Living abroad leads to ‘enlightened nationalism’, study finds

You move abroad, you learn to love your new land… and appreciate the home you left behind.

Travel broadens the mind – that little sound-bite has served people well over the centuries, and is as accurate today as it has always been. But as the world becomes a little more fluid, with more and more people moving overseas for work and leisure than ever before, a new study has revealed something interesting about the psyches of those who do make the move…

According to Dr Calvert Jones of the University of Maryland, people who live abroad develop what he calls ‘enlightened nationalism’ – that is, they learn to love and sing the praises of their place of birth, but in a manner that is rooted in wider appreciation for their nation’s good points.

This is not the blind nationalism that many would expect from people as denigrated as football hooligans. Even the most, closed-minded expats, the study found, garner a greater level of understanding about the country they come from – and it takes living abroad for them to see it, according to the study.

“Those who truly live abroad long enough to integrate themselves into everyday normal life abroad will tend to move to a more realistic view and liberal direction as they get more outside perspective on their own country,” said Dr Simons, a critic of the University Maryland study and editor in chief of Diversophy, who argued that people have to spend a significant amount of time overseas in order to reach that point of realisation.

According to Dr Simons, people who only move abroad for a shorter period of time can live a frustrated life, which results in their confirming negative and jingoistic biases against other cultures. The period of time it takes in which to develop a more rounded world view differs depending on circumstances, but usually takes longer than six months, the researcher found.

The study also found that people who move abroad tend to notice that their political views change, with the wider understanding afforded by experiencing life in another culture often leading to the development of more liberal views.

“People travelling and living abroad become more educated and so they are less prone to propaganda in their own countries,” said the study.

So it would seem that life overseas can make you appreciate new and different cultures and ways of life, but also give you a more rounded understanding and appreciation for what makes your own country so special.

In a very nutty nutshell, life as an expat really does give you the best of both worlds… provided you get past those initial frustrations and learn to embrace difference, rather than reject it.