Living abroad in the times of pandemic

Leaving your comfort zone and moving to a new country brings many challenges and I recall this first period of being new to a country as quite difficult, yet exciting. But my move took place in normal circumstances and I can only imagine the confusion, stress and loneliness of people who are new to (any) country in the times of Covid-19.

New rules, written and not, possibly a new language – there is a lot to absorb and from my experience it takes a couple of years to feel that you are fluent in your new reality. What if you haven’t even started on learning the basics and you suddenly need to keep up with new lockdown rules every week, in an unknown environment and a health system that is completely new to you?

It also takes a very long time and effort to make friends in a new place and build your local network. And it’s clearly impossible to even start doing it if you can’t have usual interactions with people. 

It is difficult enough to stay in lockdown and not see your loved ones for a long time. But what if you know that even if the lockdown was lifted, there is no one in the entire country that you will run to hug, because simply you’re not close enough with anyone yet? What if you don’t sleep at night because you have no idea who will take care of your kids in case you need to be hospitalized?

The pandemic has affected the lives of us all, but I can’t help thinking about all the newcomers to a country and picturing the additional stress they’re currently dealing with.

I’ve also seen the pandemic redefine lives of people who have lived abroad for many years. I know some who took the last available flight to be back in their home country and stay with their parents/families, although they have not lived in there for the last several years.

Inspiring families to discover new places and move countries was a driving force behind the start of this blog, but I have a sad feeling that moving to a new place will not be enjoyable for a very long time until we have the usual social interactions back. In the end it’s the people around us that help us build our new reality and feel somewhere at home.