The Tiny Ritual That Makes You Feel at Home Abroad

A Tuesday Thread Discussion

Living across borders can feel untethered sometimes. But a morning coffee, a familiar song, or a walk down a well-worn street? That stuff matters.

If you love conversations like this — small, soulful, and real — you’ll feel right at home here at Girls’ Guide to Living Abroad.

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Sometimes, settling in abroad isn’t about finally speaking the language fluently or figuring out how the recycling bins work.

It’s about the rituals you invent along the way — the ones that didn’t exist until you landed somewhere new.

Not habits from your old life.
Not nostalgia dressed up as routine.
But something fresh and specific to the version of you that lives here now.

Maybe it’s:

• A special local tea brewed just right on a tiny gas burner

• Buying fresh fruit from the same vendor every Wednesday

• A solo Friday night stroll down a certain path or street

• Writing letters to your friends back home with locally made artisanal stationary

These rituals don’t have to be impressive or spiritual. They just have to be yours.

I’ve lived abroad for years, and I still get swept up in the newness — the awe, the overload. But these little rituals? They’re everything.

So, this week’s question is:

🫖 What’s one small daily or weekly ritual you’ve developed abroad?

Tell us:

• ☕ What’s the ritual — and how did it begin?

• 🌀 What makes it feel meaningful to you now?

• 🔄 How has this ritual changed you — or your relationship with your life abroad?

Drop your ritual in the comments. Let’s build a thread of tiny anchors together. ⬇️

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🧰 Helpful tools to anchor your abroad life — or dream it up from scratch:

• 🧭 Destination Personality Quiz — discover your global “vibe” and where it wants to live

• 🌍 Living Abroad Locales Database — 300+ cities you can filter by lifestyle, values, and climate

• 📒 Dream Locale Decoder Playbook — a practical toolkit to help you choose your next move with clarity (and joy)

• 💌 Substack Writers Directory — meet 174+ Substackers living abroad (and check out the viral roundup of 28 community favourites)