140: Move abroad mythbusters: 30 things Americans get wrong about living abroad

The internet is full of information about moving abroad. Some of it is true. Some of it was true ten years ago. Some of it depends on the country. And some of it is completely made up.

In this episode, I am busting 30 of the biggest myths Americans believe about moving abroad and living in Europe. And some of these might surprise you.

Here is what we are covering:

• Do you really need to speak the language before you move?
• Do you need $50,000 saved before you go?
• Is Europe actually cheaper than America?
• Does moving abroad solve all your problems?
• Is it too late to move in your 30s, 40s, or 50s?
• Will you lose all your friends back home?
• Is getting a visa actually impossible?
• Will you regret it?

Plus rapid fire myth busting on everything from European bureaucracy to dating abroad to whether you will actually travel every single weekend.

Here is what I know after almost seven years of living in London. I have never once met somebody who said they regretted moving abroad. Not one person.

The biggest myth of all might be that there is one right way to do this. There is not. The goal is not to find the perfect plan. It is to build the life you have been dreaming about.

Grab the free guide, the 5 Exact Steps to Move Abroad, at jordangiberson.com/guide

👉Take the free quiz: Which European city should you move to? 🤔

Grab my free guide: 5 exact steps to move abroad

Website: jordangiberson.com
Instagram: @jordan.giberson

Transcript

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We're really scared of making the wrong decision of moving abroad and it being a mistake, that we're gonna be unhappy. But you know what? The goal is not to find the perfect plan, it's to build the life that you've been dreaming about, I've met a lot of people that have moved abroad. I have never heard someone that said, "I regret it." Hey, my name is Jordan Giberson. I'm a Texas girl living and thriving in London. The best thing I've ever done? Moving abroad, hands down. And I'm passionate about helping others do the same. Are you curious about finding a job abroad? You're in the right place, friend. I'll teach you the tried and true secrets of how to make moving abroad a reality for you and how to live a fulfilling life once you get there. We'll cover topics like choosing the best visa for you, how to get a job offer in another country, how to get over your fear of moving abroad, and how to live a life you love once you get there, this is The Move Abroad Podcast. Hello, and welcome to the Move Abroad podcast. I am super excited about today's episode because we are doing myth busters. Today we're talking about the move abroad myth busters, the 30 things that Americans get wrong about living abroad and moving abroad. And the internet as we know, it's full of truths, but it's also full of many, many lies. So I think this is where there's a lot of information online, there's so much information, but some of it's true and some of it's not true. Some of it was true 10 years ago. Some of it really depends on the country. Some of it is just completely made up. We all know that we've seen some completely made-up things online that are being sold as truths. So today we're busting the myths. We're talking about the 30 things that Americans believe but are not actually true about life abroad and moving abroad. So I'm so excited to dive into today's episode. Let's go ahead and get started myth number one is that you have to speak another language before you move. I think that sometimes we believe that we need to know a language really well, or be a bit more advanced before we move, but the reality is that you will be able to get by just speaking English. So many people abroad at least speak enough English to get by. And I remember thinking whenever I was in Italy that 90% of people know enough English to be able to get by, and 10% of people knew enough English to have a really great conversation. And typically, whenever someone was a bit older, they didn't know English as well, and then whenever they were younger, they knew English a lot better. And I also think that it depends on how big the city is, and on the country as well. So it kinda depends on the country that you're in. But basically what I'm trying to say is that you do not need to speak the local language super thoroughly. I do think that it's important to learn the local language to fully integrate into a country, so I think that a great way of doing that is to join a local language class where you can meet other people who have also just moved abroad. It's a great way to build community and to learn from a local person. It's great to try to learn. You could try to start learning by using an app like Duolingo, for instance, or if you have time to take a class online or to get a tutor for a little bit to learn the language before you move. That's great, like bonus points. But I really don't think that you need to be fluent first before you move, so don't let that stop you. You can move abroad probably by not knowing a lick of the English that you're moving to, but to be intentional about learning it once you move there I think is very important Myth number two is that you need $50,000 saved before you can move. The reality is that it depends. Some people move with much, much less. Others might need a lot more depending on their needs and their expectations. It depends on the visa that you will have on the country, whether you will have a job and have a company sponsoring you, whether you're moving alone versus with a family. So if you're moving abroad with a family, it's probably going to be a lot more, and you will know this because your everyday life is probably a lot more expensive than it was whenever it was just you. So it will be a bit more expensive whenever you're moving abroad with a family, but you don't necessarily need so, so, so much money saved up. You might be able to move with a lot less, and it just really depends on your expectations. Some people want to have the more expensive flights to fly direct and be able to fly maybe business. Other people are fine flying economy and maybe having a layover somewhere. Just as one instance of where the price differences could be, if you want to ship all of your belongings because you love your furniture and it was custom, and you want all of your stuff, then that's gonna cost you a lot more than if you say, "I'm just gonna move abroad with a couple suitcases, and I'll get the stuff while I'm there," or "I'm gonna move into an already furnished apartment." So I think it really depends on how you move. So if you do not have a lot of money, it does not mean that you cannot move abroad. You can probably move abroad with much less than you think. But you also need to be thoughtful and plan out how much money you need to spend. Just think about what you need, like buying the flight. You'd have to do this if you were moving to another city, but a down payment on an apartment that you're going to rent, for instance. How much are the visas going to be? Like, start thinking about a list of what you might need, so that you can actually calculate how much you'll need instead of guessing or just in your brain telling yourself that you need $50,000 saved before you can move because it's not true Myth three is that Europe is cheaper than America. The reality is it really depends. Some places, yes, some places, no. Like housing in London, it's not cheap. So I think it really depends on where you're moving to. Let's say that you wanna move to Zurich, Switzerland, yeah, it's probably gonna be really expensive. Switzerland is known for being a very expensive country. Let's say you wanna move to London, London is very expensive. So yeah, the cost of living is going to be really expensive, but maybe if you're moving to Portugal, maybe it'll be cheaper. Or if you're moving to a smaller town in Spain for instance. Regardless of where you choose, I think it's always really great to look up the cost of living there. You can do that quite easily by just googling like cost of living in blank city or in the country, and it will tell you online like how much it costs to buy groceries. Like how much is it for essential goods, like having eggs or bread from the grocery store? How much is it to have, a phone plan? Like how much is it to have housing? It'll break all those things down for you really quickly so that you can understand what the cost of living is. So is Europe cheaper than America? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It really depends on where exactly you're moving to Myth four is that everyone abroad hates Americans. The reality is that a lot of people just don't care. People are way more involved in their own lives than we probably realize, and I think a lot of people are curious, especially if it's not a normality for Americans to move to the city abroad that you're planning on moving to. But I do think that people have stereotypes about Americans. You will probably get asked about politics at one time or another. It's not gonna be every single person, but you probably will get asked at some point. So I think that a lot of the interactions that you'll have with people just really come down to the individual. I do not think that everyone hates Americans. I think people abroad actually really like Americans. But sometimes it depends on who you're talking to. Sometimes they might be irritated by Americans, but more than likely, they probably feel pretty neutral about Americans, and they probably don't really care. So don't feel like you're gonna be hated if you move abroad or that people are gonna treat you really weird. They'll probably think that it's really cool actually that you're American Myth number five is that once you move abroad, you're never going to want to come back. This is a bit of a fear and a lie that we tell ourselves or a myth that we tell ourselves because the reality is that a lot of people do return. But some people move abroad permanently, some people go temporarily. It doesn't mean that the move failed or that they hated it, but that it was just an adventure for them that was just meant for them for a year or two. And I think that's a great way to go into moving abroad, is just saying, "I'm gonna commit to this for one year, or I'm gonna give it two years," and reevaluate from that point. And you might say, "That was great, but I wanna move back." And that's totally fine. Sometimes people feel trapped almost or feel like if they move, then it's just this huge thing, but if you're only committing to something for one year or two years, you can get your old life back. You can go back and it's not that big of a deal. Sometimes people make it a bigger thing in their heads than it is. And I'm not trying to minimize it. It is a really big deal to move abroad. It's a, probably one of the biggest things you'll do in your life, and I hope for the better. I hope that it's one of the best things that you do for your life because for me, it has been. But I think that sometimes we have this even if we're not saying it, we have this fear that we're not gonna come back or that our lives will never be the same or Or if we leave, then things are gonna completely change and not be the way that they are now. And I just think that sometimes it's a bit of a lie that we're telling ourselves and a bit of a myth Myth number six is that moving abroad solves all your problems sometimes moving abroad can be a really positive thing that solves some of the issues that you might have in your life. But I don't think that it solves all the things, the difference is if you're moving towards something or if you're moving away from something. If you're trying to escape, if moving abroad is to escape a lot of problems and issues that you have in your life ask yourself honestly, is moving abroad really going to change that, or am I going to have the exact same problems but just in another country? So you know, I don't think that it solves all of your problems. I think it depends on what it is. If you're struggling from burnout because you feel like corporate America is sucking the life out of you, and you're interested in corporate life in another country, then yeah, maybe it actually might solve that problem for you because other countries have a very different mindset about hustle culture, and the US is super toxic on hustle culture, in my opinion. And I say this I work for an American company, and they are absolutely toxic. They were doing an awards ceremony the other day, and they were like, "This person, they worked hours over the weekend every weekend and late into the night. They were working past midnight till 1:00 AM." And they were, like, giving them an award and celebrating that. And I was like, this is so toxic. At European countries, this would never be okay. It's worshiped, and I just, ugh, I think it's terrible. Anyways does moving abroad solve all your problems? No, it's not going to solve all of your problems. I think that's a myth. But I think there are certain things that it might fix. If you're so sick of American politics, yeah, it'll probably solve that problem. If you're so sick of paying crazy wazoo bills because of the healthcare that you've had, then yeah, it probably will solve that problem. If you're wanting more work-life balance yeah, it will solve that. If you want a longer maternity leave, like 100%. You get way more than just having six weeks like you would in the US. So does it solve some problems? Yes. If you, are having a mental health issue or some emotional thing that you really need to work through, and you probably know if that's you and I hope that I'm saying this as sensitive as I can, that, moving abroad is not necessarily going to fix that. You're going to still have, those, issues that you might need to work through, but just in another country. So I think you just need to be mindful about the reasons why you're moving abroad and what some of those problems that you're hoping moving abroad will solve, and just be really honest with yourself. If, you're kinda telling yourself that lie that moving abroad is gonna completely change you 180 degrees or if it's something that you need to work through independently of moving abroad, and that way you move abroad moving towards something, and you have a positive experience rather than hoping that it will solve everything just by being in a different environment Myth number seven is that you'll never need a car because there's so much public transportation. Public transportation, I love it. I think it's the best ever. I love that I can sit on the bus, and I can read my book, or I can catch up on text messages or emails, or I take naps. I love taking naps on public transportation. So I love public transportation, but it depends on where you move to because some places that you move to, you might need a car. Like I live in the UK. In London, you don't need a car, but if I move to like the Cotswolds in the UK, you definitely need a car. If you rely on public transportation, you're gonna be waiting for a bus for an hour. So I think it depends on where you're moving to in Europe. If you're moving to a place that's a city center, it's probably gonna have public transportation. But if you're moving somewhere that's like outside of that, like in a smaller town for instance, then you will need a car. But I also would question if you should move there if you need a car, and this is a bit of a a side note, but I think it's important to choose somewhere where there are also other expats that have moved there. One of the most important pieces that is not stressed enough is that in order to feel like you fit in, in order to feel like you have settled somewhere, and you feel like you've had a successful move, the number one way that you can do that is by building community. Building community is super, super important to feel like you've integrated into the new place. You need to have your people. You need to feel a sense of belonging, and a big way to do that is to find your people. When I first moved abroad, and I met another American who wanted to be besties with me, I was like, "Go away. I just left a country full of people like you. I wanna be friends with British people, and New Zealanders, and Australians, and people from other European countries and." I wanted to be friends with other people. But I think the longer that I've been here, the more I'm like, actually, it's really great to be friends with people who are other expats who are from other countries who have also moved abroad. And from Americans. I, get along with Americans really well because we have a similar mindset. We were brought up similarly. And I like being friends with the local people. I genuinely have a mix of all of those categories of other expats from other countries with Americans, with local people that are from the UK. It's great to have a mix, and I think that's really important myth number eight is that it's too late to move abroad. I hear this all the time from people that are in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, or maybe even further along. I hear this from people in later stages of life or middle of their life where they feel like, "Oh, I should've moved abroad in my 20s." I think because we see this on Instagram all the time, that people move abroad in their 20s, that they feel like they missed their chance. They've missed their moment. But it's not too late to move abroad ever. If you want to move abroad, you can find a pathway to be able to do that. Even if you have a family and you're in your 40s, or you just recently got divorced and you're in your 50s, and it's just you going you can move abroad. It's not too late to move abroad. And that is a myth and a lie that a lot of people tell themselves to they don't move forward because they have this kind of limiting belief. So if that's you, it is a myth. It's a lie you're telling yourself. So don't buy into that lie. On a similar note, myth number nine is that you're too young to move abroad. Maybe you're 22, maybe you're even younger it's the perfect time. Whenever you don't have responsibilities, it is a great time to be able to move abroad, but it's also sometimes a little bit harder. I think the best way to move abroad whenever you're really young is to get a master's degree abroad. If you are young, if you're in your 20s, then it's a great time to move abroad because you don't have many responsibilities. I think there are pros and cons to moving abroad in your 20s, whenever. You probably don't have that much income. Whereas if you're a little bit later on in life, like 30s, 40s, 50s, you do have a bit more money to spend a bit more flexibility on that. And regardless of the age that you want to move abroad, there can be a path for you. You can find your way, and I don't think that moving abroad should be dedicated to only people in their 20s or only people in their 30s, 40s, 50s. It really just, you can go at any stage of life that you want to. Like honestly, you can go any stage that you want to. So I think that either way you swing it, like I'm too young or I'm too old, I think that it's a lie that we tell ourselves. Myth number 10 is that every European city is walkable. I think that overall Europe is very walkable. Do I think that every European town that you go to is walkable, where you can just walk to the grocery store, walk to go get your hair cut, walk to the nearest... Literally what came to my mind is chocolate shop. I don't know why, but apparently I'm craving chocolate. Walk to the nearest like coffee shop. I think, not every European city is walkable, but most are, and I think that's one of the things that makes European life so amazing is that cities are walkable, where you can just kinda be in your sphere, in your community, in your neighborhood, and you can get to all the things that you need, and I love that about living abroad. But not every city is like that in Europe Myth number 11 is that you'll always feel like an outsider. This is a very interesting discussion because while, yes, you might feel like an outsider sometimes, I think that over time you will feel less like an outsider. Even now when I tell people I'm from London, I still feel like an outsider, and I've been living here for almost seven years now. I think it's all just in our heads on that one on, feeling like you're gonna be an outsider, like you're not going to fit in, like you're not one of the locals. If you are an expat and you're moving from another country to live in a different country, then you are always going to be an expat. But feeling like an outsider is really just a mindset. So if you feel like an outsider, I think you need to just challenge that thought process because you are only an outsider if you make yourself an outsider in your head. So I wouldn't worry about feeling like an outsider, but sometimes that might be a myth that we are a bit worried about because everyone in life in general, we all want to fit in. We all want to feel a sense of belonging. We all want to feel like we fit in, and that's definitely a bit of a mindset thing. But I think the best way, the fastest way to not feel like an outsider is to build community, is to find friends that are local friends that are also other expats so you can feel a sense of belonging. And I think whenever you do that, you won't feel like an outsider. Myth number 12 is that you need to figure out everything before moving. Now, I think we all know that this is probably a myth, but maybe you don't. Maybe you are buying into this lie or this myth that you have to have everything figured out, that you have to know the exact steps like A, B, C, D. This is what I do, one, two, three, four in this order, and this is how long this should take, and this is the perfect visa for me, or this is the perfect city for me. But the reality, and this is just in life in general, and I need this reminder for myself, is that no one has everything figured out. We're all figuring everything out as we go along, so you do not need to have every single step to know exactly how much you need to have saved, to know exactly to make sure it's the perfect city that you're moving abroad to, to make sure you're having the perfect visa, that you have the perfect path. It's a perfect time. That's another one. You don't have to have everything figured out before moving I love the phrase imperfect action because I think that it's a lesson for me that I have to constantly remind myself of as well. I think in life you have to go after the things that you really want. There will never be a perfect time. There will never be everything set up perfectly or the perfect decision. I think you just have to figure everything out as you go, so don't feel like you need to buy into that lie that you have to have everything figured out before you move abroad myth 13 is that taxes are always higher in Europe. And yes, sometimes taxes are higher on average, but there's also a lot more that they provide to the public. You have your healthcare that is paid for. Also, taxes aren't necessarily always higher, or if they are, it's not by as big of an amount. Or whenever you think about taxes, you have to remember that sometimes in the US there might be property taxes that you wouldn't be paying in Europe, or that the cost of groceries are a lot lower, or your phone bill is a lot lower, or maybe the housing is a lot lower. So actually, sometimes your life, it ends up balancing out depending on the cost of living of where you're moving to and how much income you have and, what the tax rates are. So I think sometimes we get told this that, "Oh, you shouldn't move to Europe, the taxes are so high over there." But I think it depends on the country that you're moving to, and on your priorities for your life, but for me, I had people that discouraged me. I had people that said, "Don't move abroad because your salary is gonna be so much lower than it would be in the US, and you're gonna be paying so much in taxes. It's just not worth it." But I had said at the time, and I still believe this, I would much rather choose the lifestyle than choose the country that's going to leave me with the most money. I would much rather love my life, be living a life that's true to me and the path that I want, living the life that I want, the dream that I've always had of living abroad and thriving abroad and enjoying that life, instead of "Oh, I could be making $10,000 more every year if I moved to the US," like if I moved back there. And maybe it'd be a little bit more. It probably would be more than that. But regardless of the amount, do your due diligence on that. Do a bit of research on the cost of living and how much money you'd be making and what the taxes would be. I think that it's smart to do that before you move abroad so that you understand the quality of life that you'll be having. But you also might be surprised in kind of the cost of living and that it actually evens out in a lot of ways Myth 14 is that getting a visa is impossible. Some people think that getting a visa is just super impossible. It's one of the biggest hurdles. And is it really hard? Sometimes yes. Is it impossible? No, it's usually not impossible. Is it a bit harder in certain countries? Yes. Getting a skilled worker visa in the UK is a lot harder to get that in London versus if you want to get a digital nomad visa in Spain, for instance. But, different visas are going to be easier or harder to get depending on the visa and depending on the country that you want to move to. Is it impossible? No, it's not impossible, and I think that sometimes because we're not used to getting a visa, we haven't had a visa before, it's a new thing for us, that it has this air of like mystery or of "Oh, it's really hard because I've never done it before." But it's not impossible. There have been so many people before you that have gotten visas, so if other people can do it, if I can do it, you can definitely do it. So I would not give yourself this narrative of it's impossible. Myth 15 is that Europe has better quality of life for everyone. It really depends on your personality. It depends on your priorities. It depends on the reason why you're moving abroad. It depends on your career. Whenever you move abroad, you should think about your priorities, think about why you're looking to move abroad, and make sure that you're choosing a location that fits those priorities for you. If I said, "I wanna move somewhere that's sunny all the time, has the best weather, and I wanna enjoy the beach because I love surfing," like London is not a good fit for me, if that was me Because London, it does not have the best weather all of the time, but if I said "I really care about my career, and I like wanna make sure that I'm like, moving up in the corporate ladder because that's important to me," then maybe moving to Spain would not be the best choice because, you can move to other places in Europe that have perhaps a, better career ladder for you, that will have better companies that, would help you move up to what you really want. So does it have a better quality of life for everyone? Not necessarily. A lot of ways it does have a better quality of life. Just thinking of a couple examples, like maternity leave. Like it's six weeks in the US, and you get months whenever you're in Europe. Just as one example. So quality of life, like the food is a lot better. It's a lot healthier for you. There's a lot more bans on like chemicals that you can use in makeup in Europe or what they can do to food in Europe where it's just better for people. So I think it just really depends on what you're looking for, but I believe that the quality of life in Europe is better for most people. But is it the best decision for everyone? No, not necessarily. Maybe living in the US is better for you, and I don't think that moving abroad to Europe is like for every single person. But if it's a dream that you have, it's something that you really want, then yeah, it would be a good choice for you. Just evaluating what your priorities are and making sure that you're moving to a place that aligns with the quality of life that you're looking for Myth 16 is that you'll automatically be happier if you move abroad. Now, I almost didn't wanna put this one because I was like I was a lot happier whenever I moved abroad because I accomplished my dream, and like I built a life in London that I love. It just depends on how you approach it. If you approach moving abroad with I'm not open," and "Oh, in the US we do it this way," and "Oh, I'm not used to these foods," or the way of doing things, or the way that people, act, then you know, maybe you won't be happier. But I think if you're a person that's really open to things being different, because when you move abroad, like things are gonna be different. It's a different country, different continent, probably. And it's just a different way of life and a different way of thinking. So I think you just have to be adaptable and be open to things being different for you to be happier. And spoiler, I'm gonna talk about community again. You do need to make community. If you build community, you'll be a lot happier. If you are thoughtful about the neighborhood that you're moving to, and the home that you're building, and you wanna make sure that you're gonna be in a home that feels like a safe space for you, and not one that's like on a really dangerous street, just as an example. I think there are a million things that we could talk about on being happy abroad, and that's probably a podcast episode in and of itself is building a life abroad that you love. but the point is, will you automatically be happier whenever you move abroad? The short answer is it depends on the mindset that you have whenever you move abroad, and what you're bringing with you whenever you move abroad. Because if you're moving abroad right after a horrible breakup where you're really depressed, then you're probably still gonna be a bit depressed, and, going through some of the stages of grief for that, relationship, for instance, whenever you move abroad. You won't necessarily automatically be happier if you move abroad, but if you're accomplishing that dream, and you're being really open to, a life abroad, then it's absolutely a good move for you, and it will be something that you'll look back and be super happy that you did. Myth 17 is that you should move to the country that you loved on vacation. Vacation is not necessarily life, so whenever you pick your location that you should move abroad to, you do have to be thoughtful about why you're choosing that location, and just make sure that it aligns with your goals, and aligns with why you're looking to move abroad, and what you're trying to get out of that experience. Myth 18 is that everyone abroad has amazing work-life balance. Whenever you live in Europe you do have more work-life balance, but it does depend enormously on the industry that you work for, on the country that you're moving to, on the company, on your manager. I think it does depend. I think that overall we see this messaging online of the Italian that's having a three-hour lunch and smoking a cigarette and, chatting with his friend with a cute hat on and they're just chit-chatting all day long. But, you probably still have to work, and, life is life, and that typically the work-life balance is better in Europe, myth 19 is that Americans can't get jobs in Europe. This is false. Is it harder? Yes, sometimes. Is it impossible? No. I did a whole episode on Americans getting jobs in Europe. if you go back to episode 133 on the Move Abroad Podcast, the episode is called Top 10 Strategies to Get a Job Offer Abroad. So if you are interested in getting a job offer abroad as an American, then I would recommend going back to episode 133 and giving that a listen. But is it possible to get a job offer abroad? Yes, it is. But I think it would be helpful if you went back and listened to that episode if you want to dig into this one a little bit more. Myth 20 is that healthcare abroad is free. So yes and no. Can you have completely free healthcare abroad? Yes. I have gone to the hospital before. I had multiple tests done. I had medication given to me, and all of it was free, and it would have been literally thousands in the US if I would have gotten those tests done, and it was completely free for me. I did not have to pay anything at all. So is healthcare free? Yes. But I also pay for private healthcare because I realized that I wanted to be able to have a doctor's appointment the day that I wanted to. If I wanna have a doctor's appointment in the next hour or two, I can probably get one because I have private health insurance. And whenever I say the words private health insurance, you're probably like, "What? It's so expensive to have private health insurance." In Europe, it's so much less expensive. Healthcare is so much cheaper. It's insane. Like, whenever you'd be paying literally thousands in the US, you would probably be paying $50 here. It's so inexpensive, and it's also really good. Sometimes whenever we hear cheap, we think, "Oh, not good quality," but actually the healthcare is really great, and it's paid for by taxes because the systems are just a little bit more efficient here. So if you're looking for free healthcare or really, really inexpensive healthcare, Europe is incredible myth 21 is that you'll lose all of your friends back home. This is a lie that we tell ourselves, and if I'm being honest, some friendships will fade, but other ones will become stronger. And it's really just about mutually deciding that you still wanna be really good friends, because you just keep up online. You would be surprised on how easy it is actually to just communicate over the phone, and if you do have a strong friendship, it's not going to fade, and that goes for family as well. It's just about making time to still maintain communication, but if you have a really good friend, whenever you go back home, it will feel like nothing has changed. Because if you truly have a strong friendship, the distance is not going to pull you apart. It might even bring you closer whenever you spend time together that you'll be a lot more intentional and you'll have a really strong friendship moving forward even years later. Myth 22, and this is an interesting one, and one that I definitely felt, and maybe you are feeling the same, is that it's selfish to move abroad. This is a mindset that we sometimes tell ourselves, and it's a really interesting discussion because a lot of people feel a sense of guilt. They feel they're abandoning their country, they're abandoning their friends and their family. But you have to choose your own life. And if you move abroad, it's not because you don't care deeply about the people in your life. It does not mean that you don't care about being American anymore. It does not mean that you don't care about your friends, or that you don't love your family enough if you're willing to move abroad. I've had so many people make comments to me about that. "I could never leave my family, like you did." I've had people make comments to me like that. I'm like, Okay." I have a really strong relationship with my family. I'm really close with my family. But I love my life abroad as well, and I love that I have the best of both worlds. So I see it as a positive thing, that I'm really intentional whenever I go back home, and I've been intentional about going home at least two times a year and staying for at least a couple of weeks whenever I do go back. And I keep a really strong relationship with them. And moving abroad is not selfish, it's your life as well, and you need to make the decisions that are best for you and your life. You don't wanna get to the end of your life and realize "I was living my life for other people." No one wants to say that or think that. You wanna be choosing your own life. You wanna be intentional about the life that you choose, that you build. I heard this comment one time, and it's really stuck with me, and maybe it'll stick with you, too, is that the most intelligent people that we meet are the ones that can build their life with intentionality exactly the way that they want it. So the people that build their lives exactly their dream life, that is a true Showing of their intelligence, and that was really interesting because you have to be smart or you have to be willing to take leaps and to take chances and to go after the life that you really want instead of living scared and living the life that other people choose for you or think is best for you instead of choosing the life that you really want. And I just found that phrase really interesting, more than just moving abroad, just in life in general. I just thought it was really interesting that like people that choose their life with intentionality are showing their true intelligence that they like build that life. And maybe you've been feeling selfish about moving abroad. But that is absolutely a lie that you tell yourself. It's a myth. So don't buy into that lie and go after the life that you really want Myth 23, and something that stops us from moving abroad and is a myth, is that you'll regret moving abroad. We're really scared of making the wrong decision of moving abroad and it being a mistake, that we're gonna be unhappy. But you know what? Maybe. Maybe you don't love your life abroad. The times that you don't love it, you can probably make changes to where you will love it, and I have never, not once in my entire existence of almost seven years of living abroad, I've never met somebody that said, "I regret moving abroad." I've met a lot of people that have moved abroad. I have never heard someone that said, "I regret it." Some people move abroad for one year or two years, and they say, "That was nice, but I'd like to move back home now." That's fine, they did it. They did the thing that they wanted, and I think that's something to be celebrated. So will you regret moving abroad? Maybe, but probably not. So I hope that leaves you a bit of comfort, that in all of my time I have never actually met somebody that regretted it. So that's a lie that we tell ourselves to stop ourselves from moving abroad taking the chance. Myth 24 is that you'll have to give up your US citizenship. I don't know who is believing this, but you won't have to give up your US citizenship even if you move abroad, you live there for many years, and you end up getting your permanent residency, which is the equivalent of the green card in the US, for example or whenever you get your citizenship that in another country that you'll have to give up your US citizenship. There are countries that don't allow for dual citizenship, like the Netherlands, for instance. They don't want you to have dual passports. They want you to say, "I wanna be fully Dutch. I wanna be from the Netherlands. I want a Dutch passport," and you have to give up your American passport. But most of the times you can get dual citizenship, and you can also have permanent residency in a country to be able to live there forever if you want to without needing a visa while also keeping your US citizenship. So you don't have to give up your US citizenship. You can go back at any time. Don't feel like you have to give that up. Myth 25 is that the food is healthier everywhere abroad. That's not necessarily true. I do think that the food quality is typically better on average. There are so many more rules on health, on what can be consumed in food, the chemicals that they're allowed to put in food or on food so typically the food is better for you. Is the food healthier everywhere? It just really depends on the lifestyle that you're choosing. If you're choosing to get the fried food on the side of the road in Turkey if you're moving to Turkey, then is the food gonna be healthier than the salad that you might buy in the US? No. I know that sounds like a really dramatic example, but I don't think that the food is always healthier. If you're gonna be living in Italy and you're gonna have pasta and pizza every single day, is that healthier? Probably not. You're probably missing out on some other food groups. So is it always healthier? Your health depends on your choices. Is the food better quality in a lot of instances? Yes, I do believe that it is Myth 26 is that you'll travel every weekend. The reality is that eventually you're gonna have to do laundry, you're gonna have to do groceries, you have your dentist appointments, life happens. It's everyday life. Whenever you move abroad, it's not always, like, travel, travel, travel. But you do have opportunities to travel more than if you were living in the US, for instance. I have done so many last-minute weekend trips to European countries, I cannot even tell you. The number of times that I have, probably stupidly, bought a last-minute flight to another European country for a weekend trip is just... I have done it many, many times. There have been years that I have said "Wow, I feel like I'm not even living here because I've been traveling so much." Every month I'm going on another trip, and it sounds like... it sounds amazing and honestly it is. I love that I could easily travel to another European country for not that expensive of a flight. If you're booking last minute in the summer, it is. You can easily travel somewhere for a weekend trip because the flights are only an hour, two hours. It's not that big of a deal. So I have done that. I have traveled a lot on the weekends. So it's definitely possible, and I have done it a lot. Or I have done, a European trip in the summer where I go to multiple cities in one week because it's really easy to travel around and it's really easy to get back. So that is what attracted me to moving to Europe in the first place, and I still love that is possible, and I still absolutely do that. But will you be traveling every single weekend? Will you start to get tired? Will you start to want to build a home and kind of dig roots in? Yes, probably at some point you'll travel a little bit less than you did at the beginning. But will you have opportunities, and will those opportunities always be there if you live abroad? Yes, you do have more opportunities. So while you will be traveling a lot, you won't be traveling every single weekend because life happens and you're wanting to build a life abroad, right? You're not trying to just be on vacation 24/7. Myth 27 is that Europe is one culture. Sometimes as Americans we're like, "I'm going to Europe." But you know, different countries they're all really different. They have different cultures. Spain culture is really different from German culture. Portugal is very different from Sweden. England is very different from Italy. Different countries have very different types of people, very different cultures in the way that they live, in the food that they eat. They do have similarities in the way that they're all really old and they have amazing history. So they do have similarities, but also, every country is really different, and that's also what makes it so fun to live abroad, and to live specifically around Europe, is that the countries are a lot smaller and it's a lot easier to travel amongst them, and it's so cool that you can hop on a two-hour flight and go to Germany, where the country and the culture is so different than if you were to fly to Portugal, where it's just so completely different. So I love that about living in Europe. But it is really different across the board, and that's probably one that you're like duh." But I think sometimes in the US we talk about Europe as if it's one country. Even though it's probably about as big as the US. But yeah, it's different countries and different cultures and, yeah, I think sometimes we just kinda bulk Europe as one in our brains as Americans. Very different cultures, which hopefully is not a shocker to you. Myth 28 is that dating abroad is easier. So I've done episodes on dating abroad. Which is episode 109, Dating Abroad: The Beautiful, The Brutal, and the Unexpected Truth No One Tells You. So if you wanna learn about dating abroad and what it's really like out in the wild in European dating life, then feel free to go listen to that episode and I will reveal what dating life abroad has been like in the past. So bottom line is it's not always easier. I actually think it's harder because you're dating people that have a very different mindset. They're from a different culture, they have a different background, they have a different upbringing, they have different expectations. It's actually a bit harder than dating in the US, in my opinion. But is it impossible, or does that mean that you can't find people that you click well with? No. I know so many couples that are dating or are married to people that are from other countries, and they have an amazing relationship. So it's definitely possible. Is it easier? I would not say so. Myth 29, if you leave America, you're giving up on America. I remember meeting somebody for the first time. It was a guy that was dating one of my friends, and they've broken up since, thank goodness. But this guy, the very first comment that he made to me, he was like, "So I heard that you're living in London. What, was the US not good enough for you?" And he was saying it seriously he wasn't even saying it in a joking tone. And I was like no, I love the US. I love that I have the best of both worlds, but I love my life in London. I love that I've experienced both, and it's been a good choice for me." I kept it really positive, but in my head I was like, "Bro, I literally just met you," and, like, how rude. You don't know anything about me. But you might get comments like that, and sometimes if you leave the US people feel like they're abandoning their country or people feel a little bit of guilt about it, that they leave their friends and family behind or that they're, like, giving up on the US or that the US must be so horrible that you're leaving. Every country has its pros and cons, and the US has a lot of really amazing things going for it. It is an amazing country, and if you are American, you are some of the lucky few. To have the opportunities that you have in the US is incredible, and we have opportunities as Americans that people in other countries just dream about. As an American we're very lucky. But if You leave the US, does it mean that you're giving up on the US? That you hate the US? Maybe you do. I don't think that it means that you're giving up on the US, it's just, you want to move towards something, and move towards a positive experience, move towards an adventure or a career opportunity or you name your reason why you want to move abroad. But don't listen to the haters that you're giving up on America if you move abroad, because I've had people say that, and don't listen to them. It's a lie. It's so rude also myth 30 and our last myth, is that you have to choose the perfect country this is one of the biggest myths. People feel like they need the perfect path. They need to choose the one perfect country, the one perfect city, and there are many good places across Europe, and maybe that's what makes it so hard is that we feel like there are so many great options, that there are so many great opportunities. And there are, but there are a lot of countries and a lot of cities that you could have a fulfilling life. So list out what your main priorities are, and just make a decision. At some point you just have to move forward. You have to make a decision. And you can make an educated decision. You can do research. You can do a scouting trip where you go visit the country and the city abroad to make sure it's a good fit, and that is a great thing to do if you have the ability to do it's a myth that you have to choose the perfect country, that there's one best decision for you So those are our 30 myths that, are things that Americans get wrong about living and moving abroad, and just the myths that we might be believing or the lies that we're telling ourselves. I hope that this is helpful. I hope that maybe there was a myth that you heard or a lie that you've been telling yourself that, maybe there's one right way to move abroad, or, you believed the myth of, choosing the right location, or about visas are impossible or name the myth, whatever myth it was that was helpful for you. Every person's journey is different. Everyone's experience or the myths that they might be believing, the lies that they've been telling theirselves, it might be different, but there are a lot of overlaps in some of the fears or things that hold us back or, some of the lies we've been telling ourselves or some of the myths that we've read online that kind of keep us from moving forward. But at the end of the day, the goal is not to find the perfect plan, but it's to make informed decisions and stay flexible and to do the thing It's to move abroad. It's to build the life that you've been dreaming about, and build a life that fits you and that fits, your dream and what you've been looking for. So I hope that there was a myth in here or a lie that you've been telling yourself that kind of clicked for you, that it's, something that you need to move past, and I hope that it was helpful for you in helping you take your next steps forward to be able to move abroad. And if you're in the earlier stages or you're trying to figure out the next best steps for you, then you might consider downloading that guide. It's the five exact steps to move abroad. It's on the podcast description, so you can just click on the link that's in the podcast description, which is probably the easiest way. Or if you want to, you can go check it out on the website. So the website is Jordangiberson.com/guide, and you can go download the guide there. I hope you found this episode revealed some interesting lies or myths that you've been telling yourself, or that you might have read online that are not actually true. So with that being said, I wanna thank you so much for being a part of another episode of the Move Abroad podcast. I will catch you here again next week, same time, same place. I'll catch you then.