First Winter After Relocating To A Colder Clime? Here Is How To Survive And Thrive

How To Survive Winter In The Colder Climes And Thrive If You Just Japa

Relocating during winter or relocating to a country that is mostly cold can be a culture shock, especially for people like us from Nigeria who would be used to warmer weather. The winter cold can throw you off if you’ve lived or you grew up in a country where the weather is either humid or balmy. 

A conversation we had here with a Nigerian who Japa to Finland for his masters made it known that it is not exactly the easiest for people who have lived in warmer climes to relocate to colder climes and also how lonely it can be. Some people will tell you that the weather goes a long way in affecting or dictating their mood. 

Moving to a colder climb can also impact your health and have negative side effects on your body. You might suffer from flu which can cause you to be sick and miserable for days with symptoms like headache, a spike in temperature, blocked nostrils and more. You will need to try as much as possible to stay healthy as much as you can while you’re there. You’ll need to beef up your supplements and ensure that your immune system is up. It will do you good to eat a lot of vegetables, fish, broth and fruit and also you supplements that are rich in vitamin C.

Another way the winter and colder clime can adversely affect you is through joint pain. I have heard a lot of people during winter complain about pain in their joints. If you are suffering from arthritis you will need to be extra careful and do things like jogging, stretching, yoga and pilates to help you. You can also suffer from sore throat and runny nose during the winter. If you are relocating to a colder clime from a warmer clime one of the ways your body can react to this is with a sore throat or runny nose. You may also get a fever, body aches and suffer from cough. The trick is to stay hydrated and drink a lot of water for a sore throat, you can do the salt water gargle 

Tips For Dealing With Your First Winter Abroad

Stay Healthy 

 Moving to colder climes puts you at more risk of falling sick, catching the flu, and getting sore throats and colds. To mitigate this and reduce your chances of falling sick, you should try as much as possible to stay healthy. That means practising healthy habits by staying hydrated, eating a lot of fruit and veggies, getting your immune system up, and taking the right vitamins and supplements for you. 

 Practise Cleanliness

To also help reduce your chances of falling sick and catching a cold you should practise cleanliness by disinfecting your new space regularly, washing your hands frequently, airing out places and cleaning indoor spaces regularly. You should also try to avoid crowded places filled with a lot of people that can easily spread viruses to you.

Exercise 

Try to join a gym in your neighbourhood or somewhere close to you so as to strengthen your body and your mind. If you can’t afford a gym you can make use of YouTube and work out from the house stop but you can do yoga exercises, pilates, and other exercises to keep your mind and body strong. 

 Avoid Stress

There is a book by this author Bessel van der Kolk that talks about how the body keeps track and never forgets trauma and stress and how it takes a toll on the body. When you are stressed or nervous your immune system takes a beating and gets debilitated which then opens you up to sickness cold and flu. It is important to try as much as possible to reduce situations or take yourself out of situations that will have you stressed and anxious. To combat this, you can enjoy activities or try to do activities like reading, crafting, dancing in your house, painting, yoga or any other activity that puts you at ease.

Wear Layers Of Clothing

Protect yourself from the cold by layering up on the clothing items that you are wearing. If you have to double or triple clothing items to keep yourself warm and protect yourself from the cold then don’t be afraid to do that. Moving to a new city, you can find a store close to you where they sell the rights winter accessories and clothing like; winter jackets, the winter coat, gloves, boots, ear muffs, neck scarf, hats, beanies, thick socks, thick long pants and all other clothing items and articles that will keep you warm and protect you from the worst of the cold.

Winter can be a fun time for people who have not really experienced snow before and the colder climes can also be nice. You just have to choose to view it from a positive angle and enjoy every moment that you have. In conclusion, you need to be healthy, make healthy habits, layer up and wear clothes that would protect you from the cold, and also practise cleanliness.