Culture shock on a Working Holiday Visa

In addition to the sadness of leaving your WHV country, returning to your home country can bring about a whole new type of culture shock. Many people are surprised to experience reverse culture shock when they return home. Even if it’s the culture you grew up in, you’ll still need to get used to it again.

When you come back home, you notice the extent of the change between then and now, and also the change in yourself. It’s common to feel like your friends and family have been frozen in time, as if nothing in their lives changed, while you have experienced thousands of new things. At the same time, life at home isn’t identical to when you left; it’s familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. We have to mourn a version of home that no longer exists, except in our memories and nostalgia.

Prepare to feel out of place or like a stranger in your own home. You may feel emotionally detached. You may feel hurt that your family, friends and hometown have evolved without you. You may be saddened by the fact that the customs and traditions you have just learned can’t be applied in your home country. You have to start the whole process of adjustment again. You may find yourself criticising your home culture or struggling to connect with people.

In addition, those around you may be confused by your reaction. They don’t understand your point of view and won’t be that interested in hearing you talk about your trip. Even though your WHV has changed your life so much and is so important to you, it won’t be important to someone who doesn’t share a traveller’s mindset. Many expats who return home join a traveller’s community in their native country to maintain a connection to people who understand the importance of travel.

Finally, returning to your home country can trigger a much deeper questioning. You feel like you’ve travelled back in time to a past version of yourself. You can question who you are and how to fit in, especially when you’ve been changed by the culture you learned abroad. You can also have bigger questions about your long-term future. Will you settle at home permanently? Will you pursue long-term travel again? There’s much uncertainty at this time.

Possible emotions you might experience during reverse culture shock

A mixture of emotions present in the other stages of culture shock, ranging from anxiety and helplessness to determination and gratitude.

Examples

“Has this city always been this noisy and dirty?!”

“People are so closed-minded. They don’t understand.”

“Everyone’s in a rush. Why can’t they be relaxed like the locals in my WHV country?”

What you can do to manage your reverse culture shock

Be patient with your family, friends, and with yourself. Give them space and understand that it can be hard for them to put themselves in your shoes; they don’t know what it’s like to live abroad.

Keep yourself busy. Reconnect with your life at home and avoid isolating yourself. Plan to see friends and family. Make new friends with other travellers in your country if your old friends can’t support you through these feelings.

Stay connected to your WHV country but also allow yourself to connect with your home country. Try to find the same excitement you had for arriving in your WHV country and discover your home country through the eyes of a traveller. Seek out new restaurants that opened while you were away, or find an outlet for an interest you discovered while travelling (e.g. sign up for cooking classes or language lessons to keep up the skills you perfected while abroad!).