Why Life Transitions Feel Harder When You're Living Abroad
- Erin Frobenius
- Apr 3
- 2 min read
There’s something people don’t often talk about when it comes to living abroad.
It’s not just the big move that’s challenging.
It’s everything that comes after - especially the life transitions you didn’t plan for.
Life transitions happen to everyone, but living abroad adds extra layers that can make them feel more overwhelming.
They happen while you’re sorting out systems that aren’t fully familiar.
Without the same support structures you might have had before.
And often, with the expectation that you "should" be able to handle it by now.
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What happened to me
Two years ago, I broke my leg while on holiday in Sweden.
The situation itself was already stressful - but what stayed with me was something else.
I returned to Amsterdam and suddenly had to figure out:
how to navigate healthcare across countries
who to rely on
how to manage recovery without my usual support system
And what surprised me wasn’t just the logistics.
It was how overwhelmed I felt.
After years of living abroad, I didn’t expect that.
I found myself thinking:
“I’ve been here long enough - I should be able to handle this.”
But it didn’t feel that simple.
The part many internationals don’t expect
This is where a lot of people get caught off guard.
Because it’s not just the transition itself.
It’s going through something difficult while your sense of stability feels less solid than usual.
Even if your life abroad is well-established.
Even if things are “going well” on the surface.
What transitions can bring up
In moments like these, I often see:
frustration at how complicated things feel
a sense of isolation that’s hard to explain
a dip in confidence - quiet, but noticeable
And often, an underlying thought:
“Why does this feel harder than it should?”
A more honest way to understand it
Living abroad doesn’t remove life’s challenges.
It changes how you experience them.
So when something feels heavier than expected, it’s not a sign that you’re doing something wrong.
It may simply be that you’re navigating more than one layer at once.
If this resonates
If you’ve had a moment where things suddenly felt harder again -
even though you thought you had found your footing -
there’s a reason for that.
And it’s not a sign something is wrong - it’s a normal part of adjusting to living life abroad.
Something I see often with internationals
This is something I work through a lot with internationals -
looking not just at what’s happening on the surface,
but at the added layers that come with building and living a life in a different country.
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If you’d like help working through a transition, contact me - we’ll explore what you need to move forward with confidence.
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