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Table of Contents

1. Preface

2. Main Article

3. Readers’ Favorite

4. New Video

Preface

Many doctors and scientists choose to spend time abroad, and some decide to stay there permanently.

Boston is no exception. Colleagues and friends of mine consider staying in Boston even after their training ends.

Today's newsletter is primarily aimed at those wondering what staying abroad is like.

Will you get homesick?

Let’s dive in.

Number 78!

Main Article

In a previous newsletter, I discussed the thoughts that come to mind when deciding to stay or return home.

I spent 6 months in the US in 2019, but my current stay is very different.

Some things you begin to realize only after spending a substantial amount of time living abroad.

🔵 Family Values

Back home, family (and that includes extended family) plays a major role in every significant life decision.

Living close to your parents is always a consideration, although housing or job opportunities sometimes require living farther away. This decision is never made lightly.

Living abroad is a different experience for your family.

Many believe having their immediate family (spouse, kids) with them is sufficient.

But when you pack up your life (and kids) and move abroad, even temporarily, your children accept this as the norm.

Therefore, you must come to terms with the possibility that, in the future, your kids may also decide to pack up and move far away. While this may happen anyway, it seems to me that the chances increase when you live abroad.

Let's take the United States as an example. It's a huge country, and children often attend college or university in a different state. As a result, seeing them only during holidays becomes the new norm.

Then, they get a job opportunity and move away, leaving you and your spouse as the core family.

Some may argue that considering children and grandchildren who live far away is premature and unnecessary, but for me, it's not.

These are my family values, and I miss my family back home.

🔵 We're in This Together

When you move to a different country, you will encounter a different way of living.

The differences may vary, ranging from substantial to slight. But there will always be some form of difference.

When you live in your home country, you share the same values as the people around you.

Some readers from my home country will probably become angry with me now. "Are you serious? Political battles are escalating, groups are in conflict, and we've been at war for months!"

I know.

But I miss the sense of belonging to something greater than myself.

Living abroad naturally makes you a stranger for a certain period. This period may be brief, but for some, it can last for decades. So when you live abroad, you prioritize your immediate family and personal life.

Events happening in the country you currently live in feel less relevant to you.

Some individuals prefer this detachment, viewing it as an escape from the stresses of their lives back home. Some even desire it to become a permanent state. However, I do not.

I want to be part of something greater than myself in my home country.

We're in this together.

Okay, that has been quite heavy so far. Let’s lighten up the atmosphere with food and holidays.

🔵 Food

Sure, you can prepare almost any food when you're at home.

However, the food available at your workplace and the options when you go out are a whole different story.

I miss the breakfasts from back home - the fresh chopped salad, cottage cheese, orange juice, real coffee, crunchy bread, and an omelet with a variety of herbs and vegetables.

I miss having low-fat, non-fried options for lunch. I miss getting a salad with my lunch, having rice as the default side instead of fries, and enjoying real tahini and hummus.

🔵 Holidays

If you're moving to a country with the same holidays as your home country, this may be less relevant to you.

For me, it’s very different.

Back home, it's common to have a mid-week holiday vacation. However, in my two years here, most holidays fell on Mondays. Even Christmas and New Year were one-day holidays (on Mondays).

I miss having a mid-week holiday vacation. I also miss the long holidays of Passover and the Jewish New Year - Sukkot combo.

And above all, I miss FEELING the holidays.

Since coming here, my religious and national holidays have been just another day at work.

Readers’ Favorite

“Which computer should I buy?”

“Are laptops inferior to desktop computers?”

“How much memory and hard drive should I get?”

“Should I go for Apple?”

I answer these questions and more in “What Computer Should I Buy as a Doctor or a Scientist?” You can read it here.

New Video

This is how I stopped using Acrobat Reader and Microsoft Word, and never looked back!
Join me for a walkthrough of how I use Notion and Readwise Reader for reading and writing manuscripts.

Epilogue

If you received this newsletter from a friend and would like to join Friday's Digest, visit: https://newsletter.shaysharon.com

That’s it for this issue.

Hope for better times. 

Shay