Expats & immigrants
Moving to a new country is exciting. It is also, often, profoundly lonely. You arrive without history — without the shared context that makes friendships feel real and fast. You are starting from zero in a place where everyone else already has their people.
The loneliness of living abroad takes different forms depending on why you left, where you went, and who you are. This guide covers the main ones.
Expat loneliness
Expats leave voluntarily, which makes the loneliness harder to complain about. You chose this. But choosing it doesn't make the isolation less real. Building a social life from scratch in a foreign city, without the shared history that makes friendships feel real, is genuinely hard.
Immigrant loneliness
Immigrant loneliness carries layers that expat loneliness often doesn't: economic pressure, political uncertainty, distance from family, language barriers, and a host country that may not make you feel welcome. The isolation is structural as much as social.
Third culture
People who grew up across cultures — children of diplomats, missionaries, military families, and international workers — often carry a loneliness that has no name. They don't fully belong in any single country. The third culture is real, but it has no flag and no community.
Loneliness by country
The experience of being abroad varies significantly depending on where you land. Here's what it's like in specific countries.