Guest Post by Lovely Light

Hi there, I’m Lovely Light (I like being incognito) and I’m here
to talk about some of the benefits of living in another country. This is my first
guest post, and I’m really excited for Lynette to have me here. 

Let me
introduce myself: I live in Cape Town, South Africa, I’m 30, but I don’t look
it, have a wonderful husband who exasperates me often, and two adorable, well-behaved doggies who’ve
traveled far to be with us. We are living in the “Mother City” for as long as
we can take it, or for how long it will have us. I’ve put together some
thoughts, serious and lighthearted, about the benefits of from living in
another culture.

You don’t know anyone and can
dress and do things without caring!

You can enjoy a new culture and gain
a deeper understanding of life in another place.

You learn about yourself. A lot.

You will learn about your partner.
A lot.

You can get away from a life that you
were getting frustrated with.

And get some perspective.

You can re-invent yourself if you
want.

Where to go?

You could take belly dance
lessons.

Danisa.

You can develop new skills that
will make you crafty.

You could learn another language.

You could develop your
communication skills. Long-distance relationships with family and friends are
crucial.

You will value the friends you
make even more- and be less picky!

You can buy new things to decorate
you house and have cool stories about them.

You may live like a “king” or live
paycheck to paycheck.

You will become a better
photographer because you want to share and remember your experience.

Frequent flyer miles will be your
new best friend.

You will let certain things go-
like attachment to objects, or old habits that don’t make sense in your new
country and prioritize what you value most.

 

You will develop a greater sense
of what a privilege it is to be an American.

How American is this? Me at Disneyland.

The list could go on and on. But it’s not all roses- there
are struggles that you will encounter every day. There are days you’ll want to
use your credit card to buy plane tickets and never look back. But some of the “perks”
listed above are priceless and will change you forever.

I’ll be writing more in the future about how to decide if
you want to move to another country, so check my blog out if you're interested.