The life of an expat can seem exciting if you’re not an expat. Living in a country that’s not your home country and experiencing “the life”. There’s a few things you’re not taught about expat life though, and one of those is something I learnt last week.
Anish and I have begun to make friends. We’ve got a great group to hang out with thanks to /r/Bahrain and friends from work. A mixed bag of expats and Bahrainis. The expat population in Bahrain is mostly transient. People will come here and work for a few years and then move on. Bahrain also feels like the kind of place that attracts the kind of expat who’s more likely to just move on after an amount of time.
And that’s exactly what’s happening now. Little by little, people are beginning to move on. And it’s got me a little sad. I know that’s life. Especially when you’re living abroad and you have a bunch of friends who’ve also come here from abroad. But it still sucks.
I’m torn between being incredibly happy for some close friends I’ve made here who are now getting on and moving on. To being sad to see them go. That’s life, though eh?
I would make a joke about you not having this problem if you came back to London but it’s the same here. People move all the time, though perhaps more so when they’re hitting our age where lots of people are moving somewhere to settle and start a family, or put down proper roots.
Feel like London’s getting that way too – very transient. And the settling down these days, I think people are now more prepared to settle down where they want to and where is best for them, vs. nearer family or friends. Ease of travel have made the world a little smaller.
Yep. Don’t think things have changed from some previous state though, we’re just getting old!
Looking forward to your state visit over Christmas!
We are getting old. Cheers to getting old!
As am I, though not looking forward to the cold. I’m not ready for it!
Yeah the temperature fell off a cliff in the last week. Bring layers!
I know how hard it is to make friends in a new city 🙁 I’m sorry that you’re beginning to see some of them go.
That must be hard! On one hand you’re happy for them but then it’s hard personally.
Exactly. Talk about confused!
Jaina, it is incredibly hard to make friends whether you move to another country or another city, but this too will pass. You’ll make new friends and at some point, you too will move on. It’s a great way to view life, enjoy the moment and then move on.
I’ll remember this 🙂
I remember writing about this facet of expat life. It is hard to deal with and it feels bittersweet, but honestly, you will make new friends and your world will continue to expand. I’ve also had friends leave and then come back for a visit – and those are fun moments, too.
And more countries with potential places to crash at for visits 😉 There’s definitely an upside, eh?
At the end of the day people are an equal part of the experience.
Whenever a friend moves along I find myself looking for jobs in the place they are going (just for a few hours at least).
Yes they are, and if these big changes didn’t happen to them, or us, things would be pretty boring. 🙂
[…] have been crammed. Sadly we’ve spent a few of them saying goodbye to newly made friends. (something I’m still getting used to, as an expat) But saying goodbye is a great excuse to go out and do something. And do something we did, last […]