Has anyone moved to a different country? Did you find it exciting or terrifying?

I came from the Philippines and was here in the USA for almost 7 months now. I came here to marry my long time fiance. Well of course initially I was so excited coming here, as I imagined a lot of people from my country dreamed to be here. But of course there is the feeling of sadness being away from home; away from families and friends. I guess it's a common experience of everybody to feel homesick being in a strange land. I feel a lot of it but am kind of prepared already and was very much aware of the life here as most of my friends were already telling me in advance how is it here while I was still home. Fortunately am not the homesick type as I was used to be far from home when I was working but it's different here......quite different from where I came and I have to get myself adjusted w/ everything here and I guess I did it. Even my husband is a little bit surprised of me; he was thinking I'll always be crying and missing home but am not. I can have communications w/ my family through emails and chatting though.

When I was 18 years old I flew to Finland and worked over the summer as a children's nanny. I cared for three children, a girl, a boy and a girl. I taught the youngest daughter to speak English. The family had a town house, a country farm house and a lakeside cottage. I often had a sauna and swam in the cool lake. I earned enough money there to travel around Europe. I was a student at university in Wales and I had the chance to go for a four months somewhere in mainland Europe. I took up that fantastic opportunity and went to the Netherlands. I shared a house with other students, had Dutch language classes and lessons with post graduates in English. I got to visit schools to meet students on teaching practice. It was especially interesting to go to a school for asylum seekers because the student teacher was trying to teach them Dutch. I had a ten day holiday and so went off exploring more of Europe. I had a bike and went on some delightful cycle rides. I went to Australia for ten months on a working holiday visa. I traveled around and did a few different jobs. In Sydney I worked in a factor putting paper into hand bags. I also collected money for charity and I loved it when I went to Manly or was based around Circular Quay. I then worked as a children's nanny and cared for a toddler girl and a baby boy. Next I dressed up as a koala and collected money for charity in Cairns. I loved working overseas. Good luck.

I have never lived in a different country or visited one yet, but I would love to do more traveling and see what they're like. I think it would be a great experience.

I've never moved to another country, but I can imagine it would be quite inverigerating. Depending on where you're going, you have to learn about a whole new culture, language, money system. It can be quite an undertaking.

I moved to Holland for some time. In the comings and goings I spent about 1 year there and i simply loved it and even nowadays I miss there very much and I am still trying to find myself again here in my country.

I moved from Saudi Arabia to Dubai for about 8 months and now I'm back. The experience was really thrilling at first, but things just didn't turn out as expected (various combinations of problems) and we ended up back where we started. Still, all in all, moving to a completely new environment taught me a lot, as I've never moved before in my life. It gave me new experiences, I met new people (most of whom I am still in touch with) and had a pretty good time.

i had. i had stayed in malaysia, singapore and now in china. i find the experience fun and exciting cos i get the time to explore while i work. it can be real boring to stay at a single place and now with these movements, i find more meaning and satisfactions in life. I get to see different cultures, enjoy different foods and entertainment. In china, the country is very big and it is fun moving from city to city. each city has its own culture and flavour. I think i am quite an independent person and easily adaptable so these changes are fine to me

It's good to see another culture, other mentality, know the world... If you have a work permit , than that's great. Look for the opportunity to learn things, always good. Don't be upset to leave people behind.It's not forever, and also you have lots of posibilities to get in touch with them - emails, phone, text messaging... I changed two countries, two different languages, and I'm not sorry.Every experience adds to making you a hole ne person, with much more understanding of the world. Good luck!

I haven't done it yet but I plan to move to Italy in June. I am so excited that I can hardly wait. To prepare for it, I've been taking Italian classes for the last year and I'm trying to learn everything that I can about the culture. For the last couple of months, I've been reading an online Italian newspaper. It's difficult to be away from family but I think that you will the opportunity to be a personal and professional learning experience. Good luck.

I haven't moved to a different country,so I don't know what happen when I stand on another land.But if I have a chance to moving to another country,I am also excited and afraid.It is surely that I am opening many doors for myself and my career,even I am not good there.

I have, I'm originally from the Philippines, then I moved to Singapore to work. I've been here for 5 years now. I would've moved to US had the economic crisis not happened. I have to say that it is exciting, but you definitely will get home sick the first 4 or 6 months of your stay. If however you still feel homesick after 6 months, consider moving back to your own country as it will take it's toll on you and your work big time. Regarding "culture shock", it really depends on where you are moving. I was fortunate enough that Singapore is a cosmopolitan and multi ethnic country, so it was easy to blend in. Enjoy your move to a different country.