Have you ever woke up one day and just wanted to move to a different city?
If your answer is no, what's stopping you?
Moving to a whole different country where you don’t know anyone can be intimidating, but you also get to grow as a person and learn so much about yourself. I decided to move to Germany at 18, (which was more or less a spontaneous decision) I didn’t know what to expect other than locals not speaking English. But I did it anyway.
The thrill and adrenaline were so both exciting and scary because it was my first time ever living alone. I hadn’t gone to Germany prior to that to see if the city I would live in would be a good fit for me, I relied on google and reviews of complete strangers on YouTube.
As someone that lived in multiple different cities when growing up, this wasn’t any different. Except I was alone and had to rely on myself when it came to things like finding housing, registering at a foreign bank, and grocery shopping (which I find tedious). Here are some things I wish I knew before spontaneously moving to a foreign country.
The Language
I’ve lived in Germany for two years and I still can’t speak German, which is kinda embarrassing to some extent. I live in the capital city and English is used quite frequently so that somewhat made me lazy to learn the language. German classes are offered by universities, I was just a slow learner and opted out of it because my perfectionist attitude got the best of me in the process.
Will I try to learn German in the future? Probably.
Social Life
At the time when I first moved to Germany, I was very open-minded, curious and rather naive I would say. I found myself being around bad company and drinking all the time, but the use of drugs was where I drew the line. And then the pandemic began and this allowed me to reflect on a lot of decisions I made within that year and see how I could better myself and what direction in life I want to end up in.
So overall aspect of social life would be not getting pressured by the idea of being alone so frequently, as it can result in you being in the wrong place at the wrong time just because you think you’re missing out on life by choosing to be alone by yourself.
Accommodation
The most challenging this about living abroad in a foreign capital city would be the housing situation. Living in the capital city of Germany can be a challenge such that you probably got scammed by paying a hefty amount for a room or an apartment that isn’t even close to the city centre.
One way of getting around this would be joining Facebook groups or generally just asking people if they know any reliable housing agencies that aren’t listing with extreme commercial prices.
Grocery Shopping
Living alone has taught me to never buy cheap vegetables in Lidl because they go off the minute you leave the grocery store. If you live alone, grocery shopping can be tedious cause you slightly have more waste than a normal household.
I learnt buying ´bio´ or organic produce may be on the pricer side, but it definitely lasts longer in your fridge for a minimum of 2 weeks, unlike if you shop in Lidl, it’ll probably go off in 48–72hrs minimum. This relatively saved me more time visiting the grocery store less.
Getting a Hobby
Having a hobby will most likely help you from losing sanity that the void of not having friends might be having on you, and you can easily meet people that way if you aren’t a social butterfly.
These are just a few things that I think people think about before they ever move to a different country.
And if you don’t want to relocate permanently and you’re self-employed, highly recommend you try to spend 6 months or 1 year abroad in a different country or even a different city within the country you currently live in and just experience how different life is in a different environment.
