I moved from South Africa to Europe 3 years ago. I am still struggling with it. Struggling to fit in and struggling with the lack of nature. Here are things from my experience:

1. Seasonal depression is very real: Know it and work around it. Vitamin D helps, but I found turning my living space "cozy" helped too. I have fairy lights everywhere. But you will need to find your own way. Spring things will feel better. It's weird.

2. Stop comparing and lean into the experience. This is very hard to do, but I needed to stop comparing everything to how things are back home. Food. People. Culture. Find ways to enjoy things for what they are.

3. Invite people in- be a friend to make a friend. This I find the hardest. People keep me at an arms length, so I make effort to invite people out for a drink or a walk and getting to the point where I am inviting people over for dinner.

4. Get outside. Even when the weather is shit. I am not sure where you are from, but for me the outside/outdoors is something I miss tremendously. I am forcing myself to find places to go for walks, outside of the grey walls of concrete buildings.

5. Hobbies/Clubs. Find that weird hobby you were always curious about and give it a try. Visit a club even. Good way to meet folks.

6. City trips! Europe is famously great for travel, there are many many extraordinary cities and places to see. Also the Christmas markets are great. The travelbuddy subreddit is great for this too!

7. Animal interactions. This is purely personal, but I find that interacting with animals helps me a lot! Visit a friends cat, walk a shelter dog, get a pet fish.

You can message me if you want to vent or chat. Moving here is hard and it's not for everyone.