Expat Loneliness (And 10 Ways To Beat It)

Living abroad as an expat or digital nomad is an eye-opening and life-changing experience. Among the long list of benefits, moving overseas can broaden your horizons, further your career and open the door to a higher quality of life.

Plus, you’ll be in good company – around 270 million people worldwide enjoy the expat lifestyle, while around 35 million are proud to call themselves digital nomads by combining work with travel.

However, that’s not to say the expat lifestyle is without its challenges. Many expats and digital nomads have reported experiencing common ailments such as culture shock, lower personal safety and a lack of time to dedicate to their health, fitness and well-being.

What to do if you’re feeling lonely abroad

Another issue that many expats and digital nomads experience is loneliness. Moving to another country, even temporarily, means leaving behind your friends, family and social support network.

Expats and digital nomads may then struggle to make friends in unfamiliar and disorientating environments where it can be hard to connect with locals or other expats. This can lead to feelings of loneliness.

As an expat or digital nomad, you must not underestimate the effects of loneliness. Research has suggested that loneliness is a near-universal experience among new expats, especially at the beginning of their new lives abroad, and can manifest in feelings of low self-esteem, social isolation and cause physical and mental distress.

Research has also shown that feelings of loneliness may be especially prevalent among older expats, those without families or those in the LQBTQ community, as well as among digital nomads who move between different countries frequently.

How to spot the symptoms of loneliness

Loneliness is not a mental health condition, but is often listed as both a cause and a symptom of other mental health disorders such as depression.

Even so, someone experiencing loneliness may exhibit certain symptoms which, according to Healthdirect Australia, can include:

Physical symptoms such as headaches
Mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and paranoia
A lack of energy and motivation
Insomnia and other sleep problems
Weight problems, such as weight gain and weight loss
Low self-esteem and negative feelings about oneself
Increased use of alcohol and drugs

If you or someone you know may be experiencing the long-term effects of loneliness, it’s important to speak to a mental health professional for advice.

What causes expat loneliness?

It is important to point out that loneliness is not necessarily caused by being alone.

Some people can spend time alone without experiencing loneliness, while others will experience loneliness even when they have a wide social circle. Also, not everyone experiences loneliness in the same way.

For some people, loneliness can cause feelings of low self-esteem and negative self-worth, while for others it can produce feelings of motivation to get out and meet new people.

While almost every expat or digital nomad will experience loneliness at some time, there are some factors that are known to increase feelings of loneliness. These include:

Moving to a country that has a very different language or culture
Living in a place that has few other expats who can relate to your experience
Changing location frequently

It’s also important to remember that loneliness doesn’t last forever, and there is plenty you can do to stave off the negative feelings. Whether you are an expat or a digital nomad, it’s important to prioritise your mental well-being, to focus on building a social support network in your new home, and to make time to enjoy social activities.

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10 ways to beat expat and digital nomad loneliness

To help you get started, here are ten ideas that may help if you are feeling lonely abroad.

1/ Go where the expats go

Every major city has neighbourhoods and boroughs that are more popular with expats and digital nomads. In very large cities, you may even find that certain areas are home to large populations of expats from one particular country – think Little Italy in New York City or Chinatown in London.

If you’ve not yet decided on where to live, it’s a good idea to start by researching popular expat hubs, either by searching online or speaking to other expats.

While it may not seem like the most authentic way to move abroad, living amongst other settled expats can help to ease your transition into your new home. You’ll be surrounded by other people who speak your language, share your culture and who can help you navigate your new environment. You may even make life-long friends in your new neighbourhood.

Expat communities also tend to have many of the home comforts you’ll need if culture shock hits. You’ll find restaurants serving your national cuisine, supermarkets that sell imported items from your home country, and perhaps even a community centre where expats meet to socialise.

Not sure where to start with finding new expat communities?

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2/ Try co-living

If you’re searching for a place to live, consider sharing a home with other expats or digital nomads. Driven in equal parts by demand and necessity, co-living is becoming an increasingly popular trend in major cities – for example, around one-third of people in London share a property with other tenants.

Property landlords are responding to the rising trend of co-living by adapting their properties for the benefit of certain demographics, making it easy for you to find co-living spaces marketed exclusively to people of certain genders, lifestyles, occupations, age ranges and sexualities. Rural co-living spaces are also becoming widely available, allowing you to live anywhere from the beaches of Spain to the mountains of Bulgaria alongside other intrepid tenants.

Not only is co-living a great way to save money (which could help you afford a home in a more desirable area), it can also help to introduce you to like-minded people and kick-start your social life overseas.

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3/ Show your face in the office…

While the pandemic has made remote and flexible working the norm across the world (around 28% of employees globally now work remotely at least some of the time), as a new expat you may want to buck the trend by heading into your workplace as often as possible.

Communicating and socialising with your new colleagues is one of the best ways to help you integrate into a new company, and you may even end up making friends for life. Indeed, more than 76% of people say they have made a close friend at their workplace according to research by Nectar HR.

4/ …or sign up for co-working

On the other hand, if you are moving abroad as a digital nomad, you may not have the luxury of a permanent office. In this case, you could benefit instead from attending a co-working space. These are spaces that offer desks especially for remote workers, as well as giving you unlimited access to everything you’ll need to get your job done – coffee, WiFi, laptop charging stations and more.

With around 35,000 co-working spaces already dotted around the world, it won’t be hard to find one in your new home city. During the working day, you’ll find these places to be busy hubs full of other digital nomads, entrepreneurs and remote workers, while in the evening many co-working hubs host social events and parties to help people mingle.

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5/ Join a Meetup group

If you haven’t heard of Meetup, consider it an expat essential. Meetup is a social platform that allows people to advertise events in their local area. Members can search for events that match their interests, join online communities and RSVP to attend those events.

With Meetup, you can continue your existing interests abroad, pick up a new hobby or find social events in your area. From cycle rides to wine tasting clubs, language exchanges to specialist groups exclusively for expats and digital nomads, you’ll find no shortage of things to pique your interests. Or, if you’re having trouble finding a group that matches your interests, you can start your own.

Many expats have reported that Meetup has helped them to both meet friends and settle into their new homes. Indeed, several groups dedicated to expat meetups contain over 30,000 members, meaning you’ll find no shortage of like-minded people to socialise with.

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6/ Experience couchsurfing

Whether you are a digital nomad looking for short-term accommodation, or an expat looking to venture outside of your new hometown, be sure to check out CouchSurfing.

This popular app connects people looking for a place to crash with people who have a spare place in their home to host a guest. As the name implies, this often manifests in nothing more fancy than a sofa – but if you’re content to travel like a Spartan, you’ll find couchsurfing to be not only a great way to bag cheap (or even free) accommodation, but a great way to meet people too.

If you do decide to try out couchsurfing, you’ll have the opportunity to speak to your host ahead of time. Often, they’ll be happy to show you around their city, or spend time hosting you in their home. In short, think of couchsurfing as short-term co-living, with the added benefit of cheap accommodation in far-off destinations.

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7/ Try dating apps

Naturally, this advice will apply more to single people, although those who are in relationships or happily married will still find options.

If you are comfortable with dating, you may find dating apps a great way to meet people abroad. With over 500 million users, Tinder is the world’s most popular dating app, while 100 million choose Bumble and 23 million use Hinge.

If you decide to try dating while living or travelling abroad, remember to make personal safety your first priority.

Always let a friend or family member know where you’ll be and always arrange to meet your acquaintance in a public place.

If you don’t want to try romantic dating, you could still use dating apps to help you meet friends.

Bumble offers the option to meet people in this way, while a number of specific apps exist to help expats meet each other abroad. InterNations is one example, allowing you to search for and chat with nearby expats, and it also includes news and tips to help you make the most of your expat experience.

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8/ Join a language exchange

One of the best parts about starting a new life abroad is learning a foreign language. Learning the language of your new home country can improve your cultural awareness, make you more confident and help you to integrate into society.

While learning a new language, one of the best ways to improve your fluency is to practise speaking with native speakers – and one of the best ways to find them is at a language exchange. Language exchanges are organised social events in which people come to practise one-another’s languages.

As an English speaker, you are likely to encounter local people looking to improve their English, and in return they will be able to help you improve your developing foreign language. The best thing about attending a language exchange is that it will expose you to other expats as well as local people, helping you to meet people from both worlds.

One of the best ways to find language exchanges is via the Meetup app. You may also benefit from attending a language school in your new home city. Many expats choose to attend language exchanges regularly, as they build their fluency while also getting out-and-about and meeting new people.

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9/ Limit social media usage

While this may sound counterintuitive (after all, social media is a great way to keep in touch with a wide variety of friends both locally and back home), studies have suggested that using social media may increase feelings of loneliness.

Frequent use of social media can exacerbate the ‘fear of missing out’ (FoMo) by exposing users to events and circumstances they were not a part of. This can be especially true of expats and digital nomads, who are exposed to photos and videos from both their friends and family in their home country, and their fellow travellers. Research has shown that new expats and digital nomads are more likely to experience FoMo, and this can ultimately lead them to feel lonely.

While social media is a great way to keep in touch with people, try to limit your social media usage. Treat it as a communication tool and avoid spending hours scrolling through content from friends and family. Instead, try to speak to people directly through messaging apps or over the phone.

10/ Say ‘Yes!’

As an expat or digital nomad, there will be times when opportunity knocks at your door. Perhaps it will be someone inviting you to a party, asking you to travel with them, or even offering you a job. So long as these opportunities align with your wants and expectations, it’s up to you to be the one to say ‘Yes!’ at the right moment.

Life as an expat or digital nomad is about adventure. It’s through our adventures that we meet life-long friends, foster relationships and grow as individuals. Psychologists have pointed out that loneliness is not necessarily a condition, but a perception: we only feel lonely when we feel like we’re missing out.

Therefore, having the ability to say yes to new adventures is one of the best ways to reduce feelings of loneliness.

Did you know? Expats are more at risk of experiencing mental health disorders

That’s why our international health insurance policies include optional mental health cover to give you access to therapy, psychiatric consultations, and medication while living abroad.

Mental Health Cover

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Our last tip: choose international health insurance

At William Russell, we understand that expats and digital nomads are at higher risk of experiencing mental health issues while living abroad. That’s why our international health insurance policies include optional mental health cover to protect your well-being. With our mental health benefit, you’ll have access to:

Inpatient and daypatient treatment covering a wide range of mental health disorders
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International health insurance is essential for any expat and digital nomad. It gives you access to top hospitals and medical facilities around the world, with flexible policy options to suit your needs.

Find out more about our mental health benefit and get a quote online today in under 2 minutes.

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10 Ways To Beat Expat And Digital Nomad Loneliness

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