Is living abroad a mind-changing experience?

no of course not... merely giving an opinion..not the answer!

I am leaving in INDIA & been to Saudi Arabia after coming back from Saudi Arabia feel different & Not set witH INDIA WORKING STYLE. I am searching other overseas assignment.

For those who move abroad with an open mind you will find the experience will change your way of thinking.

sandyrose53 wrote:

I don't think people who are non expats should use this site..just my view..personally i would never join a site that was not meant for me...but takes all sorts..i guess! that is what makes the world an interesting place to be...

Actually the site is an exceptional tool for non-expats in that it allows them to "do their homework", planning for life abroad. It also gives them the opportunity to draw on various sources of information that will be of invaluable assistance to their adaptation in their host countries.

I personally think that not having non-expats among the membership would be a great loss to us all.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward Brazil Animator, Expat-blog Team

Living abroad doesn't necessarily mean ''mind-changing''  YOU choose to assume a particular personality or character bad or good. About non-expats, if you pay attention the most prevalent & active members are expats, non-expats disappear after realizing that maybe this site isn't for them after all.

How interesting the direction this discusion has taken....

It started with a question about does living abroad change your perception of your home country. What I see now is quite typical on other similar sites. "Them and Us" thinking.

Having left their home countries they still feel the need to "belong" to a group of people - in this case "expats".  Back in their home country group belonging was automatic - it came with the passport.

So has the experience of leaving one's home country had much impact?  Probably in some ways but its interesting to read how other nationalities are pointed out as having influence or the use of "non-standard" English phrases get under the skin of other contributors.

Are expats actually that friendly among themselves or do some cling to being as close to their fellow countrymen or countrywomen?  If so, sometimes their exposure to living overseas is not as complete as it might be.  Leaving one's comfort zone is easier said than done. 

I first left my home country as a child but returned after a couple of years.  In that way the outside world was as familiar to me as my home country. I then chose to leave and work abroad and so have not lived in my home country for a majority of years. At one point I worked in a department that have 23 different nationalities among the staff of about 65.  That exposure taught me about loyalty, bigotry, racism, protectionism and the concept that some races or peoples consider themselves as natural leaders.  I also found that my own countrymen/women were the least easy to work with as they were competitive and individualistic - this was not the case with other peoples who naturally cooperated and tried to help and support each other.

Leaving your home country can change your attitude or it can make you feel more strongly attached to your roots.  It depends on the person and their experiences whilst living overseas.

The most common thing I hear when people know I live abroad is "Oh I would have done that - but couldn't BECAUSE"  Then comes an excuse which mainly is not really a hindrance. 

I worked with refugees at one point and it was noteworthy that people who decided to leave their country did so mainly when they were not only getting away from difficulties and constraints or dangers from events around them. They could have stayed.  Mainly the ones that left were also getting away from other problems, sometimes family problems.  They wanted to make a break and start a new life and identity - they had already experienced a different "take" on their country of origin and often leaving was a way of rejecting some part of the expectations that were put upon them by their society.