The currency of the care package
It’s easy to persuade yourself that, if you moved abroad, there’s little or nothing you’d particularly miss.
Family and friends are perhaps an unspoken exception but then, hopefully, they’ll visit; there’s always Facetime or you can hop on a plane and be back in a few hours – a day at the most.
But ask a wannabe expat what else they’re going to find hard to leave behind and many will assure you it’s more a case of good riddance
The care package
That may well be how they feel immediately prior to their departure and even a few months into their new life in that apartment in Lisbon or Mediterranean villa in Turkey.
But, almost without fail, it’s a given that they will have received their first “care package” by the end of their first year and, although the contents may well be common or easy to find at home, they’ll be treated with reverence abroad.
Mature Cheddar cheese, Cadbury’s chocolate, bottled craft ale, Heinz salad cream, Kellogg’s Cornflakes and pork pies – just some of the items which will get even seasoned expats drooling.
Indeed, some of this stuff can even become a currency, exchanged for goods and favours among a community far from home overseas.
But, sometimes, the instinct is to resist; some choose to remain adamant the local fare is more than adequate thank you very much. After all, why would anyone who has gone through the upheaval of relocating themselves thousands of miles to a property in Portugal want to spoil it all by day-dreaming about a Cornish pasty?
Resistance is useless
But, after a while, even the tough nuts realise resistance is useless. There will come a time when they’re asking visiting family and friends if they wouldn’t mind squeezing a jar of Marmite into their suitcase – and so it begins.
And it really doesn’t matter; admitting you miss some of the things you used to enjoy “back home” is by no means a weakness. It’s more a recognition that you have moved on; that your life is now different to what it was.
Moving abroad is an adventure. It can be exciting one minute, scary the next; unsettling as well as hugely rewarding. So, if the opportunity arises to stock up on the little luxuries you miss – touchstones to reconnect you with “home” – where’s the harm?
If you’re now living in Turkey it’s not a betrayal to crave a Wall’s Viennetta or a decent bit of Stilton on a Jacob’s cracker. Choosing that beach house on Portugal’s Silver Coast does not mean you’re not allowed to eye up a decent pint of Theakston’s or crave Yorkshire Tea.
Indeed, our advice would be to make a list and make sure your first visitors commit to bringing plenty from it in return for your hospitality and inevitable role as holiday tour guide and taxi driver. We promise you won’t regret it.
In the meantime, if you would like any more help or advice on a new life, feel free to drop us a line or give us a call. Don’t forget we’re also here to help you find the home of your dreams in Turkey, Portugal, Spain or Greece and with the logistics and paperwork involved in relocating.
In the meantime, you may be able to find what you’re looking for on other pages of our website where you can read advice on how to obtain a Golden Visa in Portugal, a Golden Visa in Spain, how to qualify for citizenshipin Turkey or to obtain a Golden Visa in Greece. Also, if you enjoyed this post and think others might find it useful, please feel free to pass it on.
