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The pros and cons of working abroad

Anna Allgaier
Anna Allgaier
18.07.23 (updated more than 1 year ago)
Read time 3 minutes

I don’t actually like the word cons in this instance. But I put it in the title so you’d click on this article - got ya.

Moving somewhere new is an exciting, fulfilling experience so let’s look at cons as learning curves, opportunities to grow, character builders. You always have to take the good with the bad, the ups with the down.

It's like a scone with raisins in it. Not ideal, but you just have to pick them out and eat it, silly. So let's get stuck into the pros and cons of working abroad. The financial, the cultural, the administrative and the linguistic.

Pro: you can use Wise

Pro

OMG you’re moving, how exciting.

Con

OMG moving costs way more money than expected. We can help you save for that with a lovely little feature called Wise Jars. Phew. You can set up as many Wise Jars as your heart desires in your account for all your saving needs. Once you’ve named your Wise Jar, you can revert back to a deep, profound and insightful piece I wrote - “What your Wise Jar says about you.” More to be revealed.

Pro

You’ll be a new citizen, a person of the world. Huzzah!

Con

There’s a lot of paperwork to fill out, bureaucratic hurdles to jump, direct debits to cancel, and it can be tricky to settle in a lot of countries without a local bank account. We can help with that too. How you ask? I’ll tell you how. When you get set up with a Wise card you can get account details in over 8 currencies including EUR, USD and GBP so you can get paid and spend like a local and get started on all your direct debit fun.

(Pssst for informatoin on regional pricing and fees you can give our Terms of Use a moment of your time.)

Pro

You’ll have the opportunity to learn a new language and truly connect with and become ingrained in a new culture.

Con

You’ll feel like a High School student again and have to repeat “hello my name is” 100 times. And if you don’t speak the local lingo yet, chances are you’re working in an English speaking company. In which case, there will still be a new language to learn…office language. I’ve worked in Germany, and I’ve worked in the UK, and let me tell you, things are done very differently.

For instance:

In Germany we love to be direct.
In England we love to use code to express how we feel. It’s an enigma. An apparently polite enigma.

Pro

You’re going to open yourself up to new job opportunities.

Con

If you don’t speak another language, you’ll have a smaller pool of jobs to choose from. But fear not, here are some of the easiest languages to learn…vs the hardest if you’re feeling wild.

Pro

You’ll be getting paid to experience a new culture. How wonderful.

Con

Every culture has different do’s and don’ts. In France it’s rude to address someone you don’t know without using formal language, so watch out with clients. In Japan, you don't eat food on your daily commute to the office. In Lebanon don’t pass the salt at lunch. In Germany, if it’s your birthday you’re bringing that cake into the office. In England you must always begin every conversation on a Monday with “Get up to anything nice this weekend?.”

Pro

There’ll be new holidays and traditions to get excited about. And if you’re lucky, you may be relocating to a country with more bank holidays.

Con

This may lead to gift giving back home and in your new home town (again we can help with that. Save with Wise Jars).

Pro

Moving abroad to work makes meeting new people a lot easier. Prepare for your social life to become a whole lot richer. And speaking of richer, your spanking new Wise card gives you access to over 40 currencies and can be used in over 160 countries at more affordable rates.

Con

It will feel just like your first day at school. Minus the 3 o'clock home time.

Pro

Moving abroad is a big, bold and sometimes scary thing to do. And you’re going to feel independent, proud and kick your confidence up a few notches.

Con

You just have to push past the less fun side of things. But it’s worth it in the end. Promise .

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