Coping with Homesickness amongst Immigrants

Looking for the complete guide? Read our Expat Homesickness: Causes, Signs and How to Cope Abroad guide.

You wake up in a country you chose. The light through the window is unfamiliar. You reach for your phone and open a message from home, someone laughing about a dinner you were not at, and it hits you: there is no one local you could call right now just to say hello. That gap, between the life you left and the one you have not built yet, is homesickness. And if you moved abroad, you already know it is heavier than anyone warned you.

This is not a sign you made the wrong choice. It is the normal cost of a very big change, and it responds well to the right things.

What homesickness actually is

Homesickness is the distress that comes from being separated from home, along with the difficulty of adjusting to somewhere new. Researchers who study migrants describe it as three feelings tangled together: loneliness and the struggle to adjust, replaying memories of home, and simply missing the people you love.

That difference matters. The part most tied to low mood is not the longing itself. It is the loneliness and the struggle to find your footing (Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2022). Missing your family hurts, but it is the effort of rebuilding a whole life that tends to pull mood down hardest.

Why it hits people who moved abroad so much harder

For immigrants and expats, the separation is usually permanent, the surroundings are genuinely unfamiliar, and the people who used to comfort you are hours away. On top of that emotional loss sits a practical one: rebuilding an entire support network, often in a second language.

The result is well documented. Across studies, newcomers report higher loneliness and distress than locals, and one long-term study in Norway found that gap did not simply fade with time (Frontiers in Public Health, 2025). Loneliness here is not a small thing. It is closely linked to depression and anxiety, which is why building local connection matters more than almost anything else you can do.

The hardest part of moving abroad is rarely the move. It is the quiet months afterward, when the excitement fades and you realise you have to build a life from nothing.

The homesickness nobody talks about

There is a specific wave that arrives after the first few months, once the novelty wears off. It often lines up with the low point of culture shock, when the differences that felt exciting start to feel exhausting.

Many people feel embarrassed by it. You chose this life, so admitting you feel low can feel like admitting failure. That silence is the trap. It keeps you from reaching out at the exact moment connection would help. Feeling low after moving abroad is not weakness and not regret. Naming it honestly is the first step through it.

What actually helps

Homesickness responds far better to action than to waiting it out. The approaches below work because they rebuild connection and routine, which is what the feeling is really missing. Under each, start with one small, concrete step.

Build routine before you feel ready

Structure steadies you when everything else is unfamiliar. Fixed anchors in your week give your mind something predictable to hold.

• Choose one local place to visit weekly, the same café, market, or park.
• Set one standing call home, so contact does not depend on mood.

Invest in local connection, not just contact with home

Staying in touch with family matters, but it cannot replace a network where you live. Because loneliness is the factor most tied to low mood, this is the highest-value thing you can do, even when it feels slow and awkward.

• Send one message this week to a local acquaintance or colleague.
• Join one recurring group, a class, a sports team, a language exchange, so connection repeats without you having to organise it.

Our guide on how to make friends abroad has more.

Keep one foot in your own culture

Coping is not about erasing where you came from. Cooking food from home, keeping traditions, and finding others from your community are protective, not backward-looking.

• Cook one dish from home this week.
• Find one person or group who shares your background.

Treat lasting low mood as a health issue, not a flaw

If low mood or anxiety lasts more than a couple of weeks and gets in the way of daily life, that is a signal to seek support, not to try harder.

• Notice whether the feeling is lifting or staying, and if it is staying, treat that as information.

Why people who moved abroad often do not get help

Immigrants and expats use mental health services far less than locals, and the reasons are structural, not personal. In Germany, data from the German National Cohort found first-generation migrants used GPs at similar rates to locals but used psychologists and psychiatrists substantially less, a clear sign of unmet need (International Journal of Public Health, 2024).

The barrier that comes up most is language. Processing grief and low mood is hard enough in your mother tongue. Doing it in a language you are still learning, with someone who does not share your cultural reference points, asks too much of people at their most vulnerable.

This is the real reason support so often goes unused. You should not have to translate your pain before therapy can even begin. Support that already understands the expat and immigrant experience, in your own language, removes that step entirely. If you want that, Expathy matches you with a licensed psychologist who shares your native language and cultural background. You can read more about how we approach expat and immigrant homesickness.

For employers of international staff

If you employ relocated staff, the isolation behind homesickness shows up as disengagement and turnover among the people you invested in bringing over. Some employers now offer ongoing native-language support to their international employees because generic support so often goes unused by this group.

Frequently asked questions

Is homesickness normal for immigrants and expats?

Yes. It is a normal response to leaving behind the people, places, and routines that shaped your sense of home. For people who move abroad it tends to be stronger and longer-lasting, because the move is usually permanent and the new environment is genuinely unfamiliar. Studies consistently show newcomers feel lonelier than locals, so if you feel this way, you are far from alone.

How long does homesickness last after moving abroad?

There is no fixed timeline, but adjustment tends to improve the longer you are settled and connected. For many people the hardest stretch comes a few months in, once the novelty fades. It usually eases as routine and local relationships build. If it does not lift after several weeks and affects daily life, treat it as a mental health concern rather than waiting it out.

Can homesickness make you depressed?

It can. Ordinary homesickness comes and goes, but when it stops lifting, it can shade into depression, which is common among people who move abroad. Warning signs include lasting sadness, loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, and hopelessness that persists for weeks. The good news is that this is very treatable, especially with support that understands your background. Our guide on expat homesickness and low mood goes deeper.

Why is it hard to find mental health support after moving abroad?

The main barriers are language, cultural mismatch, and unfamiliarity with the local system. Research in Germany and across Europe shows first-generation migrants use psychologists far less than locals, largely because of these obstacles. Support that works in your native language and understands your culture removes the hardest barrier, which is having to process difficult emotions in a language you are still learning.