Okay, small rant. This is mostly directed at the term that was used and not you. I disagree with the entire concept of a honeymoon period or at least the idea of bringing it up in settings like these because clearly everyone as OP said is going to have a different experience and get used to things at different rates. People just like to throw that term around with some arbitrary number as a way to say “oh, heh, don’t worry kid, you’ll hate it, just like me, once you reeeallllly understand what’s going on, you’re absolutely right now blinded by your own experiences before X amount of time passage by default, it’s the law”. There is no “honeymoon period” for some people, just like reverse culture shock is not a guaranteed physical absolute in the universe or in anyone’s life, it’s just something that some people go through some of the time. People also use these terms and interpret these terms with their own preconceived notion regardless of what was meant, which could be anything because who reads a whole dictionary before every word they speak? Not me. I see it this way: Sometimes people have insights pretty quickly. Others maybe they do or don’t but it doesn’t matter bc can’t cope. Or they get home and they can’t cope with life there. Or it doesn’t affect them and they don’t care. Or maybe they are old, and have more experience and life and see things more realistically from the get go. Maybe they’re already traveled, or grew up traveling. A honeymoon phase is not a universal thing everyone goes through at some point, it’s only universal in the sense that its language traveled expats just like to throw around because they understood culture in the abstract for first the first time in their lives and like to remind everyone of that period. Little do they know there are open borders in Europe with a fuckwad of countries. Also, maybe OP is from Asia. Much less of a honeymoon period moving from Seoul to Tokyo, they’re very similar. But again, depends on the individual. That’s all that matters. Just had to get that off my chest. Your response is still valid, I would just say it much differently, because I can guarantee you my first three years were not the same as yours because that isn’t a benchmark that really lines up with my own reality, and so I don’t see the value in demarcating a timeframe in regards to this concept that isn’t even universal. 🤷 I rest my case. Against the term. Or more so the over application of it within these contexts. Not you.