How to Live Intentionally When Everything Around You Is Changing

You moved abroad for a reason.

Maybe it was growth. Maybe adventure. Maybe love. Whatever pulled you here, somewhere along the way, intentional living stopped being a priority. You got swept up in logistics, bureaucracy, and survival mode.

Now you're wondering: Is this really what I moved here for?

Living intentionally means choosing actions, habits, and thoughts that align with your values and purpose. In a world filled with distractions, and especially when you're navigating constant change abroad, intentional living becomes your anchor.

It's what transforms your expat experience from "getting through each day" to actually building the meaningful life you envisioned when you first made this move.

What Intentional Living Actually Means (Especially Abroad)

Let me be clear: intentional living isn't about perfection. It's not about color-coded planners or morning routines that look good on Instagram.

Intentional living is about making conscious choices that reflect who you are and what matters to you, instead of just reacting to whatever life throws at you.

When you live abroad, this becomes even more crucial. You're already dealing with:

• Cultural adjustment (which never fully ends)

• Language barriers that make simple tasks exhausting

• Social isolation and the constant work of making friends

• Identity shifts as you figure out who you are in this new context

• Decision fatigue from navigating unfamiliar systems

Without intention, you drift. You say yes to things that drain you because you're desperate for connection. You lose sight of why you moved in the first place. You wake up six months later wondering what happened to the woman who was brave enough to start over.

Living intentionally abroad means staying rooted in your values even when everything around you is shifting.

Why Living Intentionally Matters More When You're Far From Home

Back home, you could coast on autopilot. Your routines were established. Your purpose was clear. Your community reflected your values back to you.

Abroad? Every day requires conscious choice. And that's actually the gift... if you approach it intentionally.

Intentional Living Gives You Direction

When you're clear about your values and purpose, decisions become easier. Should you stay in this job that pays well but drains you? Is this friendship actually serving you? Should you renew your visa or go home?

Without intentional living, every choice feels overwhelming because you're trying to please everyone except yourself. With intention, you measure decisions against what actually matters to you.

Read more: How to Be an Independent Woman Living Abroad (Without Losing Your Connections)

It Reduces Stress and Overwhelm

Living abroad is inherently stressful. Add lack of direction to that mix, and you're constantly operating in crisis mode.

We experience stress most when things feel out of control. Intentional living helps you focus on what you can control: your responses, your boundaries, your daily choices, instead of spinning about everything you can't.

It Creates Authentic Connections

Here's what surprised me: the more intentional I became about my own life, the better my relationships got.

When you're clear about your values and purpose, you naturally attract people who share them. You stop settling for surface-level friendships out of loneliness and start building genuinely aligned connections.

Living intentionally makes you magnetic, not in a manufactured way, but because you know who you are and what you stand for.

It Helps You Feel At Home in Yourself

The hardest part of living abroad? Feeling like you don't belong anywhere. Not fully there, not fully here.

Intentional living shifts your sense of home from external to internal. Instead of waiting to belong somewhere geographically, you create belonging within yourself through aligned choices and authentic living.

9 Essential Tips for Living Intentionally Abroad

These aren't generic productivity hacks. These are practices specifically designed to help you stay grounded and purposeful when everything around you feels uncertain.

1. Define Your Values (And Actually Use Them)

This is where everything starts. If you don't know what truly matters to you, you can't live in alignment with it.

Most people think they know their values, but when pressed, they realize they're living by values that were handed to them—by family, culture, or society.

Take time to get clear:

• What do you want your life abroad to stand for?

• What kind of woman do you want to become through this experience?

• What would make you proud when you look back on this chapter?

Write down your top 5 values. Then use them as a filter for every major decision.

When your choices are rooted in your actual values, you'll feel guided by an internal compass instead of constantly second-guessing yourself.

2. Set Clear Goals That Reflect Your Why

Having clear, achievable goals lets you focus your energy on what truly matters, not just what feels urgent.

But here's the key: your goals need to reflect YOUR values and purpose, not someone else's definition of success.

This is especially important when you're living abroad. It's easy to fall into comparison mode, measuring your expat experience against others' highlight reels.

Discover your unique path: Find Meaning When You Live Abroad: Why Purpose Matters More Than Ever

Your goals might not look like anyone else's. Maybe you're not here to climb the career ladder. Maybe you're here to learn how to be alone. Maybe you're here to heal something. That's valid.

Set goals that align with YOUR journey, then focus your energy there.

3. Prioritize Self-Care (Seriously)

Self-care isn't selfish. It's essential—especially when you're living abroad.

Make time for practices that nourish your body, mind, and soul. This keeps you energized and grounded, allowing you to stay aligned with your intentions.

For expat women, self-care might include:

• Regular movement that helps you feel embodied

• Journaling to process cultural adaptation

• Time in nature to ground yourself

• Connecting with friends back home without getting lost in nostalgia

• Saying no to social events when you need solitude

Self-care is what allows you to keep showing up intentionally instead of burning out and reacting from depletion.

Read more: 9 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life Living Abroad

4. Declutter Your Environment (Physical and Mental)

Physical clutter creates mental clutter. When you simplify your surroundings, you create space for clarity and intentionality.

Living abroad often means living with less—and that can actually be freeing. But it's not just about minimalism.

Declutter means:

• Releasing belongings that no longer serve you

• Unfollowing social media accounts that trigger comparison

• Ending relationships that drain you

• Letting go of beliefs about who you "should" be

The less clutter you carry, the more space you have for what actually matters.

5. Cultivate Mindfulness Daily

Incorporate mindfulness practices to stay present and aware of your thoughts and actions.

This doesn't have to be complicated:

• Take three conscious breaths before getting out of bed

• Notice what you're feeling without judgment

• Eat one meal per day without distractions

• Pay attention to your body's signals throughout the day

Living abroad can make you feel scattered and reactive. Mindfulness brings you back to center.

Learn how: How to Do a Full Moon Ritual: A Complete Guide for Release and Renewal

6. Limit Distractions (Especially Digital Ones)

Identify the primary sources of distraction in your life—excessive screen time, social media, mindless scrolling, and reduce their impact.

When you're living abroad, it's tempting to stay constantly connected to people back home. But that keeps you from being fully present in your current life.

Set boundaries with technology:

• No phone for the first hour after waking

• Designated times for checking messages from home

• Turn off notifications that don't serve you

• Create phone-free zones in your home

The more present you are, the more intentional your life becomes.

7. Foster Positive Relationships

Surround yourself with people who uplift you and encourage your growth. This is harder abroad, but it's even more important.

Be intentional about who you spend time with:

• Seek out people who share your values

• Build friendships with those who inspire you

• Release relationships that keep you stuck

• Create boundaries with people who drain you

Positive relationships inspire you to live more intentionally. Toxic ones pull you into reactive patterns.

8. Practice Gratitude Regularly

Regularly expressing gratitude shifts your focus toward positivity and helps you appreciate your life as it is now—not just when everything's "figured out."

Living abroad can make you hyper-focused on what's missing. Gratitude brings you back to what's actually here.

Try this:

• Write three things you're grateful for each morning

• Notice small moments of beauty throughout your day

• Acknowledge progress you've made, even if it feels small

• Express appreciation to people who've helped you

Gratitude doesn't dismiss your struggles. It just reminds you that both things can be true: this is hard AND there's still good here.

9. Embrace Growth (Even When It's Uncomfortable)

View challenges and setbacks as opportunities for growth. This mindset allows you to stay focused on intentional living, even during difficult times.

Living abroad IS the growth process. Every cultural misstep, every moment of homesickness, every identity crisis, these aren't detours. They're the path.

When you embrace discomfort as information instead of failure, you stay aligned with your intention to grow.

3 Fast-Action Steps to Start Living Intentionally Today

You don't need to overhaul your entire life to start living more intentionally. These three simple actions create immediate shifts.

1. Create a Vision Board

Gather images, quotes, and words that represent your goals and values. Use this visual tool as a daily reminder of your intentions and guide for decisions.

Make it specific to your expat life:

• What do you want to feel in this chapter?

• Who do you want to become?

• What experiences matter most?

• How do you want to contribute?

Place it somewhere you'll see daily. Let it remind you why you're here and what you're building.

2. Implement a Digital Detox

Designate specific times to disconnect from digital distractions. This allows you to reconnect with yourself and focus on activities that align with your intentions.

Start small:

• One phone-free evening per week

• No scrolling first thing in the morning

• Social media breaks on weekends

• Airplane mode during meals

You'll be amazed how much mental space opens up when you're not constantly consuming other people's lives.

3. Schedule Mindfulness Practices

Integrate mindfulness into your daily routine. Whether through meditation, journaling, or simply dedicating a few moments to deep breathing, consistent practice is key.

Make it non-negotiable:

• Set a daily alarm for mindfulness time

• Link it to an existing habit (after coffee, before bed)

• Start with just 5 minutes

• Track your practice to build momentum

The more consistent you are, the more natural intentional living becomes.

Your Unique Path to Intentional Living

Here's what most advice about intentional living gets wrong: not everyone's path looks the same.

Your personality, your natural rhythms, your astrological makeup, all of this influences HOW you live intentionally.

Fire signs need action and bold moves. Earth signs need stability and tangible progress. Air signs need intellectual stimulation and connection. Water signs need emotional awareness and flow.

When you understand your natural element, intentional living stops feeling like work and starts feeling like alignment.

Discover Your Element and Personalized Approach

I've created a free quiz that reveals your personality element and what that means for living intentionally abroad.

👉 Take the Personality Element Quiz

You'll discover:

✨ Your natural approach to intentional living and purpose
✨ Which practices will actually work for YOUR energy
✨ How to set goals that align with your authentic self
✨ The best way to create meaningful change based on your element

Living Intentionally Is a Practice, Not a Destination

You won't wake up one day and suddenly be "good at" intentional living. It's an ongoing practice that requires commitment, self-compassion, and constant recalibration.

Some days you'll nail it. You'll make aligned choices, honor your boundaries, and feel deeply connected to your purpose.

Some days you'll forget entirely. You'll react instead of respond, say yes when you meant no, and wonder what happened to your intentions.

Both are part of the process.

Living intentionally abroad doesn't mean doing everything perfectly. It means noticing when you've drifted and gently bringing yourself back to center.

It means asking: Does this choice align with who I'm becoming?

It means choosing yourself, even when it's uncomfortable.

The woman who can live intentionally in the chaos of expat life? She's unstoppable. Because she's learned to find her center no matter what's happening around her.

That woman is already inside you. These practices just help you remember her.

Ready to discover your unique path to intentional living abroad?

👉 Take the Personality Element Quiz and get personalized guidance for creating a life that actually reflects who you are.

Your intentional life is waiting. So is the woman you came here to become.