Embracing the Journey – Reflections on Two Years Living Abroad (+Tips for Aspiring Expats)

You’ve somehow clicked on a highly personal blog post unpacking my experiences living abroad for the last two years. 

I recommend you read this if you:

• Ever felt a deep urge to explore; wanderlust, as the English lexicon would name it. 
• Are curious about what it means (and feels) to be living abroad.
• Considered actually taking that big, brave step. Even seeking some motivation to do so. 
• Do not mind the personal touch and lots of philosophical undertones of the article.

Have you ever felt like this? 

I know I have. That’s why I am here.

Sitting here, feeling so abstract writing these lines. 

Because it never felt that my time would come to a halt. At least so quickly.

But it seems that it is happening. 

Some 24 months ago, I gathered my things, packed them tight in one luggage, and embarked on a journey that would change me forever.

With a job already waiting for me, I hopped on a plane to Poland. 

Before, I had five months in Barcelona, Spain studying through the Erasmus program, and one month in Der Haag, Netherlands, volunteering to help the youth. 

Never, though, there was a time that I went to live somewhere abroad without an expiration date. 

There was me, with a single ticket, with no return flight to what I perceived as my permanent home for the last 26 years. 

Going to a city I never even knew existed before accepting the offer. 

Heading to Wroclaw, to Poland. 

And now, sitting down in front of the keyboard, writing down my thoughts as I see everything crashing down and bracing myself for impact – returning to where I came from. 

Lots of things to offload. And I want to make this a useful article for you too, who reads these lines.

So let us unpack everything. Thought to thought.

What could drive you to move abroad? 

For me, it was a mixture of circumstances.

In retrospect, they were similar to what is described in Simone Weil’s Need for Roots. 

A philosophical masterpiece that was published in the late 1940s and yet somehow manages to be equally – if not more – relevant nowadays. 

And, while a work of that magnitude can’t be summarized in just a few sentences or how she reached her conclusions, we can focus on one of her main points, as proclaimed in the book’s title. 

Simone stressed that the sense of belonging somewhere, to be a part of each community’s rituals, is crucial for every human being. 

If you wish to learn more about her but don’t know where to start, go listen to the “Philosophize This” podcast on her work. Or click on the video below: 

And it’s a concept I deeply relate to. 

I never felt… Greek enough. 

I never belonged to Greece’s culture in a lot of ways. While my pride in my heritage is there, I always felt slightly out of place. 

Home is where your heart is, and my heart belonged to nowhere.

So that drove me off in search of new roots. 

But culture matching isn’t the only reason. You may

• Not enjoy the weather
• Have better opportunities elsewhere
• Even enjoy your culture but still wish to explore others

There are multiple reasons why you may make such a decision on living abroad. 

But deciding is one thing. Taking the big step forward is another.

The process of settling anew.

Every start is a difficult one, we say in Greece. 

And, in my case, there was no difference. 

The first two months were the most challenging. I remember getting there, to a country I never had any ties to, not even a single friend – and it’s harsh. 

You have to follow Maslow’s pyramid of needs all over, in a way. 

• First, you have to make yourself known to the local authorities. And finding what exactly needs to be done is always troubling without external help. 
• Then, a lookout for your next home commences. Find your “permanent” shelter.  
• Getting to know your new employment environment is, sometimes, the next step. Or, if you’re more daring than me, you might need to look for a job anyway. And both scenarios by themselves deserve another article.
• Afterwards, loneliness ensures. You may be lucky and already have some friends or family you can relate to, or take that big step with your partner. But for me, it wasn’t the case. 
• Combined, you might feel the urge for new activities or search for ways to continue your old ones, to make yourself at home and regain your self-esteem – and happiness.
• Finally, the end goal. Mastering everything, grasping how everything works, and finding a way to fulfill yourself in this new environment.

Yet, all these take time, effort, and energy. Multiple failures will happen during the process. 

See my first months to understand this struggle better.

My first five months living abroad.

As described above, my first two months were hellish. 

Dealing with Polish authorities with zero external help (if you can afford it, get a good specialist and let them help you with all these – trust me, it’s worth it.) and zero Polish was a nightmare. No “mówisz po angielsku?” will save you. 

The struggle to find my first place was real, too – as of May 2022, the real estate market was experiencing an inflation boom. 

The room I got for the next three months, I had to earn it, literally. I replied to the ad after 7 minutes of it being posted, and I rushed with a scooter to the place to finalize everything. The whole process took me an hour. Yes, I was so desperate. 

Well, it was also about settling into work – but for that, it went much smoother. Kudos to my manager, Dom, back then for helping out, of course. 

And after all the above, that took me around a month? 

The real horror was now here – finding friends in your late 20s’. It took me three months to meet people I relate to – turning out to become some of my best friends. Achilleas and Luca. 

I met the first by randomly calling my cousin Giorgos, back in Greece, asking if he wanted to meet. He told me now that he was already out with someone, but I was free to join them as the person he was with was starting a PhD in Wroclaw in a month. 

Mind you – this came from a dude I have seen meeting some of my friends, claiming he is a philologist, crafting whole stories to mess with others. Once he introduced himself as “Cobaltios”!

I didn’t believe him, naturally.

But for once, he was not trolling me. He gave me his contact, we talked, we went out when he came to Poland, and we vibed. 

Then Luca came to become Achilleas’ PhD colleague. 

We all went out for drinks, then for board games. We kept the latter to almost a ritual-like frequency. The rest was history. 

So, I had friends and a home, settled into the new job, and was ready to continue. What was next? 

Settling in is one thing. Staying in for long has another set of challenges. 

Because starting is simply that – the beginning of a long, rewarding journey. 

A lot of things can happen to you while living abroad. You might:

• Get homesick. Most probably, you will at some point. 
• Start to dislike certain elements of your new country – the weather, the food, the culture, the people even. 
• Feel that you’re struggling to settle into the culture or overcoming language barriers
• Face legal or professional issues that, without the right people around you, it is tough to overcome. 
• Deteriorate health-wise and having problems with the local health system.

And while the last one seems like an overkill – it is what happened to me. 

I’ve written before about my migraines. Me and them go hand in hand in the most toxic relationship possible, lasting from my teen years.

Here, in Poland, they came with a vengeance. My doctors hypothesized the weather transitions were very problematic for me since the episodes’ frequency was highly seasonal.

So, in February 2023, they started. 

I was in pain almost every day. Terrible, disabling pain in some of the cases. 

Some changes at work made everything worse. All of a sudden, it seemed that everything was in peril for me. 

But then…

How living abroad builds resilience much better than back home.

I found, in a way, the beauty of living abroad. 

If you crave safety, you wouldn’t have taken that step. Right? 

Living abroad is a challenge. It is pressuring. 

But through pressure, coals become diamonds. 

It’s a process you can go through if you want to become better. And it translates a lot to you. 

And no problem is impossible to overcome. 

Each case was different. For me, I managed to find the right help, right when I was almost ready to call it quits. 

I met my partner, Ola, exactly after having this crazy, health-hazardous period of mine. She gave me a shred of light I needed back then to escape this. 

We fostered a growing, fulfilling relationship for a whole year.

She introduced me to her incredible Polish family, who accepted me even with the language and cultural barriers.

And she pushed me to find alternative ways to solve my health situation when I felt like almost giving up. 

With her, my friends, and my reinforced resilience, I didn’t leave back in May 2023. 

I stood on my feet. My migraines were becoming less frequent in May. Back in full force, to give this one more fight.

I found a new job that Fall, and moved to Warsaw to live with my beloved partner in December. 

To give Poland one more try. 

Looking & hoping for better years ahead. 

But, sometimes, living abroad in a specific country or place is not meant to be.

And, for me, it wasn’t. 

There is no shame to try something and see that it is not for you.

Because, in the end, you’ve tried. 

Be proud of yourself. Not many people choose to face their reality head-on, challenge themselves, and ditch comfort for a journey to find a better version of themselves.

With the new job, I never managed to fit in. And had to eventually quit after six wonderfully-teaching, but not-for-my-profile months. 

With my partner, a lot of issues have arisen. Our priorities were different. Our needs were getting into constant conflict.  We talked and talked, and couldn’t find a solution.

With the new city, I never managed to fit in and find new friends. I tried, got into activities, tried finding people from work to relate to, but to no avail.

And with the new environment & the whole situation, my chronic health issue with migraines became even worse. I came to realize what a strong correlation the weather transitions have in my case when in February this year, they came back again. As it happened last year.

There is an end, to everything.  

I got the perfect storm of unhappiness, grief, and sorrow. In the span of a single week, we broke up with my partner, quit my job, and was left by myself, in a foreign country and an environment that I never got the chance to fit in.

So, I booked my tickets back to Greece. Departing on the 14th of May.

Having my first full day back in Greece on the 15th of May – the day of my birthday. To “celebrate” my life’s clean state, once again.

An epilogue of a story that may not have any happy end – or did it?  

Where this might lead you – and where will it lead me?

Truth is, you never know.

It’s a gamble, as everything in life can be considered one.

Picture me, for an example. I am sitting on my desk of the home that used to be mine and my ex-partner’s, with my tickets booked, trying to process everything. 

Honestly, it looks like I am broken, right? All this was in vain.

Sure, it’s true. I am devastated. Unemployed, faced with a new social & personal reality, returning to Greece as a perceived “failure.” 

Still, within all these, I sometimes paint a smile on my face. 

Some of the most genuine smiles I’ve ever had. 

Nothing is black and white in life, except for the colors #000000 and #ffffff themselves (for any designer or marketer who reads these lines). 

People look for evil and good. Who’s right and who’s wrong? 

Yet, in most cases, the truth is in the middle. And it is much more complex than you think.

I can’t blame my partner for our different needs and priorities. Neither that my role didn’t fit my aspirations and mentality. Nor the country for having such conditions. 

And I cannot blame myself for who I am and what I have put myself into. 

Because all these are parts of my journey, and I shall cherish them as such.

This chapter may have had a sad ending – but it’s a chapter. Far from the end of my story.

Thankful, I am, for how these two years grew me. Shaped me into a better version of myself. 

I could have become complacent staying back in Greece without this experience. Miserably compromising, never trying for something better, never knowing what is on the other side. 

Drowning, slowly, in the quicksand of life. 

Stagnating.

But – I didn’t.

I made this choice, to come here, to expose myself to all these, and I am grateful for it. 

Gave these two years my all. Heading back to Greece without regrets. 

And while I have two large suitcases, one cabin bag, and one backpack to carry home, in reality, there’s much more to carry. 

A treasure box full of memories, lessons, successes, and failures, toward a life-lasting journey.

Towards new places to discover, cities to live in, and a more fulfilling, better than I ever wished for existence. 

So… should you move abroad?

I won’t give you an answer, fellow reader. 

Instead, I will give you questions. 

• Are you willing to take the risk associated with living abroad? 
• Would you be willing to put yourself in such a challenge, not having a clear outcome? 
• Do you even feel like you need to leave in the first place? 
• What even drives you away from your current place? Is it pure escapism, thinking the grass is greener on the other side, or is it something deeper?
• And what are you willing to accomplish by going abroad? Is it worth it? 

No journey is easy. 

No place is perfect. 

There is no answer but the one you can give for yourself. 

And… in the end, there is no right outcome. But

• In case you ever felt like me.
• If you wondered what could change in your life.
• Or you wished to test yourself and escape your comfort zone, to see your limits.

Then maybe it is for you too.

Nothing is irreversible, except death. You can always cave in and return, once you try. Knowing, at least, that you have tried. Never having to look back, thinking of what it could have been.

And, as for me? I would do it again. And, in the very foreseeable future, I know I will be living abroad again too.

Credits

Thank you, first and foremost, Ola: that circumstance drifted us apart, as life is cruel yet beautiful. Knowing how well-equipped you are to achieve your wildest dreams, music, new professions, and new horizons – I wish you only the best.

And second to every other person that was a part of this journey. My “Polish” partners in crime Achilleas & Luca, my colleagues like Dom, Lu, Ma, Cl, Pa, Er, and more, my wonderful friends & family who supported me tons throughout these crazy times, Fotini & Panos, Panos, Antonis, Lina, Marios & Nefeli, Ikhlas, Sophia, Eva, Christina, the Dimitris, Dimitris & Giorgos group, Spyros, and so many others.

Thank you, all.

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So, what comes next with my career?

That’s a good question – and I don’t have the answer to that yet!

I will take some time off to reflect, consider, and improve my skills – then start applying again, hoping that the market might get better by September. That’s for my main career option. My 9 to 5 or so to speak.

But, I know that, after all these experiences, I am well equipped to help others in time of need. And I am already professionally certified to be a coach, as of March 2024.

If you are facing changes in your life, even if you move to a new country like I did, I will soon start my coaching services, for personal and professional change. I need to revamp my website for that and plan some extra things out, but after some time, I will officially go for it. I promise!

But, if you cannot wait, I’ll give you a chance to contact me sooner. I won’t be so active on my emails, but I will review them periodically. Helping others at this stage will help me too.

Send me an email, and let’s discuss your case. And see if I can be a part of your future thriving – and trust me, I would love to!