That Strange Feeling You Get on the First Night in a New Country

Travelling or even moving to another country can be both exciting and exceptionally scary. It’s a big change, and there are lots of unknowns.

After a long journey to the other side of the world, it’s very common to feel anxious – especially on that very first night in your new environment. Many people experience this, but few realise how common it is.

I’ve experienced this strange feeling many times

The first time I ever travelled to Europe, I was 17 and arrived in Germany alone. I was planning to spend a month there doing a language course, and I was really excited to be there.

But after 40 hours of travel from Australia, with several stopovers along the way, I was exhausted, overwhelmed and questioning what on earth I was doing on the other side of the world. I remember on that first afternoon feeling uncomfortable and doubting why I had spent so much money to fly to the other side of the world.

But after a really good sleep (goodness knows I needed it!), and after spending the next day out and about, the feeling slowly went away. By the first day of my language course, I was excited and regretted nothing.

I had a similar feeling after I finished high school and embarked on a four-month solo round-the-world trip. On the first night of my trip, I was lying in a hostel bed in Singapore wondering if this was the right thing to be doing. I felt way out of my depth and this was a totally different environment to what I was used to. But by the following evening, after a good sleep and a full day of sightseeing, I was feeling great. That trip ended up being one of the best things I ever did.

I’ve felt a similar way on the first night after moving to any new country for a working holiday.

Why is this?

I’m not a psychologist, but I have experienced this strange feeling many times. I think there are a few factors at play:

• It’s normal to feel out of place and a bit anxious when you’re in a brand new environment for the first time. For example, many people also find it hard to sleep on their first night in a new house or hotel room.
• Arriving in a new country for the very first time is exciting, but can also feel overwhelming. Absolutely everything is new!
• If you’re alone, you might also be feeling lonely and vulnerable.
• People often feel very tired after a long-haul flight, especially if you’ve flown through the night and haven’t slept much on board the plane.
• Add the effects of jetlag, and your body is going to be fatigued. Tiredness makes people more easily irritated and anxious, even without a change of location.

I have found that this strange feeling is worse the further you’ve travelled, the longer you’re planning to stay in that place, and especially if your first impressions after arriving weren’t overwhelmingly positive. For example, the weather might have been terrible or you might have had a bad experience leaving the airport. Those things are temporary, but at the time, they might make you feel like you’ve committed to being stuck for a long time in somewhere that you don’t really want to be.

How to overcome this

Even though I’ve personally experienced first-night anxiety in a new place many times, and I’ve even come to expect it, the feeling doesn’t go away. I’ve just learned to accept that it will happen, and I don’t try to fight it.

Trust the process, know it’s normal. Have a really good sleep. Once you’re feeling refreshed, and you’ve had a chance to spend a bit more time in your new surroundings, those butterflies in your stomach will usually disappear.

See our guide to surviving the first weeks after moving overseas for more tips!