Sure, your family is moving to the other side of the world, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing! When your family moves abroad, there are actually some major perks that come along for the ride. Here are my top few favorites.

 

 

An excuse to travel

Trust me when I say it’s most likely you’ll never get another chance like this again. So when your parents offer to host you for a month with the promise of including many cool side trips, go for it!! Join them on their adventures every chance you get. Not only will it form great memories and all that, but you’ll get to see some pretty incredible places. Plus, it takes a lot of stress off when you travel with your family. Especially if travel has suddenly become a big part of your family’s life. It’s like you have your own travel guide to help you navigate foreign airports, handle currency exchange, and legitimately plan out the whole trip for you.

 

 

Exciting/dramatic life updates

These days, I have come to expect and unbelievable/incredibly entertaining story every time I chat with my parents. They never disappoint. Moving abroad automatically makes people interesting. It’s a proven fact. Whether it’s a story about my younger brother going on a week-long “faith trek” through the mountains or my mom taking a Barbie Tour Bus through Shanghai, it’s always waaaay more interesting than anything I have going on. Honestly, having your family move abroad is like that totally over-the-top reality show you can’t help but love to catch up on.

 

 

Learning about a new culture without having to go anywhere

When your family moves abroad, you get to have someone else go through all the awkwardness of learning a new culture. That way, you get to become cultured in the comfort of your own home! In the end, your family has all that figuring out to do and you just get to reap the rewards!

 

 

The perfect dinner party conversation

If you ever find yourself in an awkward silence with no topics of conversation in view, you can always use old reliable: Hey guess what, my family lives in China. You can be a little more subtle than that and if you’re really skilled, you can even work it naturally into the conversation. People I’ve talked to are either being really nice, or they actually do find the topic pretty interesting. I’ve turned many strangers into acquaintances with this icebreaker.

So don’t let your family moving abroad bring you down. I swear even if it seems tough at first, there are so many perks to look forward to.