Living Internationally Versus Visiting

“You lived in Jamaica? How exotic and exciting!” Ummm, not so much. People often ask, “What is it like living in a foreign country?” So I thought I would give you a short blog on just how different it is to “live” someplace as opposed to just “visiting”. For the sake of this discussion I will define “living” as anything more than a couple of weeks. In our case this would mean we have “lived” in Jamaica for four years. We also recently “lived” in Greece for a month (Jennifer also lived there an additional month). In April we will “live” in London for a month or so and then back to Greece where we will have an extended time of “living” there. We have “visited” at least 24 different countries. Some of them for just a day and one (New Zealand) for up to two weeks. But as we all know, living somewhere is very different than just visiting.

Mentally

      When you’re visiting a place, you know in the back of your mind that you will be going “home” in just a few days. The condition is very temporary. Everything is often fun and cool and new and even if things aren’t great at least you can “gut it out” and make it. When you “live” in a foreign country and things get tough (as they always do), it’s more difficult to hang in there. It truly does require a daily reliance upon the Lord at times to see you through.

Reality

Sometimes when visiting another country all we see are the touristy spots or the very best the country has to offer. It’s kind of like dating someone versus being married to that same person (Ha). Often, you’re eating out every day and doing fun things or at least very different things than back home. When you “live” someplace the “newness” wears off. You begin to see the reality of where you are and you realize what seemed like an exotic location might in reality be much different. Instead of vacationing at a 4-star hotel, you’re now living in a place that may or may not be worse than what you left back home. When we left the US for Jamaica we sold our 3300 square foot home to move into a tiny little “apartment” with no A/C. Reality set in very quickly.

Family

It goes without saying that the toughest part of living internationally is that separation from family. Jennifer always says if we were in the US we wouldn’t see our kids and grandkids all the time, every day, and she’s right. But there is something about being separated by an ocean that seems very daunting. We are fortunate now to have FaceTime and other ways to stay in contact but even in Greece we will be 8 hours ahead and communication becomes more difficult over long periods of time.

Conveniences

As Americans we are spoiled. We have so many necessities and luxuries at the tip of our fingers. Jamaica and Greece share some similarities here. There’s no Amazon delivery or a Wal-Mart or Home Depot or Chick-Fil-A or Target!! While Greece has more “Western” items available, it is still very different when it comes to shopping. Greece is an upgrade in this area but its still nothing like living virtually anywhere in the US. Living overseas is a reminder when we come home just how great it is to live in America.

Routine

What does your routine look like? Coffee, then get in your nice car and off to work on good roads? Working out? Hanging out with family or friends? Small group at church? When you visit a foreign country for vacation or a mission trip you put all that on hold. Imagine moving there and now your routine looks nothing like it did. What seemed exotic and exciting now can sometimes seem like a burden.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. This is not meant to be a blog to generate sympathy. We have it so much better than missionaries from just a decade or two ago. Our inconvenience pales in comparison. And yes, there are good things about living internationally. Learning a new culture and language can be invigorating. Meeting people very different from us and eating different foods and seeing incredibly beautiful places are all part of the experience as well. But make no mistake, “living” is very different than “visiting”. One thing that living in another country can do is it can often drive you deeper into a dependence upon God to sustain you. Your walk with Him becomes more important and more real. And another thing that becomes even more important is when friends and family come to visit. You may not be able to “live” overseas but hopefully you will come “visit” us!!