The worker's guide to being OS

Cuisine can be a crucial element in the enjoyment of your experience. Korean food was horrible until I discovered the various bits and pieces I could appreciate but that is the only place where I've not enjoyed the food. Get away from workmates and other expats when you can despite the attraction of conversing with other native speakers. Finding interesting places to eat is the best way to do that. You aren't going to benefit from the experience if you hang-out with the familiar.

The next thing to take into account is the return to Australia. After a winter of coal smog in Istanbul I felt as though I should have to pay each time I breathed Australia's sweet air. It always feels good to get off the plane 'back in Australia' because you now know for sure this is the best place in the world to belong to.

Hopefully the experience has made you more employable, especially if you've picked up an extra language, but you have to take into account that you've been out of the loop and lost contacts. Speaking personally I experienced culture shock because I had been living in a society with almost no rules then returned to a country that had become so regulated during my five years away that I even had a problem re-establishing my identity. My passport had been everything but suddenly it was worth 20 points. Some of my references were in a foreign language. And everything seemed so expensive!

Perhaps the least considered are the lasting benefits from having worked overseas. I have a special relationship with people in vastly different parts of the world and the natural tendency to follow more closely their political developments. International news reports are more significant when you know the region. Having edited a daily newspaper in Jakarta, my interest in the struggle between Islam and democracy will never wane. The difficult thing can be blending the overseas experience with the new situation you find when you return. Things don't stay the same just because you are not around.

The best way to accumulate wealth and status is to remain in the one place but if you yearn for excitement, exotic liaisons, global contacts and a richer picture of the world then take the plunge.