Working Abroad: 8 biggest challenges and tips

If you were to take most travel blogs at face value you would be forgiven if you thought that working abroad was a constant barrage of fun times and memorable experiences. While there may be some of those moments, the reality is that you will likely face even more difficult situations than an equivalent job in your home country. No matter what way you choose to earn your income abroad, these are some of the difficulties you must overcome in order to be successful.

When I decided to move to Lebanon, I took the millennial approach and Googled every possible piece of advice on the internet about how to find a job abroad. Most of the articles I found gave blanket advice that could be applied to any situation like “Use Social Media to Connect with New People You Don’t Know” or “Make a Video Resume to Get Hired Abroad” or my, personal favorite “Make Sure Your Passport is Valid.”  While these articles meant well, they obviously weren’t giving me the lay of the land I needed. Outside of a handful of helpful sites and articles – Nomadic Matt’s website, The US State Department’s website for working abroad  and Matador Network - there is not a lot of concrete information available on the internet.