Moving abroad sounds exciting. You imagine new cities, new friends, new foods, weekend trips and all the stories you will eventually tell people back home. You picture yourself confidently walking through a foreign city, ordering food in another language and somehow becoming the person who “lives abroad.”
And then, one random Tuesday, you find yourself desperately missing the grocery store you used to complain about.
That is the strange thing about moving abroad. You expect to miss the big things. Your family. Your friends. Your pets. Your favourite places. What you do not necessarily expect is to miss the incredibly ordinary parts of your everyday life.
When you travel somewhere for a week or two, you are usually focused on what is new. When you actually live somewhere, you start noticing what is different.
And sometimes, it is the smallest differences that get you.
Your Favourite Grocery Store
You probably never thought of your local grocery store as a meaningful place.
You walked through the same aisles every week. You knew exactly where everything was. You knew which brand of cereal you liked, where the cheap snacks were and which checkout line usually moved the fastest.
Then you move abroad and suddenly grocery shopping becomes an adventure.
You might spend ten minutes trying to figure out what a package says. Your favourite snack might not exist. The milk might come in a completely different container. Even something as simple as finding your usual toothpaste can turn into a research project.
Eventually, you adjust. You discover new foods and develop new favourites.
But every once in a while, you will probably walk past something in a store and think, “I would give anything for the grocery store back home right now.”
Familiar Snacks
There is something incredibly powerful about a snack you have eaten your entire life.
It does not have to be fancy. It might be a specific chocolate bar, a particular brand of chips or the cereal you ate as a kid.
When you live abroad, familiar snacks can suddenly become tiny pieces of home.
You may find yourself getting disproportionately excited when someone visits from home and asks, “Do you want me to bring you anything?”
Your answer may be something that costs approximately three dollars.
And somehow, it will be the best three dollars you have ever spent.
Understanding Every Conversation Around You
This one can sneak up on you.
When you are at home, you rarely think about how convenient it is to understand everything happening around you.
You can overhear a conversation at a coffee shop. You can understand announcements on public transportation. You can walk into a store and immediately know what someone is asking you.
When you move somewhere where you do not speak the language fluently, your brain suddenly has to work overtime.
You may understand the main conversation but miss a joke. You might recognize individual words without understanding the sentence. Someone could be talking directly to you and you are frantically trying to figure out what they just said.
It can be exhausting.
But it can also be one of the most rewarding parts of living abroad. Over time, the sounds that once seemed completely unfamiliar start becoming recognizable. You learn phrases. You pick up expressions. Eventually, you realize you understood something without translating it in your head.
That tiny moment can feel like a massive accomplishment.
Your Usual Coffee Order
There is something comforting about walking into a coffee shop and knowing exactly what you want.
You know the menu. You know the sizes. You know how to order without thinking about it.
Then you move abroad and suddenly you are staring at a menu wondering whether you accidentally ordered something completely different.
Even if you eventually find a new favourite coffee shop, there is something you might miss about the old one.
It is not necessarily the coffee.
It is the familiarity.
It is knowing the person behind the counter. It is knowing exactly what your drink will taste like. It is knowing that you can walk in half asleep and somehow leave with precisely what you wanted. But always remember, sometimes these things are a blessing in diguise. Maybe instead of coffee you could try a Taiwanese milk tea or Japanese matcha!
Knowing Exactly How Public Transportation Works
Before moving abroad, you probably never appreciated how much mental energy goes into knowing your own city’s transportation system.
You know which bus to take. You know where to transfer. You know which station to avoid during rush hour. You know approximately how long the journey will take.
Then you arrive somewhere new.
Suddenly you are staring at a transportation map that looks like a conspiracy theory.
You are checking Google Maps. You are checking the transit app. You are checking the signs. You are asking yourself whether you are standing on the correct platform.
Eventually, though, something changes.
The confusing transportation system becomes your transportation system.
You know which train to catch. You know where to get off. You stop checking directions every five seconds.
And one day, a new person asks you how to get somewhere and you casually give them directions.
Congratulations. You officially live there.
Random Slang
You never realize how much slang you use until you move somewhere that does not understand it.
You say something completely normal and receive a blank stare.
Suddenly, you are explaining a phrase that you have used your entire life.
The funny thing is that you will probably start picking up local slang too. Before long, you will be using expressions that made absolutely no sense to you when you first arrived.
Then you go home and accidentally use them around your friends.
They will probably make fun of you.
You will probably deserve it.
Your Favourite Takeout
Everyone has that one place.
The restaurant you order from when you cannot be bothered to cook. The place where you already know your order. The restaurant where you could probably order without looking at the menu.
Moving abroad means saying goodbye to that little routine.
But this is also where something unexpected happens.
You find a new place.
Maybe it becomes your new favourite restaurant. Maybe you discover a dish you have never tried before. Maybe you start recognizing the employees. Maybe you eventually become the person who knows exactly what to order.
You might miss your old takeout, but you may create an entirely new version of the same comfort.
Being Able to Complain and Have Everyone Understand
This might be one of the most underrated things you miss.
You know that feeling when something mildly annoying happens and you immediately text your friends because you know they will understand?
You complain about the weather.
You complain about traffic.
You complain about your city’s public transportation.
You complain about something that happened at work.
Everyone immediately knows what you mean because they have experienced the exact same thing.
When you live abroad, even complaining can sometimes require context.
You might say, “This bus system is driving me insane.”
Someone who has lived there for years might completely understand.
But someone who has never experienced your home country’s version of transportation might not understand why this particular thing is bothering you.
It sounds insignificant.
Until you realize how much of friendship is built around shared experiences.
But Then You Start Finding New Things You Love
This is the part nobody talks about enough.
Moving abroad is not just about everything you miss.
Eventually, you start creating your own version of home somewhere else.
You find a cafe that becomes your regular spot.
You discover a grocery store you know by heart.
You learn which train to take without checking your phone.
You develop a favourite local meal.
You make friends who understand your inside jokes.
You learn the slang.
You find your favourite neighbourhood.
You might even discover that there are things about your new home that you will eventually miss when you leave.
That is when you realize you are no longer simply visiting.
You are living there.
The Difference Between Visiting Somewhere and Living There
There is a big difference between spending two weeks in a country and spending several months or even a year there.
As a tourist, you notice the attractions. As a resident, you notice the routines.
You learn where to buy groceries. You figure out transportation. You discover the best place to get coffee. You make friends. You develop habits. You have frustrating days. You have amazing days. Eventually, the unfamiliar starts becoming normal.
That is one of the most valuable parts of moving abroad.
And while there will absolutely be moments when you miss the little things from home, you may eventually find yourself creating an entirely new collection of little things to miss. Before moving abroad, it can be helpful to hear from people who have already made the move. Online communities can offer honest insight into everything from daily routines to unexpected challenges.
For anyone considering teaching abroad, that is part of what makes the experience so meaningful. A teaching placement gives you the chance to do more than simply visit another country. You can build routines, meet people, experience everyday life and slowly turn somewhere unfamiliar into a place that feels like home.
Through myTEFL, aspiring teachers can earn their TEFL certification and explore international job placement opportunities that allow them to experience life abroad while working and building a new routine.
Because maybe the biggest surprise about moving abroad is not realizing how much you will miss from home.
It is realizing how many things you will eventually miss about the place you once called foreign.