We asked Global Connection consultant Jasmin Braun what she would tell herself before she embarked on her first international relocation many moons ago.
Starting from scratch
“My first international relocation as an expat partner took me from Dubai to Singapore. Six years previously, I’d moved to the Middle East to do an internship and develop my career. I was child free in those days and I took everything in my stride. But relocating to Singapore was a completely different experience. I was starting from scratch with plans to set up my own coaching business and also start a family,” says Jasmin.
Adjustment takes time
“Looking back, I feel that I could have managed my expectations for a new life in Singapore much better. I was impatient to get everything done as quickly as possible, so I would tell my previous self that the adjustment would take time. I was too hard on myself,” says Jasmin, who subsequently relocated to Thailand. “I found that relocation much easier. In my experience, there’s a chemistry you feel with certain destinations. It just clicks. When I moved to Bangkok, I was energised by the city. But also, by this stage, I had a portable career and I was a mother of two kids. In terms of my identity, there were less questions.”
The hardest move
“One other thing I would tell my former self would be that there is no going back. What I mean by that is you can return to your home country but you can’t return to being the person you were before you left. When we repatriated I found it hard to relate to old friends and even family members. I would definitely agree with those who say repatriation is the hardest move! But I also realised that it’s not about picking up where you left off. You can’t expect to fit in seamlessly and that’s okay. You can seek out kindred spirits, people who have also lived overseas, or even expats, who ‘get you’,” says Jasmin. “Like many families in the Global Connection community have discovered, we don’t see repatriation as the end of the expat journey. It’s just another stop along the way. We would happily relocate again and, wherever we go, I will be sure to give myself plenty of time to settle in!”
Photo: Jasmin Braun
