Challenges We Face in Moving to a New Country
When you land in a new country, everything can feel foreign (including you.) The streets and transportation don’t make sense yet. The language isn’t just different, it’s exhausting. Going to the grocery store can feel like solving a puzzle on a game show where everyone is watching you. You begin to realize how much you’ve relied on the comfort of familiarity, even in small things like ordering coffee or knowing how to ask someone for directions.
It’s not unusual for anyone moving to a new country to feel overwhelmed in that first year in particular. The excitement of the call often gives way to the grind of settling in. The stories we tell other people, or even in this newsletter, are often celebration and inspiration. But the first year can also include a good bit of tension and tough choices (not to mention, a good bit of tears.)
We’re not sharing this to scare anyone off. We’re talking about it to be real and to be ready.
The Loneliness Hits
One person in our network of global marketplace multipliers has shared that even living in a crowded city with plenty of people around, loneliness can feel sharp. Friendships take time to build. Real connection may not come quickly, especially across culture and language barriers. And other longtime expats may seem like they are entirely at home there and hard to relate to, even if they are trying to help. You might find yourself navigating weeks of surface conversations and be drawn to connections back home more than in the new country. This is normal, but it doesn’t make it easier.
More Than a Checklist
It’s not just about “finding a place to live.” It’s negotiating shopping, housing, travel, all in a second language. The locals might all have what seems like common knowledge about when the bus route actually shows up, or what to do when your power randomly shuts off. Banking, cell phones, food that won’t make you sick… it can start to feel like everything takes three to ten times longer than you expected.
Paperwork Complications
Some countries welcome foreign workers with open arms. Some tolerate them cautiously. Others constantly reassess who they want inside their borders. Visas, residency permits, or other paperwork can be revoked, delayed, or tied to a very specific job or institution. The fine print matters, and it sometimes changes in the middle of a lease, project, or job contract.
Cross-Cultural Barriers
Even when you think you’ve adjusted, surprises hit you. Jokes, systems, relationships, hospitality… none of it all works the way you’re used to and it takes time, even years, to understand much of what you want to. Cultural humility helps, but it doesn’t erase the stress of always being the one who doesn’t quite get it at first. This is the difficult journey of being an immigrant.
Mind and Body Take a Hit
It’s easy to underestimate how physically and mentally taxing the transition can be. Sleep patterns may get disrupted. Illness can hit harder than expected, and not knowing the local medicine labels and medical systems can be stressful. The emotional load of culture shock, language learning, and identity disruption can trigger anxiety or depression. While this is normal, it shouldn’t be ignored and asking for help is not only normal, it is welcome and essential. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.
Lamenting along the Way
There will be moments of disappointment and disillusionment. And that’s okay. The Bible gives us language for this: lament. It’s not a failure of faith. As we see in scripture, lament is often just the doorway to a deeper faith, as we learn to grieve what’s hard while still clinging to God’s promises. That’s the path to a more real Jesus-centered life… through the lament, not around it.
(See Psalm 13:1–2, Psalm 42:3–5, Lamentations 3:19–24, and Matthew 5:4)
Quiet Temptations
Isolation can erode accountability. Your identity can feel fragile. Vulnerability can make you a target. Those moving to another country for their work are more adventurous, and sometimes we feel an internal pressure to project a false strength when we are struggling. But naming temptations and being honest about weakness is one of the best ways to guard against failure.
If you share with others who have made the move before you, you’ll readily find out they felt some of the same feelings and that alone can be helpful.
Prepared but not Perfect
Here’s the good news: none of this has to catch us off guard. When marketplace workers and those who send them take time to name these challenges in advance, they’re more likely to navigate them well. They’re also more likely to stay long enough to make a lasting impact. Being prepared doesn’t mean all the above things described won’t happen, it just means you’ll be more ready to call them normal and have the grit and determination to push through them. It also means you’re equipped on who to ask for help when you need it.
But it’s not just about being pragmatic preparation. We also prepare with hope. We have hope that relationships will form. That language will come. That God will use us in our weakness. That joy will grow deeper than we thought possible. And that, in time, we’ll find ourselves not just surviving in a new culture, but thriving, and helping others to thrive in time as they find Jesus Christ with us.
Want to learn more about how to prepare for the hard stuff? Or how to support someone who is? Email us at GMM@gponline.org. We’d love to help you take your next faithful step.