The Cons I Had To Consider Before Deciding to Study Abroad

While studying abroad is beneficial, cultural and exciting, there were several things I had to consider before making a definitive decision.

1. Firstly, studying abroad might cause me to be out of my comfort zone. I know, right. You, out of your comfort zone in an overseas paradise? But think about it. Everyone has an established comfort zone. Everyone has their established friends, activities, hangouts and jobs. And I, like everyone else, am comfortable with the familiarity each of these offer. Breaking out of these familiarities in such a sudden and extreme way might prove to be both scary and uncomfortable. I had to consider if studying abroad is worth this risk and decide whether I could or could not embrace new experiences, cultures and people.
2. On top of this, studying abroad will probably cause me to feel some semblance of homesickness. It could be for my friends and family, or for Australian comforts, like the sun. But let’s be real – it’s 2016. Social networking sites such as Skype and Facebook make keeping in touch incredibly easy, so I decided the likelihood of this happening would be fairly minimal.
3. But… studying abroad might cause me to miss important milestones and/or emergencies back home. I would love to be there for all the important milestones and tragedies my family or friends may experience. I’m also the kind of person who prefers to offer support in person, and not through a computer screen or telephone. However, life at home will go on – with or without me. It’s something I had to come to terms with before making my final decision.
4. And finally, study abroad costs a large amount of money. Like, think-of-a-number-and-double-it large. It was (and still is) my biggest concern about travelling overseas – and it doesn’t help that the United Kingdom has a high cost of student living. Thankfully, though, all that pre-decision research paid off. I found out when to go, where to stay and what to do to limit my costs overseas. And besides which, the money will be more than worth the one in a lifetime experience!