If you’re thinking about traveling overseas while working remotely or running an online business in another country, you have to manage your life differently.
For one thing, you will still need to keep up with your old life. After all, you’re not immigrating to another country, just staying there for a short time. For another, you want to maximize your experience as you travel to get the most value from it.
Let’s take a closer look at how to stay in touch with your home country, while still immersing yourself as fully as possible in your new cultural experiences:
Staying Connected
1. Update your contact information
By making sure that you get everyone’s latest email address and phone numbers, you can stay in touch via Skype and email. It’s nice to be able to share your experiences with family and friends, and they will get a vicarious thrill from it, too.
2. Get a virtual address
You will still need for mail for a variety of reasons, and one way to still receive mail is to use a service like iPostal1, who will assign you a real street address and give you a digital mailbox to view any postal mail or packages that you receive. After you view this information online or with a smartphone app, you can then decide whether you want to receive it, have it forwarded, get it picked up, or simply shredded or discarded.
3. Create a travel blog
If you have the time, you could share your adventures with everyone through a travel blog. It will give you a chance to upload your pictures and write in-depth descriptions about your adventures. A blog will deepen your insights and give your readers a chance to widen their knowledge of the world.
4. Engage in social media
Your social media account is not affected by your location, so this can be yet another channel for you to stay connected with others.
Cultural Immersion
1. Stay productive
If you’re working while overseas, you can’t afford to get too distracted by your new environment and begin to neglect your work. Develop a balance between staying productive and exploring your novel environment.
2. Read history and biographies
There is a huge difference between being a tourist and a cultural explorer. The more informed you are about the history of something the more you will appreciate it when you see it. Naturally, you can use other media to learn about something, but reading is far more accessible for many subjects. So even if you watch a video or listen to an interview, it will be beneficial to also read about it.
3. Learn the language
If you’re going to be spending time in another country, you will get a much deeper understanding of it by learning the language. Besides the availability of many software programs to facilitate language learning, you will also have the unique advantage of practicing the language on a regular basis. You will also find it easier to make friends as most people are delighted that you’re making the effort to learn their language.
4. Appreciate differences
When you live in another country, you’ll be immersed in a different culture. Many of the things that you will come across will clash with your own culture. Rather than trying to figure out who has the best approach or perspective, choose to see things from their point-of-view. This is not to say that you have to adopt their belief system, but expand your mind by trying to understand where they are coming from. In other words, compare and contrast, but refrain from judgment.
When traveling and working in another country, you’ll have your foot in two different worlds. By reflecting on your experiences with people back home while enjoying your cultural immersion, you’ll experience numerous insights and remarkable personal growth.