By Kristi Remick

There are so many reasons to become an Expat: ability to travel, interest in other cultures,  following a spouse or partner, career advancement, philanthropy…the list goes on.  What makes these reasons stick?  No matter the reason for your Expat journey, you will undoubtedly experience a wide range of emotions including excitement, curiosity, fear and confusion.

Excitement is always a short lived emotion and one I like to call the new car smell emotion.  It is the best emotion while it lasts because it keeps you energized and propels you towards something that is perhaps scary or difficult to accomplish.  Eventually excitement fades much like a car’s new smell.  You try to duplicate it, even going so far as getting the new car smell freshener when you get your car washed, but you soon learn you can’t quite recapture it in its original form.

Curiosity is likely the catalyst that leads to excitement.  It is that emotion that triggers the common human conditions of  ”grass is greener-itis” or “the what ifs?”.  I think it is the emotion that keeps humans trying new things and prompts invention.  Just like excitement, it is temporary and can sometimes lead to bad decision making.  Any emotion that can kill a fuzzy kitten needs to be handled with care, unless of course you are a dog person who seeks to eradicate the entire feline population.

Fear and confusion are popular Expat emotions as well but ones that can be reconciled fairly quickly with a map, translation dictionary and glass of Prosecco.  It may seem I am downplaying them and while I do think they can be easily squashed, I know their power lies in their ability to resurface when you least expect them to making them particularly dangerous to an Expat.

So if Expat emotions are volatile and/or short lived, what emotion helps you stay the course?  It wasn’t until I thought back on my move from Upstate New York to Atlanta that it clicked.  For the longest time I talked about how the culture shock from my earlier move was more intense for me than our move from Atlanta to Zurich.  I received a lot of quizzical looks after I made this statement and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why it was harder to move within my own country.  What I never took into account was the fact that my move from New York to Atlanta lacked love.

My Mother lived in Atlanta and I certainly loved her.  She made the move feel safer than say moving to New York City but her love wasn’t the glue that kept me in Atlanta.  I was miserable for 2 years and was about to purchase a one way ticket back north when I met my future husband.  Suddenly Atlanta didn’t feel so foreign or scary.  It actually started to feel like home because I suddenly had a reason to be there and one that I loved.

So what does this have to do with the Expat experience?  A lot really as any reason why you choose to become an Expat is lined with a great deal of love.  Travel, learning about other cultures, career, partner, and philanthropy all  include an element of love and yes, you can even love your career.  It is true that love evolves over time, it can wax and wane and even sometimes disappear. Your Expat experience will likely be dictated by your reason and the progression of love you have for it.

I think the most popular question asked by people considering a move abroad is “how do I know if the Expat experience is right for me?”.  There is no right answer but if you have a reason to go, one that you are in love with, then I say go for it. It is the emotion that will protect you from all the other temporary and scary emotions:

Love- “Hey Fear, what’s up?”

Fear- “Meh, not so much…just holding back this human.”

Love- “Huh, sounds like a lot of fun but I am more in the business of setting people free.”

Fear- “Wow, that sounds really Lionel Ritchie of you.  You do know he thinks he can dance on a ceiling.”

Love- “Yeah, I know…but at least the people who rely on me do stuff… so take that Fear Schmear.”

Tags: expat life, Expats in Switzerland, Switzerland

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January 11, 2012    Rate Comment

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