Expat life can seem like a dream — but people who have done it know it has its own challenges.

Travel fiends who want to take it to the next level might consider a one-way ticket to an interesting locale to live and work.

We spoke with a handful of seasoned expatriates, who gave their best advice for working and living abroad — and for coming back home again.

I had no idea how to give someone a credit card.

The process is admittedly obvious: take the card out of your wallet and, with your hand, give it to a cashier's hand. But I was living in South Korea, where many of my habits needed to be revised — how I rolled up my jeans, not getting leftovers from a restaurant, saying thank you if someone complimented me on being pale or having a small face.

I had seen salespeople giving their customers receipts and cards with two hands or a hand on the arm, bows aplenty. It seemed appropriate to mirror their actions and finish it with a small bow for good measure. So, that's what I did. Cashiers did the same back to me. I felt like I made a minor inroad into integrating.

Joyously, I shared this success with my Korean friends. And I was roundly made fun of.

My close friend was between visible horror and amusement, covering her hands with her face out of second-hand humiliation. "That's too much! Don't do that!" Thus I stopped bowing at the pimply 16 year old at 7/11 who scanned my coffee.

It's not glamourous, rewarding or even very interesting, but that's a lot of what living abroad is —looking stupid, trying to look less stupid, terrible loneliness, fleeting successes, and insights that seemed difficult to wrest. Living in Korea for nearly a year and a half wasn't as gleeful as what my Instagram feed suggested, but what I learned was valuable.

I chatted with American and British expatriates who have found new homes in places like Indonesia, France, Thailand and other incredible spots. Here's what they wish they knew before they jetted off from their birthplaces for a life of equal parts embarrassment and adventure.