In this episode we explore the emotional journey of living abroad alone, focusing on homesickness, cultural differences and personal growth. We talk about struggling with mental health while living abroad and not being able to just go “home”. We share our lowest moments abroad so far and how we got through it. We talk about navigating between two different worlds and the feeling of belonging somewhere and nowhere at the same time. Also we share how living abroad helped us discover some of our personality traits we hadn’t noticed before. Last but not least we have some advice for anyone living abroad who feels emotionally exhausted.
Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate the podcast and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform, like Spotify – it will help more hearts find our little corner of the world.
With love, April Betts & Anna Jirina.
About From Lisbon With Love
Welcome to From Lisbon With Love! A podcast about real stories of love, laughter, and life in Lisbon — from women who have left it all behind. We share real stories about moving to Lisbon, starting over and figuring life out along the way. We talk love, dating, friendships, breakups, healing, growing, all of it. Basically, the stuff we usually talk about over coffee ☕️ or vinho 🍷. If you’re thinking about moving to Lisbon, already here or just love honest conversations with heart: you’re in the right place! Learn more about our story here.
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The emotional side of living abroad alone
However living abroad alone is super exciting and a great adventure, it can also be challenging, especially mentally. It’s completely normal to experience moments of loneliness, doubting everything (even yourself) and homesickness. Homesickness can occur during special occasions or challenging moments, often manifesting as anxiety, sadness or anger.
Feeling low and struggling mentally while living abroad alone doesn’t mean you made the wrong decision, it means you’re growing – and yes, this can hurt sometimes. Living abroad alone often accelerates self-discovery and personal growth. Also living abroad can amplify parts of your personality and mental health you hadn’t noticed before – something we also discuss in this episode.
Living abroad alone: our experience
If there’s one thing we’ve learned so far, it’s that it is important to acknowledge and sit with difficult emotions rather than suppress them. It’s normal to feel stuck between two worlds, especially when navigating language barriers and cultural differences. Practicing gratitude doesn’t mean ignoring struggles; it’s about appreciating your current experience and having faith that this heavy emotions too will pass – because they do. Also having a plan for low moments, like simple activities that bring joy and brighten up your day, can really help you get through difficult phases of living abroad alone.
However it’s not always easy, we’ve never regretted our decision of moving abroad alone and moving to Portugal specifically. The difficult moments and heavy emotions are part of the journey (just as the exciting moments), and everybody moving abroad will experience it sooner or later – as we’re all human. In this episode we share our own lowest moments as well as practical tips and tricks to get through the heavy moments while living abroad alone.
Curious to our story? Listen also the episodes about why we moved to Lisbon and what moving abroad is really like.
