When you date a girl from a different country it can be tough. There’s the whole challenge of meeting someone from a different culture who may also live abroad. But even if you both live in the same place, there can be obstacles.

Sometimes you meet somebody by chance who is from a different country to you, or you deliberately seek it out. After all, choosing to date a girl from a different country might appeal more to you if you’re drawn to new cultures. Or perhaps you’ve moved abroad and so it’s now a new dating experience altogether as you start a new life.

Dating anybody new can be a challenge in various ways but surely being on the same page helps right? What do you do when you’re in different countries, or spend time apart due to visiting family abroad? There’s so many new challenges you face if you have different cultural heritage, language barriers and time zones to combat.

Possible culture clash when you decide to date a girl from a different country

Say you’re just a regular guy without any crazy family antics but she’s from a super conservative country with stricter views. How do you connect with her family when they think you’re awful for having sex outside of marriage? Or on a more trivial level, just have different lifestyles.

What’s middle class in America is different from England and varies widely across countries even within the same continent. Political issues can be a juggling act where Brexit and Trump may seem tame, dictatorships, domestic policy and immigration can be a much more serious matter.

They always say you should never discuss money, religion or politics unless you want to lose friends or alienate people. But we can’t always avoid the elephant in the room. Being respectful of cultural differences is always the best approach and not making comments unless asked may be sensible.

After all, if it’s not your culture it might be hard for you to appreciate all the quirks of it. Accepting her background is simplest without any questions being asked. But when you do have issues that need discussion, doing it in a considerate way will help save face. Both in front of your girl and her family or friends.

On trivial matters, you might just have different pop culture references or food tastes. Being able to explore new things is part of the fun of life and having someone to do it with can make it even better!

Long distance relationships

If you date a girl from a different country, you sometimes experience long distance relationships. We all know being away from your girlfriend can suck. When it’s just for a few weeks at a time, it can be frustrating but manageable. But for longer periods due to being away visiting family or having work commitments abroad, it can become a challenge.

Thankfully the internet allows us to stay connected across the globe. With options such as WhatsApp making it easier to exchange messages, calls and video nearly instantly. While Skype and Facebook allow other ways of connecting which only require internet connection rather than relying on your phone.

When I’ve dated long distance, Skype became an awesome way of staying close. Video calls often lend themselves to certain activities if you catch my drift! Although any signal interruption at crucial moments may make things cum to a halt…

One challenge you face when you date a girl from a different country can be time zones. If you’re on one side of the world while she’s on the other, juggling your schedules to find time to talk can be a major challenge.

Back when I dated an Aussie, I’d be getting up to start my day while he’d already finished his. Or just when I was heading to bed, he’d already be up and wanting to chat before work. Needless to say, you end up with sleepless nights finding time for each other.

Short term, it’s a compromise you’re willing to make but long term it can feel like a drain. Some people are able to relocate easily to be closer to each other but when something’s worthwhile, putting in the effort nearly always pays off in the end.

Language barrier

Language isn’t universal, although English is increasingly widely spoken, not everybody knows common phrases. While a British girl like me might know ‘fanny’ as being a vagina, to an American it’s your butt. Then think of ‘pants’ being either trousers or underpants depending on where you’re from and ‘drop your pants’ has new meanings!

Even when we speak the same language there can be misunderstandings. So it’s hardly surprising that there can be mistakes made when you try to speak in a different language to your own. A friend told me about going into a Chinese pharmacy and trying to buy a face mask to protect against pollution and accidentally asking for a ‘face condom’ instead.

Well you can imagine the reaction of the woman serving him. She laughed a lot and eventually gave him what he wanted after much gesturing on his part. If this had happened across the breakfast table at his girlfriend’s parents’ house it might have been even more awkward!

Language barriers can be puzzling and amusing at the best of times. But when you date a girl from a different country, being prepared to deal with the challenges in expressing yourselves will make it a lot easier. Plus it might just give you some chances to laugh.

Expectations

Expectations in relationships vary from person to person, so it’s little wonder that they change depending on which country you’re living in. While in the West, it may seem optional as to whether you get married before living together, in other countries marriage is considered necessary before you live together at all.

Traditions are constantly being updated as political and social attitudes change. But when you date a girl from a different country, you might find that her expectations in a relationship or life broadly vary from your own.

Attitudes around whether women should do the same jobs as men are affected by cultural differences. While in the West, the thought of women serving in the military is accepted, elsewhere it’s fiercely denied. Being tolerant of different views is a diplomatic approach.

But when it comes to your relationship expectations, you might also find new things to think about when you date a girl from abroad. Expectations about who will be a bread winner, who is the home maker and what the future plans for family life may vary.

Being able to openly discuss your differences will help you explore what works for you. Whether it changes as to what you put on the menu, what kind of future life you have or which holidays you celebrate is up to you. The world is such a large place that being small minded can be a disadvantage. Instead you can choose to discover brand new things.