7 Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Move Abroad! Here’s How to Avoid Them…

Hard Lessons Every Expat Learns Too Late, But How You Can Get It Right from Day One!

I thought I was prepared. 

My bags packed, my visa secured, and just enough confidence to assume that moving to a new country would be as simple as stepping off the plane and blending in seamlessly.

Wake up call! It wasn’t. 

Within a week of landing in Ukraine, I had already made every rookie mistake in the book.

I assumed taxi drivers would take me straight to my destination without a taking a detour to overcharge me.

I expected my American “customer service expectations that the customer is always right” attitude to hold up in post-Soviet bureaucracy.

But, worst of all, I innocently asked a man what he did for a living.

His response… an icy stare and the kind of silence that makes you rethink your entire existence.

In that moment, I questioned everything.

My words. My life.

And what the hell was I even doing there!

Nobody tells you just how fast things can go south when you don’t know what you’re doing.

The problem isn’t moving abroad, it’s assuming that everything will work the way you expect it to. 

I’ve lived in and traveled through places like Albania, Georgia, Ukraine, and Spain, and I can tell you one thing.

Making certain mistakes abroad doesn’t just lead to minor inconveniences, it can ruin your experience.

It can make locals resent you, turn bureaucratic processes into nightmares, and leave you feeling like an eternal outsider, questioning why you ever left home in the first place.

But here’s the good news! You don’t have to learn these lessons the hard way.

I’ve already done that for you. 

So before you start packing your bags, let me walk you through the seven biggest mistakes people make when moving to a new country, and, more importantly, how to avoid them.

Trust me, your future self will thank you.

1. Assuming Life Will Be Just Like It Was Back Home

The honeymoon phase of moving abroad is a beautiful thing, until it ends. At first, everything feels like a grand adventure.

The baker remembers your name, the cobblestone streets look like a movie set, and every meal is an experience.

But then, reality sets in. 

Suddenly, you’re trying to figure out why your landlord insists on paying your rent only in cash.

The internet bill? Only payable at the post office for reasons lost to time.

And when you ask customer service for something simple, they look at you like you just requested open-heart surgery.

Welcome to your new normal.

I learned this lesson in Ukraine when I confidently walked into a bank expecting to open an account in under 30 minutes.

An hour later, I was still buried under paperwork, trying to decipher Cyrillic, and learning that the woman behind the counter had absolutely no interest in making this easy for me.

All the while, hoping in the end it would all be worth it.

Mission accomplished?

NOT!

In some countries, efficiency is a suggestion, not a guarantee.

Good news is, years later I did end up opening a bank account, several in fact….

Travel Takeaway: Drop your expectations at the airport.

Things will be different, and that’s not a bad thing.

The sooner you embrace the quirks of your new home, the less frustrated you’ll be.

2. Ignoring Local Customs and Social Norms

You don’t have to be a cultural expert when you move abroad, but at least try not to offend an entire country within your first week.

The fastest way to make locals resent you is to stomp around like a clueless foreigner, assuming that your way is the right way.

Take Ukraine, for example. I once made the mistake of casually asking a guy, “So, what do you do?”

In America, that’s normal small talk.

In Ukraine? That question was met with an awkward silence, followed by, “None of your business.”

Turns out, in post-Soviet culture at the time, people didn’t just casually share details about their income or profession with strangers.

Lesson learned!

Travel Takeaway: Every country has unspoken rules, and you will break them.

But the more effort you put into understanding them, the smoother your transition will be.

3. Burning Bridges by Sticking to Other Expats

It’s tempting. You land in a new country, find a group of fellow expats, and before you know it, you’re only eating at restaurants with English menus, never venturing outside your comfort zone.

I get it, making local friends is harder.

But if you stick to an expat bubble, you’ll never truly integrate.

Unfortunately, I did just that in Georgia. I surrounded myself with foreigners, lived in an expat-heavy part of Tbilisi, and never bothered to learn more than five words of Georgian.

After two years, I admit, I never did feel at home. 

Sure I had my moments and “travel experiences” with the “locals”, but I had never truly been part of the local culture. Always the “temporary foreigner”…

Travel Takeaway: Make an effort to connect with locals. Yes, language barriers exist. No, it doesn’t matter.

People appreciate effort, even if your grammar is a disaster.

4. Not Learning the Language (At Least the Basics)

You don’t have to be fluent, but assuming you can get by on English alone is an amateur mistake.

Nothing screams clueless foreigner like expecting locals to cater to you in your own language.

When I first moved to Ukraine, my Russian was nonexistent.

This led to some truly embarrassing situations.

Like the time I confidently ordered what I thought was a simple side salad and ended up with a layered beetroot and herring monstrosity called “shuba” that looked like it belonged in a science experiment.

The second I started learning basic phrases, everything changed. Even a poorly pronounced “thank you” in Russian made shopkeepers noticeably more patient with me.

Travel Takeaway: A few key phrases go a long way.

You don’t need to write poetry, but at least learn how to order food, ask for directions, and say “please” and “thank you.”

It makes a difference.

5. Assuming Bureaucracy Will Be Simple and Logical

If you’ve ever tried to get a visa, register as a resident, or do literally anything involving official paperwork in a foreign country, you already know: bureaucracy is not your friend.

I once had to leave and re-enter a country just to renew my visa because, despite having all the right paperwork, I had unknowingly filed something a day too late.

The best part?

The rules had changed that month, and nobody had bothered to update the website.

Bureaucracy abroad is a black hole of inefficiency. 

Papers will go missing. Forms will be contradictory.

And no, nobody will care that you don’t understand the process.

Travel Takeaway: Expect it to be a nightmare, and you won’t be disappointed.

Stay patient, overprepare, and always have backup copies of everything.

6. Underestimating Culture Shock (It Happens to Everyone)

Even if you love your new country, even if you chose to be there, culture shock will hit you when you least expect it.

At first, everything is fascinating.

Then, small things start to get under your skin: 

• Why does everything close at 2 p.m.? 
• Why do people stand so close in line?
• Why is it impossible to get a simple coffee to go?

I remember hitting my culture shock phase in Spain.

I loved the lifestyle, but I could not, for the life of me, understand how nobody seemed to be in a hurry.

I had grown up in an efficiency-obsessed culture where meals were fast, customer service was immediate, and work took priority.

In Spain? Everything moved at the speed of a leisurely afternoon stroll.

At first, it was infuriating.

Then, one day, I realized: maybe “I” was the problem.

Travel Takeaway: Culture shock isn’t about the country, it’s about your expectations clashing with reality.

Give yourself time to adjust, and remember: frustration is temporary.

7. Thinking You’ll “Find Yourself” Just by Moving Abroad

A lot of people move abroad thinking it will be a magical reset button.

Newsflash: If you were unhappy before, you’ll still be unhappy in another country, just with different scenery.

It’s happened to me. People expect moving abroad to fix their problems, only to realize they’ve brought all their baggage with them.

I had thought that escaping the U.S. would solve all of my issues, but after a year in Eastern Europe, I was just as lost as before.

Turns out, running away doesn’t guarantee a fresh start.

Travel Takeaway: Moving abroad is incredible, but it’s not a cure-all.

Growth comes from facing challenges, not avoiding them.

The Reality of Moving Abroad

Moving to a new country is an adventure, but it’s also a learning curve. You will make mistakes.

1. You’ll have days where you question everything.
2. And you’ll probably embarrass yourself more than once.

But that’s part of the experience.

The key is to stay open-minded, adaptable, and willing to laugh at yourself.

Because at the end of the day, the biggest mistake you can make is not taking the leap at all.

Now, over to you! 

What’s the worst expat mistake you’ve ever made?