The Decision To Relocate

Is this going to be a nice adventure or is it going to be the biggest mistake of my life?


This is a very tough question to answer. It doesn't matter how much we prepare for this experience, only by living at the new place we will have the answer. And this is something that will affect the whole family.


Usually the pay is good and so are the benefits and many times there is a promotion involved. So it is hard to say no to all of this. Can we not support our spouse?


So what do we do?


We take the look and see trip, we start taking classes of whatever language is spoken on the country we're moving to and we start researching how life can be in this country. So things seem pretty simple when all of this is in place. But no one prepares us for the challenges that will come.


The cultural shock can be huge! Things that are considered normal in a culture are not in another. For instance, in the U.S. people are used to keeping their personal space and to greet with a handshake. In Brazil there is a complete disregard for personal space and people will greet with 1 or 2 kisses on the cheeks. And in Mexico too. There is a respect for people's time in the U.S. - time is money, right? But not in Brazil or Mexico. In Brazil people tend to be late for their appointments, and in Mexico they are even later. It is hard to get used to this. And in Brazil people will respond to your e-mails with accurate answers but not in Mexico. It is extremely hard to get a yes or no answer out of anyone there. Getting directions to get to places are also a problem in Mexico City. A few mexican friends told me that the people are embarrassed to say they don't know the directions for where you're going so they will tell you the first thing that comes to their mind. And this happened with our driver twice in two days. He did not want to tell me he did not know how to get to a development ant to a restaurant so we ended up getting lost and I was late for my appointments - a two in one!


You will have a hard time communicating and adapting to the new culture. But if you can endure it you can have a great time!


The good side is that you may meet some great people, travel to great places, learn a new language and have a good time.


I know people who couldn't survive in this environment for a year, but the vast majority of people I know love having this experience. And I think most of it is because of our attitude. If we are willing to deal with some hardship we can and will survive. But if you just want to compare and complain about everything you will be miserable. And you won't have any friends.


So the best attitude is to just take it as something temporary and look at the glass half full. A positive attitude will only help you. And if you're happy you can make your family happy. After all, it is only for a couple of years and time goes by really fast. So why should you miss an opportunity?