Combating Homesickness As An Expat

People choose to move abroad for lots of different reasons and it goes without saying that there are a number of brilliant opportunities that lie outside of the UK. However, even if you’re really excited about living in a different country and it is something that you’ve always dreamed of doing, unfortunately, it is likely that you will still experience homesickness at some stage. In fact, homesickness is one of the most common challenges expats have to overcome. 

Even if you moved abroad years ago, you are completely settled now and you feel at home in a new country, homesickness can still pop up from time to time and you’re bound to miss some elements of your life here in the UK, so it is always beneficial to know how to combat this feeling. To help any expats who are searching for effective ways to deal with and ease homesickness, below is some information you may find helpful. 

Always acknowledge the way you’re feeling 

As tempting as it may be to try and ignore your feelings of homesickness, you can guarantee that they won’t just disappear, so it is important to address them. Whether you’re feeling lonely or you’re missing your friends, highlighting the reasons for your homesickness can really help. For example, it is someone’s birthday or a holiday you would usually celebrate with family? Knowing what is causing these feelings will help you to put a plan in place to alleviate them. 

Make your new house feel like home 

The place where you spend most of your time will really influence the way you feel and if your house or apartment doesn’t feel like home then this will only increase your feelings of homesickness. Take the time to decorate and fill your rooms with things that you love and things that you’ve brought with you from your last home, you could even fill your cupboards with your favourite British foods too, this can really help. Try to make sure that you’re calling this house your ‘home’ as well, after all, this is your home now. 

Pre-plan things you can look forward to

Lots of expats find that having something to look forward to can help them to overcome their feelings of homesickness. Whether this is a video call with friends, a visit from family members or even a trip to the UK, planning things in advance will give you something to focus on and push you through the harder times. Of course, these plans will also remind you that you aren’t alone and there are lots of people that are looking forward to seeing you as well. 

Establish a routine and try to keep busy 

When you lived in the UK, it was likely that you had a regular routine, so you should try to establish a new routine where you’re living now. Not only can a routine help to make day-to-day life more familiar, but it can also help to ensure that you don’t spend too much time aimlessly scrolling on social media, increasing your feelings of FOMO and homesickness. Try to fill your days with activities that you enjoy, by getting out and about, you will also increase your chances of meeting like-minded people and making friends. 

Don’t be afraid to reach out for help 

If you’re doing everything you can to help combat homesickness; you’ve made your house feel like home, you’re spending time exploring the local area and making new friends, and you have plans to look forward to, but you’re still not feeling better, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Speaking to other expats, or even a professional, and getting some proper support can make a huge difference, so it really shouldn’t be something that you overlook doing. 

Finding UK shopping sites with international shipping 

Whilst it is highly likely that you will feel homesick when moving abroad, as you now know, there are lots of things that you can do to help make yourself feel slightly better about being away from home. Hopefully, the different tips and recommendations mentioned above will be useful to you wherever you’re living now and when taking them on board, you won’t suffer as much from homesickness in general. 

If you’d like to purchase some of your favourite British foods to help you feel more at home no matter where you are, be sure to visit the British Essential website. We are a UK shopping site that has international shipping and you can rely on us to supply you with all of the popular British brands you used to pick up from your local supermarket when living here. We pride ourselves on making British food and drink accessible to people worldwide and we have been exporting for many years now, so you can always order from us in confidence.