The Top Four Reasons Moving to the USA Can Make You See Things Differently

By: Claire Bolden McGill

This Top Four is based on the things that I think have encouraged me to change for the better as a person through my experience of living in the USA. This is because my expat opportunity in the States has helped me to see things differently. It’s about the things that have encouraged me to take a different perspective, and which have given me a renewed verve for life – all of which I owe to my fortunate position of being a British expat in the USA.

1. Accepting differences.

You know, we are all different. It’s a fact. When you move to another country you realise just how different we are culturally, linguistically, emotionally, politically and behaviourally. And when you are an expat in America (and you are a Brit) you understand that our cultures have similarities, and yet it’s the differences which stand out.

The way to succeed as an expat in the USA is to accept that this is just the way it’s done here – one way isn’t right and one way isn’t wrong. They are just different. And accepting differences, while challenging at times, encourages you to be less judgmental and more tolerant, to be more open-minded about all sorts of things, allowing you to take opportunities, and to find greater pleasure in all that you do, as well as to experiment with things outside your comfort zone.

Accept and celebrate the differences because they can be so rewarding. That’s what I’ve learnt as a Brit in the USA.

2. Appreciating your own country.

Britain is really very good at some stuff and very beautiful and full of character in its own unique way.  I suppose I never really appreciated this before. From my place on the other side of the ocean I have developed an appreciation of this far more than when I was actually in my own country because I’ve seen it with fresh and more beholden eyes.

It's almost like rediscovering your culture and identity from a different standpoint.

And it’s a much nicer way to view a place, flaws and all.

3 Appreciating your host country.

America is also really very good at some stuff and very beautiful and full of character in its own unique way. When I moved here I came to a country that I had really only known through movies and TV shows and I was anxious to de-construct the stereotypes and myths we Brits have of the USA, as well as to sometimes seek truth in some of the preconceptions.

I took it all in with new, wide eyes and an open mind, and from this I really began to appreciate and enjoy my host country, and ultimately started to learn and develop from it as a person.

By blogging about being an expat I’ve also encouraged Americans who read it to rediscover, or see with new eyes, aspects of their own county and culture and with this comes the ability to question and to keep experiencing and appreciating their own culture.

Again as an outsider looking in, being an expat in the USA with an open, non-judgmental focus is a much nicer way to view a place, flaws and all.

4 Being part of something.

You can be part of something new in your expat experience, or you can decide not to be.  You can embrace it or you can resist it. I decided not to fight against America, which as British expat you can sometimes do with a sense of ‘what they do here is wrong, and we do it better’. Instead I let America take me on a journey and through this I have become part of something. For me that is pretty special.

America allowed, and encouraged, me to do this and you just know you’ve developed a relationship with a place when sometimes you find yourself in sync with its culture, its thinking and its philosophy without losing your own culture and identity. And yet, at the same time, if you have a relationship with your host country, you can also freely challenge these things without ostracizing yourself, or just coming across as an expat who thinks that they might know better.

America and Americans have shown me that to be truly part of something you just have to take a leap of faith, and it’s by far the most rewarding leap I’ve ever taken.  Ever. I’ve made new and exciting  friendships; taken new and totally outside-of-the-box opportunities; and completely appreciated all the new and invigorating experiences they’ve offered me. For that I am so, so grateful.

Ultimately, all these experiences and opportunities are what makes an expat experience a great one. I have developed a close relationship with America, and, whilst still being a complete and utter Brit at heart, this has, at the end of the day, allowed me to change my perspective on how to view people, differences and the way we live our lives. My USA expat journey has helped me to see things differently, and, in the long run, for the better.

Thanks America, it's a privilege.