One German expat partner (who prefers to remain anonymous) has been back living at home in Munich since last summer, after having spent four years in Milan expatriated by UniCredit. Returning home turned out better than expected, but she says that this was mainly because she had kept up her contacts at home.

"Initially, my husband's contract was for two years, but after that it was extended for another year and then again for another. It could have been renewed again for another year, but we decided to go back because of the schools for our two children.

‘Don't plan too much because you never know what'll come your way'

I didn't really mind going back home. Munich and Milan are not really that far apart, which gave us the option of going home regularly, so that we could keep in touch with our contacts. We made about three visits to Munich every year, which made the transition easy, and after being repatriated, I didn't have many issues with a troublesome settling-in process or anything like that.

Bored at first What had changed, however, was that many of my friends from before had started working, which didn't make it easy to just drop in on someone during the day. That was the nice thing about the expat life in Milan: there was always something to do; you always met someone with an interesting story. Here in Munich that's much less the case.

At first, I also found it a little boring here. There weren't many new things for me to discover, unlike in and around Milan. Early on, I sometimes felt a bit lonely too, which is why, at a certain
point, I started working in a shop for a few hours, so that I could meet people. I now help pupils to brush up on their English. And in the evenings, my husband and I can easily go out if we want to.

Not everyone's happy

So I'm no longer lonely like I was in the beginning. I've totally reintegrated here. But I know from other repats that it's not this easy for everyone. For example, I have a friend who, after spending some time abroad, went to live in the north of Germany in a place she isn't originally from. I know from her that she's not happy and often lonely.

My advice to other returning expats is: don't plan too much because you never know what'll come your way. In our case, it proved difficult for the children to get used to the quite strict Bavarian school system although they went to German School in Milan and that takes time. My second piece of advice is: if you know that you'll be returning to the place you're originally from, keep up with your contacts, not only by emailing and phoning, but also in person."

Reprinted with permission of Global Connection from the article Returning home: Prepare yourself!

More on repatriation from Global Connection

Detailed information on the different aspects of repatriation can be found in Repats, a Global Connection special, which gives a step by step description of the stages you go through when repatriating. You can also find lots of practical tips to help ensure your return home is a success.

A little less specific, but also with lots of enlightening and useful information, is the ‘repats' chapter in our recently published Expat & Partner Guide. Both publications can be ordered via our bookstore at www.global-connection.info.