Immigrants on the Move

Before I started living overseas, I think I would have been one of those self-righteous twenty year olds who claimed I would happily live any of the places I’ve gone on holiday. This was before. Before dealing with red tape, and local customs, and etiquette rules we know nothing about. Now I firmly believe there are places I can holiday and adore and there are places I could happily live.

Despite having to live there for eight months, I would probably put Baku in the column of places I’d enjoy going for a short holiday, but wouldn’t ever want to live permanently. As a city it is rich with heritage and history, two of my great passions. The old buildings have been restored and due to the lack of tourist traffic previously, they often look almost brand new. The culture from a holiday-makers perspective is engaging, exotic and enjoyable. But the darker side of living there is a culture that treats women as second class citizens, that discourages individuality and certainly restricts individual thought. If you stay long enough, for me, the shiny film on the outside of the city fades quickly away.

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. Terry Pratchet

One of my favourite places in the world is Italy, as I’m doing the lottery I often dream of the Italian villa I might buy with the winnings, the winery I would have a host of staff working at onsite and the pasta I would eat by the bucket load. But I am also conscious that Italy has a darker side, a side I am able to ignore when I am in holiday mode, a side that if I lived there might wipe the sheen of adoration off the vista.

This thought process is personal for me, it doesn’t work the same for everyone. I know plenty of people who have loved living in the places I’ve found challenging. People who adapt, don’t get hung up on the customs, and simply go with the flow of the new regime they’re living in. Personality plays a huge part in how you experience living overseas. Everyone’s journey through a move to a new country is different. I’m not someone who compartmentalises, I’m hyper aware most of the time, and quite often see things that others don’t – this shapes my experience of any place I go to.

Where is the place that you love but wouldn’t necessarily live? How do you find adjusting to new cultures and adapting to new rules of etiquette?