Home sweet home

by Rogobete Cristina Oana

In this case I will speak about the advantages and especially the downside of living
abroad (my recent experience of living abroad for a while).
Moving abroad definitely has its challenges. It was important to weigh the pros and
cons of living at home versus living abroad before making the decision.
Of course, living abroad is very exciting especially when life becomes monotonous
or you have no job. A better living standard, for example, is the main motive to encourage
a flock of people to go abroad. In fact, developed countries have all facilities to ease life
and enjoy it which are scarce in other countries. Furthermore, a well-paid job is the other
benefit that attracts people to migrate to better places.
On the other hand nothing beats leaving everything behind and moving away. It’s
great to discover a new world, sometimes completely different from your own and to
discover other ways of doing things. You meet lots of new people from different cultures
and from all walks of life and make new friends. But this comes at a price of leaving
everything familiar behind for a period of time. Some people prefer to be in their comfort
zone and not change while some prefer new challenges.
One of the disadvantages of moving abroad is that the whole experience may be
more or less unsettling. The idea of leaving everything behind and moving to a foreign
land might present pressure to fit in. No matter how experienced you are, moving to a
new land will always give an experience of culture shock. It takes time to get used to the
new place and the more you have done it before, the easier it will be to adjust in another
new country. Many things will be very different from your home country and you have to
learn how things get done in your new country. Buying simple things can be a real
challenge and finding new friends may be difficult.
The other factor to consider when moving abroad is the idea of leaving your close
friends and family behind. Although it is easier today to keep in contact with friends and
family, it can still be hard to be so far away from them. In fact this was the main reason
that convinced me to come back home: to be close to my family (my grandmother is the
only living relative I have, she is very old and sick and I felt that I need to be close to her)
and also my friends. And in order to celebrate my arrival I’ve bought a T-shirt which has
written in capital letters: HOME, alongside the Romanian flag.