ANITA ISALSKA
is a native Mancunian who has helped to author numerous Lonely Planet guides.
@lunarsynthesis
Social media gives the expat experience, as it does so many other things, a deceptive gloss. Scrolling through Twitter or Instagram, moving to a different country looks aspirational and brimming with possibility - but the darker side of expat life is usually cropped out of the frame.
I came to understand these highs and lows when I left the UK in 2017. I have met wonderful people and enjoyed amazing opportunities, but moving abroad requires inexhaustible reserves of optimism and resilience. My patience has been tested by visa and passport mix-ups, my belongings have been marooned on a lost shipping container. There are lonely times and tearful Skype sessions. There are frustrating exchanges with multiple tax authorities, and, if your mother’s like mine, she’ll never get your time zone quite right. Welcome to the emotional rollercoaster of expat life.