Moving to Europe: what nobody tells you about the first year
The visa is the easy part. The real adjustment is the small daily stuff no guidebook mentions.
By Ada Renner · 2026-04-21
People obsess over the paperwork and underestimate everything after it. The first year abroad is won and lost in small, unglamorous details.
The things that surprise you
- Bureaucracy is a sport — patience and photocopies win.
- Shops close — Sundays and lunch breaks are real.
- Friendship is slower — and deeper once it forms.
The honest bitMonth three is the hard one, when novelty fades and home feels far. Push through it — month six is when a new place starts to feel like yours.