Feeling Homesick in Australia — How can Immigrants deal with homesickness?

Homesickness is something that many immigrants in Australia struggle with specially during this time of the year when Christmas is just around the corner. Not to mention the added effect of the pandemic which limits our lives in many ways. Homesickness affects millions of people in our country since thirty percent of Australia’s resident population are people born overseas (source: ABS).

What is homesickness?

If you’ve been homesick before, you probably don’t need me to tell you what it is or how it feels like. But for the sake of putting it to words, homesickness is when a person experiences intense feelings of longing due to being away from their loved ones and the home environment where they’ve been in for most of their life.

Losing the familiarity of being in the country you grew up in where you were surrounded with your support system is an unfortunate trade off when you migrate to Australia. A natural response to this loss are feelings of nostalgia, anxiety, insecurity, withdrawal, sadness, or even depression. In other words, homesickness. So if you’re feeling these, know that you are not alone and that it’s completely normal to be feeling this way.

It can become overwhelming but the intensity of emotions differ from person to person. I wish I could say that it’s something that you will grow out of, but I don’t think it is. It may be a temporary phase in a sense that it’s not always going to be in the forefront of your mind. But it doesn’t matter how long it has been since you migrated to Australia, you’ll still get homesick. It’s just a matter of knowing how to deal with it.

What makes me feel homesick?

Christmas Time

I’ve always loved Christmas but after moving to Australia, it has become bittersweet to me. I miss feeling the spirit of Christmas as early as September. You may start seeing Christmas decorations being sold in shopping centres here this early too, but maybe to a lesser extent. You also wouldn’t be bombarded with Christmas tunes and ads until December. Although this might be how the Christmas season is the world over, it’s certainly not the same as all the other Christmas seasons I’ve celebrated growing up.

Something that is uniquely Australian when we talk about Christmas is the fact that it may be the only place in the world that welcomes Christmas in summer and celebrates it over a Christmas lunch. Even though Christmases here will never be like what it was back in the Philippines, Christmas in Australia has its charms. My only wish is that I get to spend it with my whole family.

How to deal with homesickness on Christmas:

• Continue the Christmas traditions you grew up doing but also try to make/adapt new ones.
• Put up Christmas decorations.
• Watch Christmas movies set ‘back home’.
• Play familiar Christmas songs.
• Make the Christmas feast that you remember.
• Participate in Australian Christmassy events.
• Video call with your family. Or better yet, invite them over.
• If these aren’t enough, maybe you could fly over for Christmas.

The Food

How to deal with it:

• Go to specialty stores offering products from your country, or find them online.
• Look in the international aisles of supermarkets
• Recreate the dishes. You can find written recipes online or in ‘cooking shows’ on YouTube.
• Look for restaurants that sell authentic food. 
• Check out Facebook groups of other immigrants who were from the same country as you, for recommendations. Some of them even sell home cooked, authentic meals.
• Find some Australian food that could be one of your favourites. For me this would be battered fish with a side of battered chips, both generously sprinkled with chicken salt.

Family and friends

For most people, if not for everyone, missing your family and friends would be the biggest and most heartbreaking part of being homesick. Nothing could ever compare to being able to easily see and be with your loved ones anytime you want. Nothing beats the feeling of knowing that no matter what happens, your family and friends are always just there around you whenever you need them. The pain of not being with them is highlighted during the special moments in our lives such as birthdays, weddings, giving birth etc.

How to deal with it:

• Keep in touch regularly through video calls, chats etc.
• Invite them over to Australia.
• Travel back.
• Send them a package from Australia that you personally curated (a.k.a. balikbayan box for Filipinos). This would help you feel that you’re still kind of there for them.

What else can you do when you feel homesick?

• Accept the fact that being homesick is a normal and common thing that Immigrants experience. Allow yourself to feel these emotions, and release them if needed (cry). Be careful not to stay in this emotional state though.
  
• Explore your surroundings, make Australia your new home. Look around and find ‘your place’ i.e. your shopping centre, your restaurant, your cafe etc.
  
• Make new friends. Create a new support system, a circle of friends whom you could consider as your ‘family’ here in Australia.
  
• Join a community group with people who are in a similar situation as yourself. There are plenty of multicultural associations throughout Australia. You can even find strong ‘ethnic’ communities on Facebook groups.
  
• Talking to someone about what you’re going through may help you sort out your thoughts and emotions.
  
• Remind yourself of the reason why you decided to migrate to Australia. It may be for economic reasons, to be with a loved one, or to have the environment that Australia has to offer. Whatever it was, it certainly was strong enough of a reason for you to move across oceans for.
  
• Keep in mind that oftentimes, we have a romanticised view of our past. Yes, we have fond memories of the life that we used to have but there was something that we wanted to change about it that’s why we’re now here in the beautiful land down under.
  
• Give yourself time. Adjusting to a new country and making it your own may take years of work.
  
• Live your present life. It would be a waste to always be living in the past and miss the beauty of your present.

Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.

Got a story to share? Get in touch with us here:
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr