7 Thrilling Lessons On How Living Abroad Makes You Fearless and Free

This whole life is about being adventurous, never giving into routines that suffocate happiness. Learn to start anywhere without fear.

When I was 18 years old, I decided to travel and move abroad. Many people advised me I wouldn’t be able to survive for long and return home. Also, I must go to college, get a job, and work for the rest of your life to retire comfortably.

But I said:

“Just watch me.”

I left Slovakia in 1998 and, thanks to my father who bought me a one-way ticket to Switzerland, I was forced to learn how to make money and survive on my own.

I was a fresh high school graduate who traveled with a backpack. I found my seasonal jobs in the newspapers or by asking local businesses. Remote jobs back then didn’t exist.

Besides Switzerland, I lived in Sweden, Mozambique, South Africa, US, Nicaragua, and currently Spain.

I have no regrets.

This is what I learned and how I grew as a person, something I could never learn in my country of origin:

You think for yourself and become creative about your survival

When you come to a country where you don’t speak the language and don’t know anyone, it’s critical thinking time. You also need to be very innovative.

For example, your booked reservation isn’t booked, your flight is canceled, the train is delayed, or the person who was supposed to pick you up at the station doesn’t show up.

Yeap, it happened to me.

You must act quickly to come up with a solution. Even if you have a Plan B, you’ll need plan C. It has happened to me many times while I lived or traveled abroad that things didn’t go as planned.

But the more you travel and move, the easier it becomes to solve those issues. And you will be surprised how creative you become.

You are always out of your comfort zone and it becomes addictive

Get used to being out of your comfort zone daily. You never know what will happen tomorrow, you don’t have stability. You meet unexpected situations and interesting people. With some strangers, you have a good time and they become lifelong friends and some will annoy you.

The greatest antidote to living in a state of perpetual uncertainty is being proactive rather than shy.

Don’t be scared to talk to strangers and do unusual activities daily. Don’t be scared to ask. This life soon becomes addictive and thrilling.

You loathe traditional life

I tried to keep up a normal routine existence with a 9–5 job, but I was miserable.

Your mind changes and you crave adventure and uncertainty. I loathed the same shit every day.

I felt dead like a zombie living in semblant. Once you start and get used to a life of travel or living abroad, you can’t go back to routines.

You become fearless and can start life anywhere, anytime, without fear

I needed to have a strategy in place when I arrived in Spain four years ago without excellent Spanish and didn’t know anybody with my eight-year-old daughter. Recognize my every move, and predict a few if necessary.

Within five days of arrival in Granada, I’d already enrolled her in a local school, made contacts, and remembered my google translation app, to have with me at all times.

Yes, I was scared and asked myself what the hell I was doing here in this foreign city with no one speaking English.

But, I challenged myself, and now I am not afraid to start anywhere. I can lose all my belongings, everything, and can still make it.

You live a life on your terms, nobody controls your life

What I loved about this life is that you are a true boss to yourself. And you feel the ultimate freedom. You control your destiny and determine when, where, and with whom you work or talk.

I freelance now, so I have a flexible schedule. I choose to live in an affordable, but beautiful place. And I have plenty of free time to do what I want to.

With traveling and living abroad, you can create the life you want. I find it much easier to do it abroad than doing it in your home country.

You feel like an adventure or a movie where you are a spy with knowing many languages and cultures

It is a bit like being a spy who has to know many languages and cultures. And I love that. Know your surroundings, create a mental map of places around you where good food or social activities are going on.

Also, I love learning new things every day from each person I meet depending on what kind of person they are. Some people will teach you more than what books can.

You fall in love with many cities or countries, places, and homes.

I fell in love with Granada, Spain; Stockholm in Sweden; Durban in South Africa; Maputo in Mozambique; Florence in Italy — all these places I lived in for some time.

All of them have something different to offer and I can’t share my favorite ones with you because it will be unfair to the rest.

When you visit or move around the world and see what other countries are offering versus your home country, you learn to appreciate things even more because it will give you a different perspective on life.

When I left the US in 2018, survived the civil unrest in Nicaragua in 2018, and then arrived in Spain without knowing the culture, or the language, I felt like a Bond girl on the adventure.

Of course, I learned the language, not perfect, but I understand most of my conversations and can communicate with the doctor, banker, or salesperson. I love learning and trying to break the pattern and conditioned responses.

You live your life to full potential and you feel alive every day

We are all given one life, with many lessons to learn throughout our lives that help us mature into adulthood or just be who we are.

To travel and live abroad, you have to be open-minded and fearless. This is not easy. But what I can say is that if you stay fearless with an open mind, it makes the journey easier and helps you appreciate your next home or country more because now you know the difference.

I started with how challenging it is to move abroad; however, if you are not willing to put yourself out there or challenge yourself, then maybe it is best for you to stay home and live a routine life.

But if you want to have an adventure in your life, enjoy your life, feel alive and learn new things throughout your life, then consider making the jump.

I am happy where I am now and each day I learn more things that help me with my personal development.

The uncertainty makes you alive every day. And each day is special, not routine. You are brave and you can create your life.

Again, this whole life is about being adventurous, never giving into routines that suffocate happiness. Learn to start anywhere without fear.

Bye!Adios! Ciao!