Need a Change of Pace? Consider Working Overseas

Are you tired of your job? Do you feel as if you’re in a rut in both your professional and personal life?

If you’re a young, single woman with the world before her, you should at least think about the option of working abroad in a foreign country. It’s a more practical move than you might think.

Four Reasons to Work Abroad

 Working in a foreign country is a professional activity to which you might not have given much thought in the past, but it offers an array of benefits to anyone who’s willing to move past her comfort zone and absorb some new experiences.

Here are four of the greatest benefits:

Exposure to New Cultures

 Obviously, one of the biggest advantages of working abroad is that you get to immerse yourself in new cultures. Although traveling to a foreign country is great, living there for an extended period of time enables you to see beyond the surface that appeals to tourists, and get a feel for the true heartbeat of a city or nation. The lessons you learn will accompany you for the rest of your life.

Greater Chances for Advancement

 This won’t always be the case, but many people find their way to greater advancement opportunities within their career after they’ve moved abroad. This is especially true if you work in a large and highly competitive locale, such as New York City or Silicon Valley, but move to a city where there’s a much higher demand for your skills and fewer qualified workers to compete for those positions.

Opportunity to Explore

 One of greatest benefits has nothing to do with work, however, and everything to do with exploring. Instead of spending your weekends at home lying on the sofa and watching Netflix, you can use your weekends to visit places and pursue activities you’ve only ever seen in movies and read about on other people’s travel blogs. Maybe you’ll start a blog of your own!

Perfect Timing

 Now’s the perfect time to do this. If you’re young, single, and not far along in your career, this is a period when you likely have relatively few strings attached. It’ll be much harder to relocate overseas when you have kids, a spouse, and a firmly established career.

Destinations to Consider

 Depending on what sort of activities you enjoy, the professional field you’re in, and your personality type, there are any number of destinations you might select. Here are three of the top locations to consider. 

• Not only is Rome a beautiful city that offers plenty to do, but it hosts a heavy presence of English-speaking businesses. If you’re looking for a comfortable and safe city to pass a few months or years, Rome should be near the top of your list.

• If you’re interested in Southeast Asia, Bangkok is an excellent choice. Not only is it an extremely cheap place to live (modern apartments for $600 per month), but there are lots of American expats in the area.

• Buenos Aires. If you’d rather venture south, Buenos Aires is a terrific alternative. In the heart of Latin America, this metropolis of nearly 3 million features a low cost of living, friendly people, fascinating culture, and a thriving business scene.

Add a Spark to Your Life

 We all have an innate desire to explore the globe and see new places. The world is too vast and breathtaking to spend your entire life in a single city, state, or country. And though it may seem contrary to the career path your parents and friends would desire for you, there’s something to be said for spreading your wings and settling in another country to work for a while.

It doesn’t have to be permanent and you can return anytime, as quickly as you arrived. Why not give it a shot?