What I learned from living abroad
At the end of 2017, I was sitting at my desk in an office looking out a rainy window overseeing London, when I realised that I needed to switch up my life from the monotonous routines I had grown so used to experiencing day in day out. My first idea was to jump back into flexible contracting, at which point I was offered a three-month contract with AKQA in Sweden — I had never previously worked abroad for such a duration of time.
I didn’t know anything about the country but jumped at the opportunity of catching a plane in a matter of weeks with no idea where I was going or what I was going to do. Taking up that contract ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life so far.
Those few weeks passed, and I had packed a suitcase, told my dog I’d be back in three months, then made my way to the airport with a one-way ticket to Sweden. Upon arriving I quickly realised I really should have learned a few keywords, figured out the train systems and also done some research into where I was going to be staying; but oh well too late, I was in Gothenburg and had work the next day on a street, I couldn’t even try to pronounce. I had to figure things out as I’ve never done before.
That three-month contract turned into two incredible, life-changing years in Sweden. I was super fortunate to live in both Gothenburg and Stockholm for the time I was there, I learned a lot about Scandinavia and started even seeing myself as a Scandi man lol. Waking up every day in such a culturally different world enabled me to grow as both a human and as a designer and, in turn, shaped me into who I am today.
Having moved back to London in 2020, I had some time to reflect on my time away and note down areas in which I benefitted from living in Scandinavia,
As a Human
It made me more curious
When we’re so used to the same surroundings, the same routines and the same life, it’s easy not to try things differently. Still, when you’re forced to do different things in a new world, it becomes second nature to try out new things, for example, learning a new language and exploring new places. Coming back to the UK, I had a fresh appetite for giving new things a try, no matter how different and crazy there were.
It broadened my views
Before Sweden, I have to admit I was surrounded by the same people most of my life that I grew up with, which had an indirect and direct influence on my ideologies, I didn’t realise this till I was in another country, surrounded by a completely new circle who had different views to what I used to hearing back home. This experience was super refreshing and allowed me to rethink my opinions and create new philosophies of my own.
It made me appreciate the small things
It’s easy to take all the little things in life for granted like family time, walking the dog and having a personal washing machine (if you lived in Sweden you know exactly what im on about lol) — these are all things I didn’t take acknowledgment of before living away from it all. It was when I was away and didn’t have any of that did I honestly value it all. Being back now, this adds so much value to my day to day life and upholds the quality of my life by being happy with the small things.
I become happier by myself
Living on my own in a different world, I had to get used to being by myself some days, which I hated during the first few months due to always being around people in London. Still, over time I began to enjoy it by surprise (to a point where people would invite for a motive, and I would say no sometimes). It gave me time to love myself and focus on my development without having to share my focus (obviously kept a right balance).
As a Designer
It improved my work/life balance
Cultures affect workplaces, this is no more apparent than when you’re working abroad. There are good habits to all work cultures around the world, London work life taught me the grind, the shuffle, and the hustle; In Scandinavia, I learned work it not our entire life, instead just a part of life that doesn’t take priority over more important things, for example, people would leave on time from the office and pick up work the next day in order for them not to sacrifice their evenings with family and friends (compared to London where most of us would just stay late).
Having sociable lunches during the day with colleagues (and FIKA =D) was an essential part of people’s day, which I made sure I try to carry on being back in London — no more shitty sandwiches at the desk!
It allowed me to gain an appreciation for different design styles.
Let me start this point by saying — I LOVE SCANDI DESIGN! I never knew I had such a spot for minimal functional design, only once-living around it on daily, did I appreciate the beauty of it. That recognition and appreciation then naturally flowed through my work, taking hints from Scandinavia interior design and translating that into digital art.
It improved my communication skills
A couple of weeks into my move, I was sitting in a meeting room with a bunch of Swedish colleagues when I realised I had to change up dialogue to get my points across, as my West London, super-fast speech wasn’t going to work in Sweden lol. Working abroad gave me the new skill set of being able to adapt my dialogue to the audience I was presenting to. It also allowed me to brush up on my first language (English), which I partly didn’t pronounce correctly either — it’s super embarrassing having a non-British correct your English!
My main takeaways
It can be super scary to flip your life upside down and put yourself in a foreign land, but the rewards will serve you a lifetime.
- Be spontaneous and do it
- Get out your comfort zones and experiment with absolutely everything
- Learn from everything and everyone around you
- Take every day as a day for personal growth
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
T.S. Eliot
