Working and living abroad: an exciting challenge that can make you grow both professionally and personally. It will be a life-affirming and life-changing experience, much different from just visiting a new place for a few days or weeks. In the beginning, it might be a bit difficult, but it’s an adventure that, definitely, leaves a mark for the rest of your life. Here are 10 good reasons why everyone should live and work abroad at least once:

1. Improve your language skills

Living in a new environment with people that don't speak your native language challenges you to start learning it. This might feel a bit overwhelming at first, but you will be able to practice in a daily basis, making your learning much faster than if you were at home. Set some short-term learning goals for yourself and write them down. This way, you will be able to measure your progress. Soon you will find yourself using that language all day with no problem!

Moreover, as you will most likely meet people from different countries, your English skills will also get better, and you will be able to communicate in that language in a professional level. With your bilingualism, you will improve your career prospects all over the world!

2. Become more independent and self-reliant

A period abroad will inevitably make you more mature and independent, as you will leave part of your familiar environment behind. Despite the challenge that this implies, it will be a great opportunity to learn how to rely on just yourself, making you gain more confidence in your skills and abilities. You will also learn to deal with foreign authorities, acting in a more solution-oriented way.

3. Master new challenges

Throughout your life, you’ll continuously face new challenges, and that is absolutely normal. Living and working abroad takes these challenges to a whole new level: you’re in an unfamiliar environment, where you’re not just working at a new company or living in a new city. There is a lot more: a new language, a new culture, and a completely different environment. In some situations, you might feel overwhelmed in both your private and professional life, but you’ll learn to master these challenges.

There is absolutely no one that can take this experience away from you and you’ll notice that it sets you apart from others and makes you grow as a person. All in all, living and working abroad is a life-changing experience that benefits you in many ways.

4. Push yourself outside your comfort zone

By moving abroad, you will discover new cultures, new habits and you’ll even meet people from all over the world. You will learn to tolerate, to respect and to adapt to different circumstances. Qualities and skills that will be helpful for the rest of your life!

5. Broaden your horizons

With every new job that you start, you make valuable contacts that can help you in your future career. While you live and work abroad, you will be collaborating with locals and expats, which can expose you to new job opportunities! In addition, you will become friends with people from different backgrounds, some of which will last a lifetime. A job abroad is thus a great way to expand your professional and personal network!

6. Enhance your CV

A work experience abroad is very valued by employers around the world. You will be able to prove that you have developed new work or life skills and that you can master more than one language.  This will give you a great advantage over other candidates who may be applying for the same role!

7. Pave your future life path

No matter what country you move to, living abroad will undoubtedly have an impact on your future. You will build your career, acquire many valuable skills, and expand your horizons in a way you didn't think of before. This also opens up new prospects and opportunities for your future path in life, which makes the experience even more attractive.

8. A new perspective

Your new adventure will change the way you look at your own life experiences. Indeed, living abroad will allow you to get a deeper understanding of your new country and its culture. Moreover, you will start to see all aspects of life in a different way (politics, family, society…) and revisit your thinking about your own values. In summary, your perspective will inevitably widen. You will experience improvements and failures, and you will become more open-minded and more adept at overcoming cultural differences.

9. Get to know yourself better

Moving abroad is also an emotional journey, where you’ll also have the chance to self-reflect and discover who you really are. Additionally, an important point that belongs to experiencing a new environment is to get to know your own priorities. You might earn less money with your job abroad than in your home country. So what? You will receive other advantages in return that you were not aware of before. As you have new experiences, you see what is personally most important to you in life.

10. Combine professional goals with personal interests

Everybody has different reasons to live and work abroad. Better career prospects can be one of these reasons, even though personal considerations and interests might also play a role here. You probably want to improve your work-based skills while changing your lifestyle and discovering a new culture. Therefore, personal and professional life goals can be combined, and, actually, that is one of the main motivations for many expats to start their adventure abroad!