Hey, New Expat! I Have Some Advice For You...

...if you're feeling fucking terrified, you're doing it right! 

The magic of becoming an expat is not in the moving itself, but in making the choice to upgrade to a bigger, juicier, more daring life. 

 

Guess what, brand new expat? This is not going to come easy to you. Your body and mind are going to resist the change at all costs. 

 

The first night I got to London as a shiny new, naïve export from California, I sobbed on the floor of my new room, surrounded by empty walls—it was a blank slate that felt extremely overwhelming to me.  Had I made a mistake? Why was I feeling this way when I had wished day and night, my whole life, to move abroad?!

 

The answer became clear a few months into my expat journey: I was afraid of accepting the massive upgrade in my life I was totally deserving of.

 

Something in me knew this, even then. I picked myself off the floor, wiped the tears from my puffy eyes, and walked over to my neighbor’s door to introduce myself. “Do you want to grab a pint with me?” I asked. We proceeded to have a grand night chatting and laughing over cheap beer, and I made my first new friend in London! 

 

I had figured out the life hack that would carry me through the rest of my experience, and end up giving me the most amazing year of growth and beauty: you must walk through the very pit of fear to get to the magical life you’re craving. Sometimes, it’s going to feel agonizing, but it’s also going to feel fucking amazing on the other side.

 

You have to decide that you’re worth it. 

 

So, pick yourself off the floor, darling! Say yes to invitations, dance by the river, run down strange and unfamiliar streets, talk to strangers, seek out the stars, venture out of your boring comfort zone, and please, please…allow yourself to let the magic in!

 

Let’s be honest – this is what you came here to do! You came to grow, to be challenged, to evolve. THIS is how you step into your worthiness. THIS is why we’re expats.