
In between cultures: where is home?
Being in three different countries over the last couple of days I got inspired by the question of “Where is home” for the typical expat. Here is my point of view on this topic and I would love to learn more about your opinion.
How to define "home" as an expat
German Version:
“Heute hier, morgen dort
Bin kaum da, muss ich fort
Hab’ mich niemals dewegen beklagt
Hab’ es selbst so gewählt
Nie die Jahre gezählt
Nie nach Gestern und Morgen gefragt”
English Translation:
Today here, tomorrow there, hardly I’m here when I’ve to go away,
I never complained because of that.
I’ve chosen it like that myself, never counted the years,
Never asked for yesterday and tomorrow.
The German singer Hannes Wader has written this song referring to his tour life. It speaks to me as being an Expat is sometimes similar. Especially when it comes to serial expatriation. As an Expat I try to live in the moment as much as possible. This can be quite a challenging goal. It is always hard not to compare, not to miss some parts of the other country and one common thing in my life will always be to miss loved ones as my friends and family are spread around the world. As an Expat you will always have a wandering mind and home will become difficult to define. It is not a city anymore and even not a country. Living abroad for more than a year now even a culture does not feel like home anymore as there are some new facets I have adopted from the culture I am living in right now. From all the places I have lived in, this small town in Germany might feel the most like home as most of my childhood memories are here. However, memories are always part of the past and my mind is currently more shaped by present experiences.
"As an Expat I try to live in the moment as much as possible. This can be quite a challenging goal."
Want some good vibes in your mail?
"It definitely requires the need to explore something new again and again and to challenge the status quo"
Therefore, home is not a physical place for me anymore but a place where I feel like home no matter where it is located. Living together with my husband is the only constant in life. To feel comfortable in this lifestyle maybe requires some special motivation or character trait. It definitely requires the need to explore something new again and again and to challenge the status quo. When things settle down and become easy I start to feel the urge to change something again. When my learning curve starts to decrease I want to learn something new. When my home is fully furnished and decorated I start to think about moving somewhere else to start all over. For me personally, this has nothing to do with the need to escape from something. It is more my personal experience of how moving outside your comfort zone can enrich your life and I am just too curious to stay. This might change in a different age, professional state or when kids are a part in one’s life but for now home is where I am and where I come home in the evening to discuss the adventures of the day with my husband.
What is home for you?
What is home for you? Do you exactly know where you will be in the next couple of years? Do you live with a long-term plan or from day to day? Would love to learn more about your experience and view about this. Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for sharing the love and stopping by

Share this article with a friend and share the love:
You also might like:

A Different Approach to Everyday Life: A Return to One’s Own Values Abroad
Living abroad not only opens up a completely new view of the country and its people. The perception of worldwide cultural differences also does something to one’s own ideas. What is desirable? What belongs to the things that are absolutely necessary and what are things that are considered absolutely necessary in one culture and play no role at all elsewhere? This becomes very vivid if you make yourself aware of an everyday situation in a very concrete way. In this article, I look at the different designs of children’s rooms around the world and what this has to do with a return to our basic instincts.

Why less families decide to move abroad
Are families less willed to move abroad in this world of uncertainty? How will expat assignments change within the next year? How to make the decision of moving abroad or working from home in another country? This article is shedding some light on the future of global mobility in the world we are living in right now.

The effect of giving yourself an A
What happens when you pretend the best case scenario already happened? Sharing a fun and compelling coaching exercise called “giving yourself an A”

The 4 types of Female Expats
How differently do women approach the concept of a career abroad? What traits can be assigned to the various international CVs? I spoke with 30 female breadwinners who have made it abroad and identified 4 types that have emerged time and again. In this article, I discuss each type and show what you can learn from them.

How to answer the question “What do you do?”
If you struggle to answer this question in an authentic and short way this blog post is perfect for you. Learn about how to start prepping your introduction.

Mum guilt – How much time should I spend with my child to be a good mum?
You know this nagging feeling when you are spending time apart from your baby? The feeling of guilt that might come over you when you invest in a babysitter just to do something for yourself? The often painful decision to leave your child to daycare to go back to work. In this article, I want to introduce you to the concept behind called mum guilt. You will learn that it is universal and you will learn how changing your approach on HOW you spend time with your kid can make all the difference.