Prompt: Nowadays many people prefer to study or live in foreign countries. While studying and living abroad brings many benefits to individuals, it also has a number of disadvantages. What are the advantages and disadvantages of leaving your country to live or study abroad? Ċ Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

These days it is not unusual to witness an increasing number of people migrating to another country, either to study or to work. Most of them tend not to be hesitant to leave their comfort zones to immerse into another culture. From my own viewpoint, I believe that living abroad can be very challenging. Nevertheless, at the same time, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that ya person can bring with him in his next endeavour. Ċ To begin with, when moving to a foreign country,  one will find himself amazed by what its culture possesses to offer. This might be regardless if it is extremely dissimilar from what an individual is used to. Furthermore, it can be perceived in several ways, such as the different tourist attractions and its architecture, the way people socialize during gatherings and even in foods and delicacies. Undoubtedly, these can merely be the few concrete reasons why living overseas makes it fun and exciting. Another apparent advantage can be the fact that upon studying or working abroad, a person will be capable of improving his cross-cultural knowledge and skills. Consequently,  that could be a vital positive factor contributing to future job application, since most companies value international background and diversity to its employees. Ċ Turning to the other side of the argument, the particular thing that makes moving to an unfamiliar country terrible is the adaptation period. It is when expatriates face most of the challenges of living abroad including culture shock and homesickness. Some people might find it uncomfortable when being immersed in a completely unusual environment. A typical example of which is in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where women are prohibited to mingle with people of the other gender especially with the locals. Looking at the other disadvantage, homesickness might represent a general struggle, but others might experience it regardless of the number of years of being away from his family. However, technology makes it easier to connect someone to their loved ones, through the help of today's social media platforms. Ċ To sum up, moving and living overseas demonstrate its constructive and negative sides. In my opinion, the negatives can be immensely outweighed by the positives. Ultimately, this can be possible when someone appreciated the beauty of distinctive cultures and its people, aside from the gains, which can be acquired through experiences.