With the growing presence of U.S. businesses in other countries, you may be relocated to the unfamiliar territory with a new job duty and lifestyle. To ease the stress of living overseas, you need to create the wisdom of yours based on the following advice given by some former expats.

• Speak the local language as much as you can, even if you are not 100% confident in your language skills. Since locals respect your effort to speak their language, you can make some local friends quickly and learn from them about the local life.
• Find shared accommodation (not necessarily in a single room, but in the same house/apartment), if you are alone. Roommates can help you improve your local language skills and can set you up with a local bank account, phone/internet installation, and so forth, while showing you some cool spots and exposing you to local cultural nuances.
• Be yourself and celebrate the differences and similarities in cultures rather than trying to blend in local cultures too hard.
• Be aware of different local environments (e.g., health care, educational system, local taxes, safety, crime rate, different rules/customs) instead of behaving as if you are still in your home country.  For instance, in Brazil, its crime rate is relatively high, it is politically unstable, and school options are limited. In Egypt, you should understand that its high pollution, dodgy medical care, lousy economy, and safety can turn you off. In middle-eastern countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, they are unfriendly to female expats. In New Zealand, it is relatively tough to make local friends. In Italy, taxes are relatively high. On the other hand, Taiwan, Malta, and Ecuador are generally well-received by expats due to their welcoming environments and quality of life.
• Stay in touch with the former expats that you became close friends with. You may pick up some wisdom from their experiences.
• Hire a local realtor to buy and sell local properties, since he/she is more familiar with local laws, property value, finances, and real estate markets. For example, it is customary for you to pay the whole amount for buying a house/condo in South Korea. In that country, monthly rental options are very limited (especially Seoul).
• For other details, visit http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/living/resources/expatriatewebsites.shtml.