How to Spend Summer as an Expat who just Moved Abroad

Moving abroad is exciting. It's a fresh start, a new adventure, and often the beginning of a chapter you've been looking forward to for months. But if you've recently arrived in a new country, summer can bring a unique set of challenges as well. Because while everyone around you seems to be enjoying festivals, vacations, terraces, and sunny weekends, you may still be finishing your home, building your social life, or creating new routines. Let us tell you: summer can actually be one of the best seasons to settle into your new life abroad.

Use the season to explore your surroundings

When you first move somewhere new, it's easy to focus on practical matters. Between unpacking, work responsibilities, administrative tasks, and calling back home, there isn't always much time left to simply explore. Summer offers a natural opportunity to change that.

Longer days and warmer weather make it easier to spend time outside and discover your new environment. Challenge yourself to explore one new area each week. Visit a not so nearby park, walk through a different neighbourhood, or sit down at a local café you've never noticed before or felt drawn to. Allow yourself to wander and see what it brings you.

Over time, you'll start recognising faces, favourite spots, and routes. Before you know it, your new city begins to feel less like a destination and more like home.

Walk with Curiosity and without Stimulation

Many of us automatically reach for a podcast, music, or a phone call when we go outside. While there's nothing wrong with that, spending some time outdoors without distractions can help you connect more deeply with your surroundings. Physically and socially.

One way to do this is through mindful walking. Try the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise: identify five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can feel, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This simple technique helps bring your attention into the present moment.

Another fun exercise is a colour walk. Pick a colour before you leave the house and see how many examples of it you can find around you. You might be surprised by how much you notice when you're actively looking. 

You could also challenge yourself to say "hi" to three strangers who are sitting alone on a bench and ask questions, like: “How is your morning going?”, or “Do you mind if I sit next to you for a few minutes?”, maybe followed by “What have you been thinking about sitting here?”. You never know what a question can lead to.

Don't put pressure on yourself to have the perfect summer

Social media has a way of making summer look busy and exciting all the time. Weekends filled with activities, spontaneous trips, packed social calendars and endless sunshine. As a newcomer abroad, this can create additional pressure. You may feel like you should be making friends immediately, exploring every corner of your new country, or go to festivals which you maybe don’t even like.

You don’t have to. Moving abroad is already a major life transition. Building a new life takes time, and adjusting to a new environment requires energy. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your wellbeing is say no to plans, spend an evening at home, or focus on your professional and personal goals. 

Let summer help you settle in

Summer is often seen as a season for adventure, but it can also be a season for grounding yourself. Use the longer days to explore, create new routines, and become familiar with your surroundings. Give yourself permission to be curious, but also permission to rest. You don't have to know everything, see everything, or do everything in your first few months. Building a life abroad can start with something as simple as a walk around the block on a

warm summer evening.