30+ Inspiring Quotes About Living Abroad and Moving
Living abroad can be a thrilling and rewarding experience, one that changes people’s lives while enabling them to explore different cultures, learn new languages, and discover different ways of life. Quotes about living abroad capture the essence of this experience, ranging from the excitement of embarking on a grand adventure to the struggles of navigating cultural differences.
This blog post explores the highs and lows of what it means to explore different cultures and experience life in a different country. Quotes can offer insight into our lives, often providing an intimate view of the sentiments of those who have already made the journey before us.
These quotes can be inspiring for people looking to take the leap and live abroad, offering both motivation and cautionary advice on the unique challenges that can come with this kind of lifestyle change.
In this blog post, you will find a selection of quotes that capture all aspects of living abroad–from the joys of embracing a new culture to the sometimes difficult process of adapting to unfamiliar customs.
Dare to Dream: Dream to Go Abroad Quotes
This is a collection of inspiring words from people who have had the courage to pack their bags, follow their dreams and explore the world. These quotes remind us that there are no limits to where you can go if you’re brave enough to leave your comfort zone.
By reading through these quotes, we’re challenged to think outside of our everyday lives and dared to dream big! Whether it’s traveling solo or visiting a new country with friends, plan your next adventure and get inspired!
I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.
Mary Anne Radmacher
Travel is a life-changing experience. It can make us appreciate simpler things and give us perspective on what we had previously taken for granted. Seeing the moon in a different part of the world brings a new sense of awe, reminding me that no matter where I go I am always connected to something more profound than myself.
Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
Dalai Lama
Traveling to new places is one of the most rewarding experiences. It’s a way to connect with the world around us, and appreciate the beauty and culture that exists throughout the globe. When we visit somewhere for the first time, it can often give us a fresh perspective on our own lives. By going someplace new, we gain insight into unfamiliar cultures, traditions, and ways of living.
We also develop a new appreciation for our home after having seen and experienced something different. Every journey will bring something special that will stay with us forever; So why not take this opportunity to challenge yourself?
Travel is never a matter of money but of courage.
Paulo Coelho
When I decided to live abroad and move to Sweden, I had limited funds but an abundance of courage. I faced countless challenges while living abroad, but every single one was worth the experience!
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.
St. Augustine
Living abroad has made me realize how much truth there is in this quote. Each country I’ve visited and lived in has been a unique chapter, teaching me invaluable lessons about life, resilience, and cultural diversity.
Living overseas has reshaped my perspective, proving that each place we explore imparts unique wisdom and resilience, enriching our understanding of the world and ourselves.
We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.
Moving abroad was never about running away from my life back in the Philippines, but rather embracing a fuller, more global life. Living in a foreign land has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life!
The Promise of a New Beginning: Abroad Dream Quotes
This is a collection of quotes that gives insight and wisdom from a variety of cultures, providing readers with a unique perspective on their dreams and ambitions. Whether you’re looking for motivation to pursue your own goals or want to explore the lives of other people, this has something for everyone.
These quotes remind us to never give up hope, because anything is possible if we just believe in ourselves, work hard, and keep our eyes on the prize. What better way to make any endeavor or challenge more manageable than by taking away the fear of the unknown?
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Lao Tzu
I still remember my first step on the plane when I moved to Australia alone. It was nerve-wracking, but it marked the start of my incredible journey abroad. I look back now, and I’m so glad I took that first step!
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.
Matsuo Basho
Moving abroad, I found that ‘home’ became more than just a place—it’s the journey, the experiences, the people I meet, and the growth I experience. After five years in Sweden, I now hold official Swedish citizenship.
A year from now you’ll wish you had started today.
Karen Lamb
This is one of my favorite quotes about moving abroad and can also be applied to anything in life. I was scared of starting a new life abroad alone. I know it’ll take years for me to fully settle in a new country, but this quote reminds me that the beauty of life lies in its unpredictability and the potential for fresh starts.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
Helen Keller
Immersed in a New World: Living Abroad Quotes
The idea of living abroad is exciting and daunting at the same time. It means not only will you explore new cultures and civilizations, but it also means you’ll have to adapt to a completely different way of life.
For many, this can be an intimidating thought. But it doesn’t have to be: taking the plunge into an unknown world could also mean discovering yourself through the process. These quotes about living abroad encapsulate what it’s like for those who make the journey into unfamiliar territory. These quotes highlight the positive as well as negative experiences that come with living in another country, so you can better prepare yourself for the journey ahead.
We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.
Ray Bradbury
Living abroad, I found myself lost in a new culture, a new architecture, a new way of life – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.
Gustave Flaubert
Living abroad opened my eyes to how big the world really is. It was a humbling experience that made me appreciate my place in it.
To travel is to take a journey into yourself.
Danny Kaye
As much as I explored the world while living abroad, I discovered just as much about myself. It was a journey of self-discovery that I’ll always treasure.
The Courage to Leap: Inspirational Quotes for Moving to Another Country
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.
J.P. Morgan
Deciding to leave my comfort zone and move abroad was the hardest part, but it set me on the path to an incredible journey. I’ve had so many new experiences and traveled to all sorts of places. Every day is an adventure, and I’m learning something new about myself and the world around me. Life abroad has given me a new perspective on life, and it’s made me stronger in the process. Despite the occasional homesickness, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything!
Courage is found in unlikely places.
J.R.R. Tolkein
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
Neale Donald Walsch
We generate fears while we sit. We overcome them by action.
Dr. Henry Link
There comes a moment in our lives when we find ourselves dwelling on the “what ifs.”
Often, we let our minds wander to the most negative outcomes, but what if the reality turns out to be far better than we anticipated?
It’s completely natural to feel apprehensive about embarking on a new life overseas. Yet, I assure you, with each passing day, it becomes a more enriching experience!
Embracing the Journey: Motivational Life Abroad Quotes
When you move from one country to another you have to accept that there are some things that are better and some things that are worse, and there is nothing you can do about it.
Bill Bryson
This is one of my top quotes about living abroad. It reminds us that change is inevitable when relocating, and acceptance is key.
I find myself longing for home, where my friends and family are. I grew up in the Philippines, accustomed to its culture, traditions, and cuisine. The familiarity of places and the joy of celebrating Christmas there are things I deeply miss.
However, like any place, the Philippines also has aspects that I don’t particularly cherish.
Such is the bittersweet reality of expatriate life – a blend of nostalgia and acceptance, of missing and appreciating, and above all, of continuous growth and learning.
Loving life is easy when you are abroad. Where no one knows you and you hold your life in your hands all alone, you are more master of yourself than at any other time.
Hannah Arendt
Another favorite from my list of living abroad quotes! It captures my life-changing journey, showing how much I’ve grown. I cherish this chance to explore, discover myself, and seek inner peace.
Being relatively unknown here in Sweden, I find it easier to break away from old habits, as there are no constant reminders of who I used to be.
The beauty of living overseas is that anonymity can foster courage. With no familiar faces to pass judgment on, you may feel more at ease to experiment, learn, and grow. This is one of the many liberating aspects of life as an immigrant in Sweden.
So, here you are. Too foreign for home, too foreign for here. Never enough for both.
Ijeoma Umebinyuo
This quote captures my current state perfectly. Sweden is now my residence, but I haven’t fully settled in. I’m still grappling with the language, not yet fluent enough to engage in spontaneous conversations.
While I live here, I find comfort in the company of Filipino friends, their familiarity brings a sense of home. Several Swedish traditions remain unexplored by me.
Despite working and residing here, I can’t shake off the feeling of being an outsider.
Similarly, when I eventually visit my homeland, it won’t feel entirely like the home I left. Many things could have changed, making me somewhat of a foreigner there too.
This is the paradox of immigrant life – belonging everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Tug at the Heartstrings: Missing Family While Living Abroad Quotes

It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same. Even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
This is one of the quotes about living abroad that resonates with me especially when I visit my home country 4 years since I moved.
It evokes a sense of nostalgia and longing for the simpler times when life was easier and the future was still uncertain. And it’s true; no matter how much time has passed, everything looks the same, feels the same, and even smells the same.
But sometimes it takes going away for a while to realize that what has changed is you – your perspective, your outlook, and your understanding of what makes life worth living.
Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.
Terry Pratchet
Imagine yourself living abroad for five years & every time you come back, you’re different. People around you are different too.
What I like about living overseas is I get to share my stories about my expat life and inspire other people to do the same.
The loneliness of the expatriate is of an odd and complicated kind, for it is inseparable from the feeling of being free, of having escaped.
Adam Gopnik
Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.
Judith Thurman
We’ve all had a dream of someplace else, of a life that could have been. Even if we haven’t been to that place yet, it’s easy to still feel a longing for it – a longing to be home. We can be filled with nostalgia and heartache for the possibility of something unknown, something yet to come.
That’s why this is one of the quotes about living abroad that rings so true for many of us; it speaks to the idea of potential and hope, that you never know what the future holds and where you might find a home.

You get a strange feeling when you’re about to leave a place like you’ll not miss the people you love but you’ll miss the person you are now at this time and this place because you’ll never be this way ever again.
Azar Nafisi
It is a bitter-sweet thing, knowing two cultures. Once you leave your birthplace nothing is ever the same.
Sarah Turnbull
The Lure of Foreign Dreams: Foreign Dream Quotes
When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.
Clifton Fadiman
Making a big life change is pretty scary. But know what’s even scarier? Regret.
Adam Gopnik
The Grand Tapestry of Experiences: General Abroad Quotes
Travel early and travel often. Live abroad, if you can. Understand cultures other than your own. As your understanding of other cultures increases, your understanding of yourself and your own culture will increase exponentially.
Tom Freston
I got lucky I had an opportunity to study abroad in Australia when I was younger. Since then, it has helped me understand different cultures & met a lot of people too.
It doesn’t have to be an international trip first, but traveling to different cities in your own country can help you increase your understanding of other cultures too!

I studied and lived in Australia when I was 16. Even at a young age, I always wanted to move abroad, but back then, I wasn’t quite ready for it. I ended up going back to the Philippines earlier than planned, and I regretted that decision for a couple of years.
It taught me the importance of facing my fears if I wanted to make my dream of living abroad a reality. It took almost 10 years for another opportunity to come my way, and when it did, I grabbed it with both hands because I didn’t want to have the same regrets again.
Embracing the challenges of living abroad is all part of the adventure. Wherever you go, you’ll encounter hurdles, but it’s through overcoming them that you grow and thrive in your new environment.
The best way to travel abroad is to live with the locals.
Zach Braff

You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.
Geoffrey Willians
Part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you page for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.
Miriam Adeney
This is one of the quotes about living abroad that brings about a sense of longing for a place that no longer feels like home. No matter how much we love our new home, part of our heart will always be elsewhere. It’s a bittersweet truth but an important one to acknowledge when it comes to quotes about living abroad.
The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.
Henry David Thoreau
Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.
Jodi Picoult
Final Thoughts on Quotes About Living Abroad
I hope that these quotes about living abroad have struck a chord with you, resonating as deeply as they have with me.
Always remember, it’s absolutely okay to feel like a foreigner, to long for home, or to redefine what home means to you. These are all integral parts of the experience. Whether you’re contemplating a move or already on your exciting journey abroad, I hope that these quotes about living abroad inspire, bring comfort, and remind you that you’re part of a global community sharing this extraordinary adventure.
So, keep exploring, keep growing, and most importantly, keep embracing the incredible adventure that is living abroad.