Moving On - Tips To Help With Your Transition Home

“All good things must come to an end.” It might be a tired cliché, but at some stage most expats in Singapore will have to face reality and return home. Some leave willingly, others are half-hearted; and then there are those who have deep reservations about their move. Wherever you sit on this spectrum, and whether you’ve lived here for 18 months or eight years, there’s little doubt you will feel some culture shock in your native country. We asked intercultural trainer, coach and German expat JALEH ALICIA NAYYERI for some advice on what to expect, how to prepare and how to handle it when you hit home soil.

- Katie Roberts

What is reverse culture shock?

We often expect to fit in immediately when we return to our home country, because it’s our “home”. What we don’t expect or anticipate is a clash, or feelings of alienation. For many, reverse culture shock is a surprise – and it’s something that is often overlooked. In the same way that the outbound trip caused culture shock, reverse culture shock also has its stages: excitement, crisis and a gradual adjustment towards feeling comfortable again with where, and who, we are.

People sometimes romanticise the notion of their “home”, especially at the beginning of a stay abroad. There is a possible pitfall with this. After successfully adapting to the new culture, when it’s time to go back, we think that “home” is a place that we know inside out. We don’t take time to consider that we, as well as our country of origin, have changed in the meantime. We may be tempted to rush the repatriation process or not dedicate as much attention to our return home, as we would to another expat posting. Yet, often repatriation is more difficult than expatriation.

What are some coping strategies when things don’t seem so rosy or enjoyable?