Reflections on expat life: answering the question - “Should I stay or should I go?”
Read my answer to the question of “Should I stay or should I go?” on Bad Days Abroad
“I would not change any of it (not even my experience during the pandemic) because all of these experiences (good and bad, easy and hard) have forced me (willingly or not) to grow up so much as a person – in such a way that would not have been possible had I stayed in Australia.”
This is just one of the realisations I came to when Katherine from Bad Days Abroad generously interviewed me for her series revolving around the question:
“Should I stay or should I go?”
This is the third interview in the series. Katherine’s getting expats to ponder this question and explain how they came to their decisions.
I had already made the decision to head back to my hometown Melbourne (Australia) from Munich (Germany) before answering Katherine’s questions, so I thought I would just be providing some straightforward answers. I soon realised, however, once I started writing, that there was more work I needed to do and much much more to reflect on than I could have ever imagined. This experience not only helped me to solidify my decision, but Katherine’s detailed engagement with my answers, and insightful questions have led me to truly reflect on my experiences, trust my intuition, and continue with a decision that I can stand by.
Katherine, through Bad Days Abroad, provides a multitude of resources for expats and repats. Her premise is that there are “bad days” (perhaps even, weeks, months, and years) in expat/repat life. She encourages people to embrace and work through these negative feelings, instead of pushing them away.
She offers many ways to help you through the challenges of expat/repat life:
Through detailed articles that go well-below the surface
Through workshops and courses
Through a multitude of other resources.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that she’s lived in 7 different countries and is now re-patriating in Estonia - so she has much experience to offer and definitely knows what she’s talking about! If you are struggling as an expat/repat, head over to Bad Days Abroad and see how Katherine can help you.
If you’re an expat or repat then go and check out all the articles, courses, and resources available on Bad Days Abroad
A helpful by-product of this interview experience for me was the unearthing of other issues in my life that I had pushed below the surface. Because, Katherine’s central question of “Should I stay or should I go?” can be applied to many different aspects of life: careers, relationships, activities. I think every choice we make (big or small) would benefit from being put under a similarly intense level of scrutiny.
This experience has uncovered to me the importance of questioning what we are doing and why.
You can also follow Katherine on Instagram.
Are you an expat? Have you considered the question of “Should I stay or should I go?”?
If you’re not an expat, what is an area of life that you could apply this question to?
As always, leave your thoughts in the comments below (or reach out to me here for a more detailed exchange).
Are you living in Germany? If so, you might also be interested in:
Are you contemplating this question in relation to your career? If so, you might also be interested in:
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