There are hundreds of challenges an expatriate might face when he or she goes on a foreign assignment, whether it’s one of the most visited countries in the world, or one of the least visited countries in the world. Though the career of an expatriate sounds really lucrative and adventurous, most of the real expats or expatriates would simply disagree with them. For instance, many healthcare students happily signup for international placements abroad with private organisations such Work The World, exactly because the want to avoid the frustrations of arranging an elective placement on their own which can be very time consuming and challenging. Below, we will be detailing a few of those challenges with you all.
A different culture
The biggest challenge for any expat is the cultural difference. All cultures have their own norms, values, belief, and practise which are similar to none. If you move in to a country with an extremely different culture, it will be really tough for you to adjust. If you are not open minded and ready to learn about the new culture, you will find it really difficult to mix with the local people and also work with them.
Language barrier
Though English is regarded as the international language, you will find that people in lots countries do not speak this language. Forget about African, Asian and Middle Eastern Nations, some European and North American nations also do not follow this language that much. If you move into any of these countries where English is not widely spoken, you will have a very hard time to communicate and adjust with the local people.
Safety and security
There are lots things that can go wrong when you are living a in a new country. Health problems and accident, scams are only a few of the problems that are common to expats. Since they are new to the country and are not well aware of their surroundings, they become an easy target for the scammers. If you are not careful enough and do not have any insurance, you are sure to face a number of problems while living abroad. Getting sick abroad is also a big problem for the expats. Mere travel insurance is not enough cover up all your health care expenses when you will be relocating to a new climate and working under stress all the time. Hence it is a good idea to get a health insurance abroad that covers most of your health care issues.
Loneliness and depression
Moving into a new country takes the expats far away from their relatives, friends. Some expats also find it really difficult to make friends with new people as well. As a result they often find themselves alone in the weekends and they gradually develop depression. This is why; the expats are always advised to stay in touch with their family, friends and colleagues back at home. With Facebook, Skype, VOIP and other means, communication has become really cheap as well as convenient and the expats should fully take advantage of this. The expats should also make an effort to mix with their new colleagues.
Local adjustments
In most of foreign assignments, people will have to move in a country with a huge time difference, different climate, schedule and guidelines. Adjusting to these takes lots time and if you force yourself, you will just feel sick. Hence, the expats should gradually adjust to these and if possible they should arrive to the place of posting at least a week ago so that they have enough time to get used to the local environment.
These are some of the problems that the expats face when they move into a new place as an expats. However, these shouldn’t discourage the true professionals to take on the challenges as they can deal with all of these issues with patience and will power.
