This is for people who:

• decided to move out from their home country to Australia, or any other country OR
• have relatives who were born elsewhere OR
• have friends who were born overseas OR
• work/study with people who were born in another country

Anybody Who Wishes to Better Understand what happens when people move out from their home country read on …

Vera’s Tips to Happy Life in a New Country

My name is Vera and I immigrated to Australia from the Czech Republic in 1992. I’d never been to Australia before and I didn’t speak English when I arrived. I had no idea what life in Australia was about. I started from scratch and little by little learned the language, learned about the Australian culture and what things around me meant. It took a long time and it was a slow and sometimes painful process. Later I learned that it’s called culture shock, or cultural shock, and it’s common and normal reaction to anything new and different.

Culture shock hits everybody – more or less. An average time to truly settle in a new country is 4 years regardless of your background. I have met people who settled much faster, as well as some who have not settled even after 15 or 20 years living in a new country. I’ve always asked myself – why is that? I’ve been through the process myself and I’ve observed others. I have talked to many people and asked many questions.

• What makes some people settle down in a new country and live happy lives, while others can’t settle, battle with many challenges and after many years trying to live in a new country they don’t feel “home” anywhere?

• How come that some people cruise through Cultural Shock easily and quickly and others struggle for years?

Culture shock is a well known and described phenomenon and you can easily find information about it. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be much info about how to overcome it.

After almost 20 years of my experiences and observations, and combined experiences of many other migrants, I have decided it’s my time to “pay it forward”. I have been very fortunate in my life journey in Australia. Many people have helped me on the way. There are many people in the same situation, going through similar challenges, emotional issues and with similar questions on their minds.

I have created the

“Vera’s Tips to Happy Life in a New Country Series”

I hope that it will help others to make their lives in a new country happier. All the tips have worked for me and for many others. I wish that they work for you as well. I’ll be bringing the Tips to you one by one in my blog on this site. Please let me know what you think – what works for you and what doesn’t, if you have any questions or just leave me a comment. I’ll be happy to read them all.

To Your Happy Life Journey!

Vera