The Psychology of your 20s 376. 7 tips for moving to a new country in your 20s
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Jan 19, 2026 Moving to a new city in your twenties can be both thrilling and daunting. The emotional weight of homesickness often feels akin to grief, making adjustment tough. Experts suggest giving yourself around six months to adapt, and avoiding frequent trips back home helps in settling down. Cultivating social connections and creating a bucket list of local experiences can enhance the thrill of novelty. Building routines and making your living space cozy can also ease the transition, paving the way for self-reinvention in your new environment.
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London Move Felt Like Grief
- Jemma Sbeg describes moving to London as lonely and compares missing her dog to grief.
- She says having a plan helped her break out of the funk and enjoy the process more.
New City Costs Cognitive Energy
- Moving to a new city disrupts routines and increases cognitive load which drains emotional energy.
- Jemma Sbeg explains this unfamiliarity raises stress, exhaustion, and homesickness until habituation occurs.
Homesickness Is Grief For A Place
- Leaving a city creates a grief-like homesickness because places function as relational mirrors.
- Losing social mirrors destabilizes identity and increases anxiety until new feedback appears.