I’m from Sardinia, and I’ve lived in the UK, Ireland and the US. Having more than one place in your story doesn’t mean you stop caring about where you came from.
For me, a useful question is less “How do I become a completely new person here?” and more “What would make an ordinary Tuesday feel like mine?” If you’re trying to feel at home in a new country, these are seven small places to start.
1. Keep one familiar morning ritual
Choose something you can repeat even when the rest of your day is unfamiliar: coffee in a favourite cup, breakfast at the table, or ten minutes outside before opening your messages. It doesn’t need to be the most impressive version of a morning routine.
The point is to have one recognisable part of the day. If your routine requires finding six new products and buying a matching set of containers, perhaps start with the coffee.
2. Build your ordinary map
A country becomes easier to navigate when you know where your everyday life fits. Find your nearest grocery shop, a place to walk, somewhere to get a coffee, and the practical services you use regularly.
Save opening hours and useful routes in one place. Try a short outing with just one purpose, rather than turning every trip outside into a full expedition. Becoming familiar with the same few streets is a perfectly good beginning.
3. Give yourself somewhere to return to
Meeting people abroad can feel like a separate project. A repeat activity makes the first step more specific: a class, a volunteering session, a walking group, or another hobby you already enjoy.
Pick something you would still want to do even if you didn’t make a friend on the first visit. You’re giving yourself an enjoyable plan and a chance to recognise a few faces next time.
4. Bring a familiar food or drink into the week
Look for one meal or drink you can make with ingredients available locally. It doesn’t need to recreate home perfectly. A familiar flavour can have a place beside all the new things you’re trying.
For an Italian corner of the day, you might start with a coffee order that feels like you. There is room for both your usual favourite and a new discovery.
5. Make one corner feel settled
When the whole space needs attention, finish one small area first: the bedside table, a chair by a window, or the spot where you make your morning drink. Put the things you use there, make it comfortable, and let yourself enjoy it.
I’ve shared a bedside corner from our home camera roll because those small, usable parts of a room deserve attention while the rest still has its own to-do list.
6. Stay connected, with room for your day
Agree on a manageable way to keep in touch with people you miss. A message, a photograph or a planned call can each have a place. You don’t need to report every moment for it to count.
If a relationship also stretches across countries, your life is happening between visits, too. Make a few plans where you are, alongside the plans you share with someone elsewhere.
7. Notice small signs of familiarity
Knowing which aisle has your favourite ingredients, recognising a neighbour, or finding a route you enjoy may seem tiny beside a move abroad. They still count. You don’t need a dramatic moment when a place suddenly becomes home.
You can miss one place while making a life in another.
A gentle first-week list
- Repeat one familiar ritual.
- Find three useful local places.
- Choose one activity you could return to.
- Make one small corner comfortable.
- Plan one thing to look forward to this week.
Keep what helps and leave what doesn’t. There’s no deadline for feeling settled, and no requirement to lose your Italian—or any other—roots along the way.