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Good Neighbor Travel Insurance Blog

Returning to the U.S.? Help for Readjusting to Your “Home” culture.

March 20, 2013 By : Doug Gulleson

So you are coming back home to the states! You have lived overseas for over a year, likely 3-10 years, and are heading to the good ‘ol U.S.  Maybe you were like me where your parents were overseas for over 30 years and you were born and raised in another country. I was, in Indonesia!  I came back to the U.S. at age 19.  My dad hails from Washington State with an almost pure Norwegian heritage (great grandpa came from Norway). Mom hails from New Mexico where her family’s heritage comes from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.  Well, no matter how long you have been out of the U.S. life has changed and actually more changes than you can imagine.

How do you cope with the changes? Well, for me it was two steps forward, and a bunch of times, three steps back. It was tough. No kidding! I did not actually feel like an American till I was 30. Yes, 11 years later. I know many have become “Americanized” a lot sooner than I did. But still it isn’t easy, right?

At times you might think the U.S. is still in the stone ages. You may have used your cell phone to purchase snacks and drinks by holding it next to a “reader” on the machine. Or it might be where the U.S. is light years away where internet is literally “high-speed” and not “slow speed.” No matter what, you will go through changes, pulling your hair out at times, and a bit frustrated. You may even have a puzzled look on your face when you find out that your American friends think “south of the border” means the South and North Carolina line and not a border next to another country. This actually happened to me! I was so excited to think that I was able to use my passport so soon and then totally disheartened when I had to kiss my passport goodbye, for now, and place her back in her special folder marked “traveling soon but not soon enough.”

Now I get to reunite with my passport two times a year as I travel the globe for great scuba diving as well as meet up with our Good Neighbor Insurance staff in Indonesia.  But I still love the words the immigration officers say at the San Francisco and LA airports, “Welcome home, Mr. Gulleson!” Yes, America is my new home and how I love her!

Here is a great article off of CNN’s web site about handling the basics of making your U.S. coming home time as easy as possible:

Depending on how long you’ve been abroad, your transition back to the United States could be as stressful — perhaps even more so — as your initial expatriation.  When you arrived in your foreign home, you likely had to undergo an understandable period of culture adjustment.  What you may not expect is the inverse upon your return; the expectation of the familiar derailed by the degree to which things have changed.

Please click here for the full article on http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/life/usa/ultimate-checklist-returning-us-expats-919371

Doug Gulleson

Search Results

The number one mistake travelers make

December 9, 2014

There are two reasons I am publishing this blog story today: 1.) I wanted you to remind you to remember the most often forgotten items by travelers when they pack. The most common items forgotten when traveling, according to a new poll by Gannett News Corp. 2.) I also wanted to remind you about the number one […]

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Four Tips for a Successful Short Term Trip

November 21, 2009

A Princeton University study in 2005 found that 1.6 million people took short-term mission trips for an average of eight days.  The cost?  About $2.5 billion a year. If we fast forward and include non-mission short term trips, the amount today would be closer to $4 billion. If you are planning a short term trip […]

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Why You May Need a Travel Medicine Specialist

November 12, 2020

Guest Blog by I Dale Carroll, MD. Recently, an expatriate living in a remote Asian city contacted our office for advice regarding her pregnancy.  She was about eight months pregnant and an ultrasound had detected that her baby was not growing normally. She emailed us the ultrasound pictures and we confirmed the diagnosis.  Her parent […]

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Arizona and what our GNI Team thinks about living in this great State

November 11, 2014

Good Neighbor Insurance office is nestled in the best State in the Union, Arizona of course!  Did you know that Arizona is not mostly dessert?  That is correct, my friend!  Did you know Arizona is the sixth largest U.S. State in land-mass? Heat: Yes, it can get mightily hot.  Many say it is a dry […]

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Nationalized healthcare will not pay for tourists medical care

June 25, 2015

We hear many travelers say, “It’s okay, if I get injured on my trip, ____ (fill in the destination country) has nationalized healthcare, so I don’t need travel medical insurance.” The truth is, nationalized healthcare will not pay for tourists medical care. Countries like England, Canada, and others issue travel advisories that clearly state: “YOU […]

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Five Benefits to Studying Abroad

December 28, 2017

You probably know this already, but there are many benefits to studying abroad.  Most people agree on the major benefits, but everyone has a different opinion on which ones are the greatest or most important. Here is our list of the five top benefits to studying abroad in order of priority. Personal Growth and Development […]

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