Work Travel Volunteer

Returning home can be more of a culture shock than when you go away. You'll have experienced all these amazing things and met new people but everyone at home will be exactly the same.

From experience, and speaking with friends who have also been away, the first week to a month is great. You see your family and friends. People want to see your pictures and hear about everything you've done and then they'll go back to their day to day living. And you will have to too. (Unless of course you decide to emigrate or go back out somewhere! It has been done, many a time.)

There are a number of things that make the transition hard. The first is your finances. If you've been savvy, you may still have some savings left over which is great but where 300 pounds goes a long way in Southeast Asia, it doesn't in the UK. The stress of paying for rented accommodation or your mortgage plus all your living expenses may mean that you have to take a temping job whilst you look for full time work again.

The other is shifting back to the culture. Whether you have been in Australia or Africa, the culture is different. People are different. Things are done differently. You may find it quite stressful having to get on a crowded tube train at 8am if you've been used to the wide open Serengeti plains for the last four months.

Finding work can be a struggle. Even if you are going back to your old job, this may fill you with even more doom than looking for new work. Having to go back to the exact same routines can be extremely disheartening. Finding new work can also be tough. It takes time to find something you want to do, especially if one of your main reasons to go away was to try out new career options.

Lastly, is your friends and family. People may have moved, relationships may have changed. You may find you are left with a not so strong social support group as you had before you went away. Things have happened that you weren't part of and you'll need to make a real effort with everyone to rejoin "your group" or make new friends if you decide to relocate completely.

It's not all doom and gloom though. Forewarned is forearmed. Remember that you may feel unhappy for a while when you get home and there will be a period of readjustment but things do even out. Travelling usually makes people more confident and assertive and more sure of what they want, so you may find you come home ready to start a new life in a new field or a new place or feel remotivated to go back to your old job.

We'd love to hear from people who have gone away and come back and what their experience was. We'd also like to hear from people who are going away or who are away and what their thoughts are on returning home. Please email us at kate@worktravelvolunteer.com