Move Abroad phrases and words in English
Packing up your life for a new country comes with its own vocabulary — the itchy feet that get you on the plane, the culture shock when you land, the red tape that tests your patience, and the slow magic of finding your feet and putting down roots. These phrases tell the whole emotional arc of starting over somewhere new.
10 phrases · meanings & example sentences
“Itchy feet”
A restless urge to travel, move, or change your life — as if your feet literally itch to be somewhere else. It perfectly captures the feeling that starts every big move, and it's used for everything from booking a trip to quitting a job to relocate.
- I've got itchy feet again — I think it's time to move countries.
- After two years in the same town, she had serious itchy feet.
- His itchy feet finally won and he booked a one-way ticket.
“Culture shock”
The disorientation of being dropped into a place where the everyday rules — food, manners, schedules, social cues — are all different. It's not weakness; it's a recognized stage of moving abroad, and naming it helps you ride it out.
- The biggest culture shock was that shops close for three hours at lunch.
- I expected the language to be hard, but the culture shock hit me harder.
- Reverse culture shock is real — my own hometown felt foreign when I went back.
“Find your feet”
To gradually settle in and grow comfortable in a new situation — a new country, job, or city — until you feel steady. It's the hopeful counterpart to culture shock, describing that slow climb from lost to capable.
- Give yourself a few months to find your feet before you judge the place.
- Once I found my feet, the city started to feel like home.
- She's still finding her feet, but she already loves it here.
“Red tape”
Excessive bureaucracy — the forms, stamps, and rules that slow everything down. The phrase comes from the red ribbon once used to bind official documents. Every expat learns it fast, because visas and residency permits are made of it.
- There's so much red tape just to open a bank account here.
- We finally cut through the red tape and got our residency cards.
- The visa itself was easy; it was the red tape that took six months.
“Put down roots”
To settle somewhere for the long term — building a home, friendships, and a routine, like a plant sending roots into the soil. It's the opposite of itchy feet, and marks the moment a place stops being temporary.
- After years of moving around, we finally put down roots in Lisbon.
- He never expected to put down roots abroad, but here he is.
- Buying the apartment felt like really putting down roots.
“Lost in translation”
When meaning, nuance, or humor gets garbled moving between languages or cultures — sometimes hilariously. It describes both literal mistranslations and the deeper sense that something doesn't quite carry across. A constant companion of life abroad.
- I tried to tell a joke in French and it got completely lost in translation.
- Something always gets lost in translation when I text my in-laws.
- The instructions were clearly lost in translation — none of it made sense.
“Home away from home”
A place abroad where you feel as comfortable and welcome as in your own home — a favorite café, a friend's flat, an entire adopted city. It's a warm phrase for the surprising places that start to feel like yours.
- That little bar became our home away from home.
- Her host family's house was a real home away from home.
- After a year, this city is genuinely my home away from home.
“Living out of a suitcase”
To be in a constant, unsettled state of travel or temporary stays — never fully unpacking. It captures the chaotic, exciting, exhausting early phase of moving abroad before you have a real base.
- I was living out of a suitcase for two months before I found a flat.
- She's so used to living out of a suitcase that she packs in ten minutes.
- I'm tired of living out of a suitcase — I just want my own bed.
“Get the hang of it”
To learn how to do something through practice until it feels natural — the metro, the slang, the local way of doing things. It's an encouraging phrase that reminds you mastery comes with repetition, not instantly.
- The currency confused me at first, but I got the hang of it.
- Once you get the hang of the bus system, getting around is easy.
- Cooking with the local ingredients took a while, but I've got the hang of it now.
“Expat vs. immigrant”
Two words for the same act — moving to another country — but loaded very differently. 'Expat' often implies a temporary, lifestyle-driven move (and a certain privilege), while 'immigrant' implies settling permanently. Noticing who gets called which is a sharp little lesson in English and in attitudes.
- Funny how Westerners abroad are 'expats' but others are 'immigrants.'
- I call myself an immigrant — I'm here to stay, not just passing through.
- The expat bubble is real; some never actually meet any locals.
