How living and working abroad is different from a short visit (or even a long backpacking trip)
You are immersing yourself in this new place. While a backpacker might need a laundromat or hospital while visiting, they will miss the other everyday experiences you'll have, like paying the water bill, waiting to have internet installed, renting a PO box, and having a daily routine. When you are on vacation, your schedule varies between sightseeing, tours, relaxing, etc. and no two days are the same As an expat, you'll see the same people at the bus stop every morning, and the coffee shop lady will eventually remember you by your usual order. It's similar to moving to a new place in the US, but with the learning curve of new rules for etiquette, personal space, social niceties, attempting to greet people in the local language, climate, etc.
A visitor sees the highlights in a compact time; you will probably go to most (if not all) restaurants or shopping centers in your new town in the first six months but may never stay in a hotel in your new town for more than a few days. You will have to deal with plumbers that don't show on time, bewildering government forms, and new public holidays you never heard of (as well as having to work on July 4 when all your US friends are posting photos of BBQs and fireworks). You will get to do fun tourist things, but not with the frequency that tourists do. On the other hand, you will become an expert on the bus routes, traffic shortcuts and what's the best day to go to the produce market, which will surprise the other locals you encounter who perceive you as a tourist.
You will become jaded. A tourist isn't there long enough to get fed up with daily aggravations. No matter how beautiful or modern the place you live is, you will at some point want to hole up in your apartment with DVDs instead of taking advantage of the fun stuff the tourists flock to. You will meet backpackers spending 3 weeks in your country who have seen more of it than you have, since you had to work 40 hours, go to the grocery store, get school supplies for your kid, etc. instead of seeing beaches, parks, architectural wonders or historical sites.
You are in a weird limbo; you're more than a tourist, but only a transient resident, and certainly not a citizen. The sooner that you realize that's actually kind of a cool place to be in, the better time you will have in your contract job. Who knows, you might not want to leave.
You are immersing yourself in this new place. While a backpacker might need a laundromat or hospital while visiting, they will miss the other everyday experiences you'll have, like paying the water bill, waiting to have internet installed, renting a PO box, and having a daily routine. When you are on vacation, your schedule varies between sightseeing, tours, relaxing, etc. and no two days are the same As an expat, you'll see the same people at the bus stop every morning, and the coffee shop lady will eventually remember you by your usual order. It's similar to moving to a new place in the US, but with the learning curve of new rules for etiquette, personal space, social niceties, attempting to greet people in the local language, climate, etc.
A visitor sees the highlights in a compact time; you will probably go to most (if not all) restaurants or shopping centers in your new town in the first six months but may never stay in a hotel in your new town for more than a few days. You will have to deal with plumbers that don't show on time, bewildering government forms, and new public holidays you never heard of (as well as having to work on July 4 when all your US friends are posting photos of BBQs and fireworks). You will get to do fun tourist things, but not with the frequency that tourists do. On the other hand, you will become an expert on the bus routes, traffic shortcuts and what's the best day to go to the produce market, which will surprise the other locals you encounter who perceive you as a tourist.
You will become jaded. A tourist isn't there long enough to get fed up with daily aggravations. No matter how beautiful or modern the place you live is, you will at some point want to hole up in your apartment with DVDs instead of taking advantage of the fun stuff the tourists flock to. You will meet backpackers spending 3 weeks in your country who have seen more of it than you have, since you had to work 40 hours, go to the grocery store, get school supplies for your kid, etc. instead of seeing beaches, parks, architectural wonders or historical sites.
You are in a weird limbo; you're more than a tourist, but only a transient resident, and certainly not a citizen. The sooner that you realize that's actually kind of a cool place to be in, the better time you will have in your contract job. Who knows, you might not want to leave.
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