5 Often-Overlooked Challenges of Living Abroad
Living abroad offers opportunities to experience new cultures, encounter different perspectives, and broaden your horizons. However, as the years go by, expats may find themselves facing challenges they never anticipated when they first moved overseas.
These challenges extend far beyond language barriers and cultural differences. From returning to one's home country and navigating career recognition to making healthcare decisions, planning for retirement, and managing inheritance across borders, life abroad can bring unexpected complexities.
Here are five often-overlooked challenges that expats should be aware of.
1. Could Returning Home Be Harder Than Moving Abroad?
The longer you live abroad, the more complicated returning to your home country can become.
After years away, familiar customs may suddenly feel unfamiliar, and differences in values or perspectives among friends can be surprisingly difficult to navigate.
This experience is known as reverse culture shock.
A 2026 study on return migration also highlights how changes in one's sense of belonging and social roles can influence the process of readjusting to life back home.
What You Should Know: Returning home is not simply about resuming your former life. It often means adapting to a different environment all over again. Preparing for this transition involves more than arranging housing and employment; it also means considering how the move will affect the daily lives of everyone in the family.
2. Could Your Career Achievements Abroad Go Unrecognised in Another Country?
Years of professional experience and qualifications gained abroad may not always receive the same recognition in another country.
This is particularly true in regulated professions such as healthcare, education, and law, where qualification recognition procedures and employment requirements vary from country to country.
The OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2025 also highlights the widespread issue of overqualification, where highly educated immigrants find themselves working in jobs that do not fully reflect their educational qualifications.
What You Should Know: Before relocating to another country, it is important to research how your professional qualifications will be recognised, whether additional training or certification is required, and what employers in your destination country expect.
3. Does Living Abroad Make It Harder to Decide Where to Receive Medical Care?
Even after living abroad for many years, some expats may still prefer to seek medical care in their home country when they fall ill. This can become a particularly difficult decision when specialised treatment, surgery, or long-term care is required, raising the question of which country would be the best place to receive treatment.
While being able to communicate with doctors in your native language can provide reassurance, health insurance in your country of residence may not necessarily cover medical expenses in your home country. Other factors, such as transferring medical records and arranging follow-up care after returning abroad, also need to be considered.
What You Should Know: It is important to check in advance whether your health insurance covers planned medical treatments and emergency care in your home country, and to understand any conditions, restrictions, or limitations that may apply.
4. Which Country Will Pay Your Pension When You Retire Abroad?
If you have worked in more than one country, what happens to your pension when you retire?
Under the EU’s social security coordination rules, people who have worked in multiple countries may be entitled to receive pensions from each country where they have built up pension rights.
However, retirement ages and pension amounts vary between countries, meaning that payments from different national pension systems may not begin at the same time. Switzerland also participates in the social security coordination framework with the EU.
What You Should Know: Keep a clear record of the countries where you have worked, the pension schemes you have contributed to, and your social security contribution history. According to official EU guidance, those expecting to receive pensions from multiple countries should begin gathering information at least six months before their planned retirement.
5. Which Country’s Inheritance Laws Apply If You Die While Living Abroad?
You may own a home in the country where you live while holding savings or property in your home country. Alternatively, your family members may be living across several different countries.
In such circumstances, inheritance procedures can become considerably more complicated.
Under the EU’s cross-border inheritance rules, the law of the country where the deceased person last had their habitual residence generally applies. However, under certain conditions, individuals may choose the law of their country of nationality to govern their estate.
It is important to note that Ireland and Denmark do not participate in these EU rules, while non-EU countries such as Switzerland have their own legal frameworks governing international inheritance.
What You Should Know: Inheritance procedures may vary depending on your country of residence, nationality, and the location of your assets. Consulting a legal professional specialising in cross-border inheritance can help you understand which laws may apply and ensure that your will is legally valid and appropriately structured.
Living Abroad, Planning for the Future
Living abroad offers experiences and opportunities that travel alone cannot provide. At the same time, important life decisions involving careers, family, retirement, and personal assets may be shaped by the laws, systems, and circumstances of more than one country.
You do not need to have all the answers at once. However, understanding the challenges that may arise in the future is an important first step towards building a more secure and fulfilling life abroad.
When your life extends across borders, taking a little time to think ahead can make a meaningful difference to your future and the well-being of those who matter most to you.
