Moving abroad sounds like a massive, life-changing decision. And it is. But the real expat life changes don’t happen the way you’d expect.
You won’t wake up one morning in your new country feeling completely different. Instead, small habits start slipping in without you noticing: your morning coffee ritual changes, you greet strangers differently, and dinner happens two hours later than it used to. Nobody talks about this part, and that’s exactly why it catches you by surprise.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the everyday habits that change when you move to a new country. You’ll see what’s coming so you can adjust faster instead of feeling blindsided. Let’s start with something everyone does: your morning routine.
Your Morning Routine Gets a Complete Rewrite
Moving to a new country changes how you start your day, often within the first week of arrival. Breakfast timing follows local patterns instead of your old schedule. For example, Germans eat early and get straight to work, but Spaniards like to take their time with a late morning start.
And it’s not just when you eat. Coffee culture dictates your caffeine ritual. Espresso bars replace takeaway cups in Italy, while Scandinavians drink filter coffee all day. You’ll adjust to standing at the counter for a quick espresso instead of grabbing a large latte to go.
The whole concept of ‘coffee on the run’ doesn’t exist in some places, so it becomes normal to stop, drink and leave within five minutes.
Then there are the greetings. In Japan, you’ll pick up bowing as a natural gesture. France means cheek kisses, even with people you’ve just met. These small cultural differences feel awkward at first, but they become automatic before you realise it.
Shopping Becomes an Unplanned Adventure (At Least at First)
Ever spent 45 minutes in a supermarket just trying to buy milk? Welcome to expat life. What should be a quick grocery run turns into a full expedition because everything from labels to payment methods works differently than you’re used to.
You’ll Spend 20 Minutes Just Reading Labels
Product names don’t translate the way you’d expect. That familiar brand from home? It’s got completely different packaging and a name you don’t recognise. You’ll pull out translation apps for ingredient lists because guessing feels too risky.
Sizing is confusing, too. Clothing, shoes, and food portions all follow different standards depending on the country.
Payment Methods are Their Own Challenge
Payment customs are different everywhere, and figuring them out takes time. Some places only take cash, while others look at you funny if you’re not tapping your card. Tipping throws you off, too. What feels generous back home might actually offend someone here.
Smaller shops and local markets usually don’t accept cards at all, which means carrying coins everywhere. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, you walk into a new place, and the rules change again.
Small Talk at Checkout Feels Like a Test
The cashier greets you, and suddenly you’re blanking on how to say “good morning” in the local language. Sometimes you reach for your bags and get scolded because bagging is their job, not yours.
Even standing in line works differently. Personal space varies. So does queue jumping, and what counts as rude. These moments catch you off guard, and after a few weeks, the mental effort of just buying groceries starts to wear on you.
Social Life: Why Making New Friends Takes Actual Effort
Making new friends as an expat takes real work. It’s not like back home, where you naturally run into the same people at the gym, work, or your regular coffee shop. Building trust might take months in some cultures and just weeks in others, so you’re constantly adjusting to different timelines.
Then there are the social rules nobody explains upfront. Say yes to one dinner invitation, and suddenly you’re expected to show up every week. Skip it once, and people assume you’re not interested in staying connected. I’ve watched this play out with countless expats, friendships that never got off the ground because they misread these signals.
Conversation topics have invisible boundaries, too. Politics, money, and religion carry different weights depending on where you live. What’s casual small talk in one country can be deeply personal or even offensive in another.
So yes, meeting people is easy enough. Building real relationships? That takes time, patience, and a lot of effort to figure out the local rules of expat life.
Food Habits Change Before You Even Realise It
Food habits change faster than almost anything else when you adjust to a new culture. Six months in, you’ll catch yourself eating dinner at 9 pm and wonder how that became normal. It often comes down to:
- Meal Timing Follows Local Schedules: Dinner at 10 pm becomes your new normal in Spain. In parts of Latin America, lunch is the main meal, and dinner is just something light.
- Portion Sizes Reset Your Hunger Cues: European servings feel small at first, especially coming from Australia, where restaurant meals are huge. You’ll order thinking one dish won’t be enough, then realise you’ve overestimated.
- Eating Out Gets Cheaper or More Expensive: In some cities, grabbing a meal out costs less than cooking at home. In Sydney or London? Restaurant prices make it a once-a-month treat.
- Local Shopping Habits Take Over: Daily fresh market runs replace those weekly supermarket hauls. You’ll explore local amenities and figure out which vendors have the best produce.
- Taste Buds Adjust to New Flavours: Foods you once avoided suddenly hit the spot. That fermented dish you couldn’t stand? Give it a few months of life abroad, and it becomes comfort food.
By the time you notice these changes, you’re already living a completely different new lifestyle around food.
New Culture Means New Work Expectations
Did you know France has a “right to disconnect” law that gives employees the legal right not to respond to work emails and messages outside normal working hours? I didn’t either. Work culture varies widely between countries, and your idea of “professional behaviour” might not match local norms.
For example, arriving 15 minutes early in Germany can be normal, while showing up 30 minutes late in Brazil is perfectly acceptable.
Email etiquette also differs. What feels like a prompt reply to you can be considered pushy in some European offices. Work-life boundaries vary just as much. Lunch breaks in Sydney give you 30 minutes to grab something quick, but in Spain, they stretch to two hours. In Japan, they basically disappear because everyone eats at their desk.
The adjustment period for expat life includes learning when it’s acceptable to clock out and when staying late is expected, even when there’s nothing left to do.
Your Financial Situation Changes
Managing money in a new country forces you to rethink everything. What felt automatic back home suddenly needs planning and attention. It’s one of those challenges that never quite goes away. Here’s what catches most people off guard.
Currency Confusion Becomes Your New Normal
Mental math slows every purchase as you constantly convert prices back to your home currency (I still catch myself doing this after all these years).
Even after you stop converting, it takes months to recognise the local coins instinctively. You might stand at the checkout squinting, trying to figure out whether that coin is 50 cents or 5 dollars.
Prices feel warped, too. A coffee might feel like a steal or a ripoff depending on the exchange rate, not what it actually costs locally.
Banking Feels Like Learning a New Language
Currency confusion is one thing, but local banking is a whole different challenge. Want to open an account? Get ready for forms asking for documents you didn’t even know existed. Transferring money comes with transaction fees that eat into every payment, and those ATM withdrawals? They come with charges you don’t notice until they’ve already hit your account.
The Adjustment Period Nobody Warns You About
You’ve figured out the grocery store and mastered the morning commute, but the real challenge is what happens inside your head. The first thing that hits is culture shock. Initial excitement fades into frustration before acceptance finally settles in, and you don’t realise you’re struggling until exhaustion becomes your default state.
The early days are the hardest. Your comfort zone shrinks, and simple tasks suddenly drain you. Making a phone call feels like a major accomplishment. Ordering coffee requires mental preparation. Everything’s unfamiliar, so your brain works overtime just to get through basic daily routines.
Then homesickness shows up at the strangest moments. A song on the radio reminds you of home, someone’s laugh sounds exactly like your best friend’s, or afternoon light hits a building the same way it did back home.
These triggers catch you completely off guard. That’s normal, and it doesn’t mean you’re failing at this whole “new country” thing.
Ready to Embrace the Change?
These daily habit changes are what expat life actually looks like. Not dramatic cultural revelations, just small adjustments that add up over time. Your new home will feel less foreign once you stop fighting these changes and start rolling with them.
The best advice? Keep an open mind and give yourself time to settle. This adventure isn’t about getting everything right immediately. It’s about adapting one small habit at a time until another country starts to feel normal.
Your next steps are simple. Pay attention to the changes happening around you, be patient with yourself during the adjustment, and remember that everyone living abroad goes through this same process. For more practical expat tips, visit Run Away Squirrels.