make it easier to adjust to life abroad.

I’ve spent more than four years as an expat in both Italy and France and I’ve noticed that above all, there are three things expats just don’t do.

Think you can cut it?

Read on.

Photo: TreyGuinn

Successful (read: happy) expats don’t …

- Mind being broke
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the international company of your dreams called you up and offered you a six-figure salary , but only if you’d agree to set up house in your favorite international country?

Sure, it would …

But in reality, that doesn’t really happen.

Many expats choose to live in another country, even though they know they’d make more money back “home.” They have given up years of hard work, connections and networking to live the life many people dream of living.

- Focus on material things
This may have more to do with the aforementioned trait than anything else, but the happiest expats I know don’t hyper-focus on stuff. We know that no matter how much we might love our old dresser back home, it just isn’t gonna make the move with us.

We understand that things are replaceable. People and experiences are not.

- Ever stop dreaming
Although non-expats think living in another country is a dream, real expats know the dream has just begun. We are always looking to the future and thinking about new, exciting projects and wondering what else our new countries have in store for us.

We aren’t content just living the dream. We want to make the most of that dream.

There are also some things I’ve noticed happy expats DO. Be sure to check on My Bella Vita next week for Part II of Is Expat Life Right For You?

Cherrye Moore is an American freelance writer living in southern Italy. In addition to AffordableCallingCards.net, she writes about living and traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita. Comments and messages are welcome on both sites.

Tags: Calabria, expat in italy, expat life, expats

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[...] golden.  In fact, Cherrye, a lovely lady living in Calabria, wrote a post recently about knowing whether expat life is right for you.  (She also continued the topic here.)  I luckily can relate to everything she wrote, but I [...]

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[...] last week over at ACC, we began a discussion on what it takes to be an expat and I shared some things I’ve noticed over the years that the most successful expats [...]

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