Please enlighten us Nairalanders on the cons of moving abroad to give us a more balanced view of what life is like abroad.

Please share your negative experiences and your struggles to settle in and to get to a point of living comfortably.

No positive experiences, please. Only the negative ones since we always hear the positives.

I left Nigeria 23rd September 2020 to Spain, and my flight was 'Air France' so I landed in Paris airport.

I boarded Flix Bus going to Spain, inside the bus was a white man and a woman seated by my right side, and a group of Indians seated in front of me.

I noticed that the white people don't like seating next to black fortunately we are seated according to the numbers on the ticket, so they has no choice.

We had several stop by during the journey, the only thing that unit both of us was cigarettes.

You can ask a white person for cigarette, they are not stingy.

In Spain, you are not attended very well if you don't know Spanish and worst of it all if your black.

You can be walking towards a white person to ask for a direction, they'll begin to walk faster away from you

The best thing to do when you first arrived Europe, is to locate a security officer. Security officers speak English very well.

Before i left Spain to my final destination, it was a police officer who helped me to locate the Flix Bus company in Spain.

In Germany, racist is low.

They do you racist only in the 'Train' outside on the street, they are very friendly.

They can see you walking on the street, and they will come to you for pictures .

It's not likely one will have only negative experiences, it's a mix of both. Some downsides are loneliness, racism, being away from family and established friendships, learning a new culture and way of life and possibly having to go back to school or get certificates. Most of these can be mitigated to some extent if one is intentional but racism isn't going anywhere.

When you answer what are the cons of staying in Nigeria then you will know if cons dey abroad lol. Common one is loneliness as its all man for himself, your neighbours might not care about your existence

when in Rome,behave like the Romans,avoid trouble/bad friend. Focus/remember ur pipu especially parents u left back home.Don't move with the crowdsServe God and all will be well with u

Nothing bad been lonely is what u choose you can head to beer spot and get some drinks laugh out loud or u can join some group in yoga etc if your lonely make friends just that you will miss the crazy and stupid side of Nigeria where you can get by of almost any thing breaking road rules, etc but in a civilized con3 ur to obey every lead down Rules

Con 1: Loneliness
If you are going as a student, this wouldn't be an issue for you as you will always meet your fellow Nigerians and other Africans on campus. There will always be afrocentric societies or events to join especially in countries like USA, UK, Canada etc... Another major solution is to find a Nigerian, Ghanaian, any black or multi-cultural church near you.. make sure to explore options before settling to become a member of a church.. RCCG is often a great place to start but make sure you are compatible with the crowd there.. this helps a lot.


Con 2: Strict laws
The laws are strict but that's the price to pay for a sane society that works. Don't bring Nigerian lawlessness here and expect to get away with it.. pay your taxes, do things through the right channel, obey the rules but never lose your humanity.

sweetmelanin:
Con 1: Loneliness
If you are going as a student, this wouldn't be an issue for you as you will always meet your fellow Nigerians and other Africans on campus. There will always be afrocentric societies or events to join especially in countries like USA, UK, Canada etc... Another major solution is to find a Nigerian, Ghanaian, any black or multi-cultural church near you.. make sure to explore options before settling to become a member of a church.. RCCG is often a great place to start but make sure you are compatible with the crowd there.. this helps a lot.


Con 2: Strict laws
The laws are strict but that's the price to pay for a sane society that works. Don't bring Nigerian lawlessness here and expect to get away with it.. pay your taxes, do things through the right channel, obey the rules but never lose your humanity.

point 2. Very true. Once you mess up your life is pretty much ruined e.g going to jail or messing up your credit score. To get good jobs will be impossible

Loneliness. How bad depends on your age of migrating ... the older the worse. The younger one is the larger his friend base ... friends he will make at school. School mates will be from his neighbourhood or one nearby. After school they hangout and will build an even wider base and circle of friends. One arriving and attending university will not make a large base.... one will barely know his class mates and they are from far and wide. The elderly suffer the most from loneliness since they do not have a base. A sign of lonely people are those who are always in contact with 'back home' as if they never left.
Rat Race..... every man for himself period. Emeka is now abroad doing well..... but before he left and was jobless he spent six months at me .... didn't have to pay a kobo for food nor drinks nor shelter ... plus I would give him pocket change. When I get abroad I'll
stay at him ... just for two months while I settle and find a job. Really?
Have a support system..... but be prepared to fend for yourself.
No Papers.... you are finished.

bepositive11:
Please enlighten us Nairalanders on the cons of moving abroad to give us a more balanced view of what life is like abroad.

Please share your negative experiences and your struggles to settle in and to get to a point of living comfortably.

No positive experiences, please. Only the negative ones since we always hear the positives.

Bad weather

I don't believe in Racisms..it depends how you manage yourself... 97% of my friends are whites

You will pay taxes for the rest of your life

Loneliness may set in at some point


No paperwork? you will suffer small


As man.. That African man of the house mentalitydoesn't exist here

You will not really become a millionaire..but you will leave comfortably


You will miss your family... In my own case..I'm not bothered..na only my elder bro dey naija...d rest with ma parent they here

Food is expensive here... So if you the type that love African food...you will hav to pay extra to enjoy it

BigDawsNet:
As man.. That African man of the house doesn't exist here

I belive this is most serious.

Forget domestic obedience.

You cannot even beat a dog talk less of your wife and children

Aaronsrod:


I belive this is most serious.

Forget domestic obedience.

You cannot even beat a dog talk less of your wife and children

It's not even because we are Africans

A white man can never claim to stand on his wife and claim "man of the house"..

They consider husband and wife here as partner... Both work to support the house...

You wife can literally sent you packing if you misbehave...

Beating dog and animal generally is a serious offence...

Child care is the worse case. You may lose your child to government if you are not careful. You could go to jail for childcare.

For me the biggest con is starting afresh. It took me a while to make up my mind because of that about relocating to Canada because of that, but thank God I did. I got my license in about a year and half and now I'm practicing as a pharmacist.

The other issues people complain of are mostly personal. You can overcome loneliness if you are ready to socialize and make new friends.

Weather is bearable, just 2 months of bad weather (depending on province)

Brace for a cultural rebirth.

Totilopussylick:
The negative experience i encountered severally is racism

How severe is it? Could you please give some examples of your racist experiences?

abike12:
It's not likely one will have only negative experiences, it's a mix of both. Some downsides are loneliness, racism, being away from family and established friendships, learning a new culture and way of life and possibly having to go back to school or get certificates. Most of these can be mitigated to some extent if one is intentional but racism isn't going anywhere.

Why do you say that racism isn't going anywhere? How bad is it?

ednut1:
When you answer what are the cons of staying in Nigeria then you will know if cons dey abroad lol. Common one is loneliness as its all man for himself, your neighbours might not care about your existence

Lol Just want to have a balanced view of life abroad

How do you cope with the loneliness? Is it hard to go out and socialise? And why do you say that neighbours may not even care about our existence?

chukwuibuipob:
when in Rome,behave like the Romans,avoid trouble/bad friend. Focus/remember ur pipu especially parents u left back home.Don't move with the crowdsServe God and all will be well with u

Why do you say "don't move with the crowds"? Could you please expand on that?

heniford2:
Nothing bad been lonely is what u choose you can head to beer spot and get some drinks laugh out loud or u can join some group in yoga etc if your lonely make friends just that you will miss the crazy and stupid side of Nigeria where you can get by of almost any thing breaking road rules, etc but in a civilized con3 ur to obey every lead down Rules

Originalsly:
Loneliness. How bad depends on your age of migrating ... the older the worse. The younger one is the larger his friend base ... friends he will make at school. School mates will be from his neighbourhood or one nearby. After school they hangout and will build an even wider base and circle of friends. One arriving and attending university will not make a large base.... one will barely know his class mates and they are from far and wide. The elderly suffer the most from loneliness since they do not have a base. A sign of lonely people are those who are always in contact with 'back home' as if they never left.
Rat Race..... every man for himself period. Emeka is now abroad doing well..... but before he left and was jobless he spent six months at me .... didn't have to pay a kobo for food nor drinks nor shelter ... plus I would give him pocket change. When I get abroad I'll
stay at him ... just for two months while I settle and find a job. Really?
Have a support system..... but be prepared to fend for yourself.
No Papers.... you are finished.

This is the first time I'm hearing about the age and friend base factor. Were you older when you went? How did you cope?

Why can't he stay with Emeka? People there don't like to help others out? Why?

BigDawsNet:


Bad weather

I don't believe in Racisms..it depends how you manage yourself... 97% of my friends are whites

You will pay taxes for the rest of your life

Loneliness may set in at some point


No paperwork? you will suffer small


As man.. That African man of the house mentalitydoesn't exist here

You will not really become a millionaire..but you will leave comfortably


You will miss your family... In my own case..I'm not bothered..na only my elder bro dey naija...d rest with ma parent they here

Food is expensive here... So if you the type that love African food...you will hav to pay extra to enjoy it

Why do you say that we can't become a millionaire but we will live comfortably?

mamatwiny:
Child care is the worse case. You may lose your child to government if you are not careful. You could go to jail for childcare.

Could you please expand? How can a parent be jailed for child care?

ENG0701:
For me the biggest con is starting afresh. It took me a while to make up my mind because of that about relocating to Canada because of that, but thank God I did. I got my license in about a year and half and now I'm practicing as a pharmacist.

The other issues people complain of are mostly personal. You can overcome loneliness if you are ready to socialize and make new friends.

Weather is bearable, just 2 months of bad weather (depending on province)

Others have complained about racism. Do you also experience racism?

JapaProfessor:
Brace for a cultural rebirth.

Could you please expand on what you mean by cultural rebirth?

Depending on where you live, you may not have access to Nigerian foodstuffs. Also bigotry/racism both overt and covert is an issue as well. If you are not in the IT or medical field, finding a decent paying job can prove challenging especially since this corona pandemic hit. Some people may feel lonely especially people who are extroverts. Cost of living continues to climb and some types of food are getting more expensive.

Fuel and gas prices are getting expensive too. In addition, you won't have your entire family with you like you would if you had lived in Nigeria. Lastly, I don't really feel a true sense of belonging in the foreign country I legally reside in but I do have peace of mind which I didn't have in Nigeria because Nigeria didn't feel safe to me.

Peace, out!

I don't know why you asked for only negatives but okay. For non-english speaking countries or cities: In germany, language is a barrier, while I was on the train I always had people stare at me in amusement, It was a non-english speaking area. I felt very uncomfortable most times.

In the UK it feels a lot better but they show sublte racism by not sitting close to you in a Bus, crossing over to the other side on the side ways in the night. Cost of living also depends if you are in the major city. Eating out is very expensive, you must know how to cook. Package delivery is terrible except for Amazon deliveries. So much depression in the winter because people hardly go out.

At the end, to me all this things are still minor.

bepositive11:


Why do you say "don't move with the crowds"? Could you please expand on that?

there's always a Judas out of 12.The company u keep can make/destroy u.The insects that destroy a vegetable is beneath it.

bepositive11:


Why do you say that we can't become a millionaire but we will live comfortably?

Millionaire in $ not naira...

heniford2:
Nothing bad been lonely is what u choose you can head to beer spot and get some drinks laugh out loud or u can join some group in yoga etc if your lonely make friends just that you will miss the crazy and stupid side of Nigeria where you can get by of almost any thing breaking road rules, etc but in a civilized con3 ur to obey every lead down Rules

loneliness is never good.

sweetmelanin:
Con 1: Loneliness
If you are going as a student, this wouldn't be an issue for you as you will always meet your fellow Nigerians and other Africans on campus. There will always be afrocentric societies or events to join especially in countries like USA, UK, Canada etc... Another major solution is to find a Nigerian, Ghanaian, any black or multi-cultural church near you.. make sure to explore options before settling to become a member of a church.. RCCG is often a great place to start but make sure you are compatible with the crowd there.. this helps a lot.


Con 2: Strict laws
The laws are strict but that's the price to pay for a sane society that works. Don't bring Nigerian lawlessness here and expect to get away with it.. pay your taxes, do things through the right channel, obey the rules but never lose your humanity.

be careful relating with Nigerians. Other African countries are okay.