Anyone living as an expat or similar in a foreign country?

TeaTree,

Being an expat is hard, being an expat going through the coming out process makes it even more difficult, and doing so in a country where you local language is not spoken compounds that even further.

If you try and look at the bright side, being in a foreign country as an expat sets you apart from the locals. While there certainly are language barriers, I would imagine you might get quite a lot of interest from locals looking for someone with more character than their own.

Being in a foreign country does require more effort on your part to assimilate, whether with the LGBT community or the broader community. I would imagine you have found other expats at this point to build friendships with, as expats typically do hang out together. Taking it to the next level then, finding LGBT expats would be a good objective. Your probably not alone in the country you are in, so if you start with that knowledge, you might find others by being proactive.

Given the country you are from, and where you are, would it also be correct to assume that there are others specifically from your country whom might have left to lead a more open life? That might not be clear initially, but if you do get entrenched in local LGBT organizations, you might be pleasantly surprised.

If you go with the statics and the odds, chances are, your not alone. But it is up to you to proactively search out others that you can relate to.

 

Yay~ expats! I'm an expat (Us -> Korea) and started the coming out process here, as well~ It's pretty hard because my new country is quite homophobic and my family back in the States are, too... I think that the first thing to do would be to look up some lgbt friendly places in your new country~ I think there you would be able to find more people who would be able to help you, and you would be more likely to find English-speakers there as well (at least, in my experience)~ having friends and a support group in a foreign country can be super hard, especially since most expats aren't in it for the long haul... I bet you've seen your fair share of friends come and go since you've been there, right? Just try to hold your friends close and find new ways of meeting people~ I'm not sure which country you're in, but they might have facebook pages for expats and I'm sure there are some "foreigner friendly" areas of the bigger cities~

I am also quite lonely here, as most people only stay for a year and then go back to their home country... but if you put yourself out there, you'll be sure to find some new friends~ I talk to my online and facebook friends a lot to keep me from being a total hermit, and am even friends with some people I'm very different from here irl just to make sure I stay connected to something other than a computer screen, haha~ But even finding one friend who you can talk with will make everything a lot easier, even if they're just an ally and can't fully empathize with you~

I hope it works out and congratulations on finding yourself~~ *hugs* You can do it!!