Coming home after your experience abroad may be very challenging. Culture shock can be even more “shocking” than the culture shock of your home country/culture. You should give yourself some time to re-adjust back into moving back, much like when you left your home to go abroad. Have in mind, this is a common experience for everyone coming back home. Besides, the moving itself is a lot of stress, so be sure to check Four Winds Saudi Arabia for tips for moving back to Riyadh after spending a year abroad. This will surely help you with your move.
Prepare for culture shock
When moving back to Riyadh after spending a year abroad, everything may seem off at first. The familiar things will feel foreign. The things you once now thought as normal can now seem shocking, strange, or maybe even offensive. In the end, you can end up feeling like a stranger in your own city. Worry not, this phenomenon is common, and it’s called a reverse culture shock.
Therefore, when preparing to move back, have in mind that you will have some difficulty acclimating again. I could get quite disorienting when the moments of reverse culture shock hit. You can always search for advice on relieve stress to ease the transfer. Remember to be patient – after a while, your mind will readjust and things will be back to normal again.
Rediscover your homeland
You can think of this opportunity as going to a new place and letting yourself rediscover your home country and your hometown. You’ll have the unique opportunity to appreciate Riyadh in a new way. There will be new places and activities in your area that you’ve never seen or tried before. This would be really handy after moving back to Riyadh after spending a year abroad.
Feel free to explore – pay a visit to all the places you’ve always wanted to see but never got round to. Try all the things you’ve always wished to experience but never dared to. Along the way, meet new people! It will be an awesome adventure – and it will reconnect you to your culture and will help you fall in love with Riyadh again.
Carefully plan your move back home
Just like moving away, moving back after moving back to Riyadh after spending a year abroad brings a set of unique challenges. It’s everything, from the emotional toll of leaving your new lifestyle behind to organizing an international move. Research international movers and packers in Riyadh, and choose the best overseas movers for your needs. Think of a smart relocation strategy that will allow you to say goodbye to your host country and enable you a safe and smooth moving back to Riyadh:
- Take care of the paperwork.
- Make a moving timeline and a moving budget.
- Book your flight and make any necessary travel arrangements.
- Go through possessions and decide what are you moving back to Riyadh with you.
Keep in mind that if you are moving to a new house, you will need new furniture. Look for logistics companies in Riyadh before your move to ensure you have everything in place in time.
Enjoy your host country for the last time before the move. Visit your favorite places in town, eat your favorite local food, and hang out with your foreign friends. This will not only help you create lasting memories of your time abroad but will also give you a chance to transition more effortlessly.
Stay connected to your host culture
Last but not least, know that you don’t have to abandon your connection to your former host country in order to adjust to life back home. On the contrary – embracing your overseas experience and culture will help you build a richer and happier future for yourself.
Therefore, when you are moving back home to Riyadh, be sure to maintain bonds with your adopted country. Adapt the things you gained from your life abroad to your everyday life.
In many aspects, moving back to Riyadh after spending a year abroad can be more difficult than moving to a new country. However, at the end of the process, you will be left with great memories, heightened self-awareness, a broader worldview, and the benefit of feeling at home in two countries.
