Studying Abroad Makes You More Attractive

Guest post: Christopher GJ Cooley

Thinking of studying abroad, or already out there doing it? Excellent news: in addition to all the other well-documented benefits of studying abroad, it’ll also make you more attractive! And in order to help you break through any cultural barriers, I’ve also got a few international dating tips for you to make use of...

Why could studying abroad make you more attractive? Well, because it’ll give you some excellent conversational material for those awkward first dates. According to research commissioned by Expedia (see the full infographic below), travel was by far the most popular topic for first-date conversation  - 50% of respondents said they’d discuss travel, beating both work (42%) and music (31%).

So, by studying abroad, you’ll have plenty to talk about for years to come when trying to charm someone.

International dating tips

But what about dating when you’re actually still studying abroad? International dating is notoriously full of pitfalls. What passes for flirting in one country may come across as an insult in another. Or you may think you’ve made your feelings perfectly clear, only to find your crush has no idea you’re romantically interested.

Well, the Expedia research has a few (lighthearted) tips here too. For example, if you’re studying abroad in Ireland, be prepared for cheeky charm and lots of teasing. In Japan, if you’re struggling to get someone to make eye contact with you, that may actually mean they like you a lot. And while Italians are known for being comfortable with lots of body contact, in countries like the Netherlands you should steer clear of touching anyone you don’t know well.

Learning to love cultural differences

This may all seem confusing and not worth the hassle, but for many international students, cultural differences are all part of the attraction of studying abroad. Differences in dating etiquette are of course just one part of getting to know about a different culture.

Within an international university environment, you’ll probably find people are fairly tolerant - everyone’s likely to ‘get it wrong’ at some point! If you do say the wrong thing, or make the wrong gesture, you hopefully won’t actually offend anyone – and you’ll probably get even more good stories for those future dates...

Christopher GJ Cooley graduated from the London College of Communication with a first-class undergraduate degree in Magazine Publishing. He currently resides in London. He also writes a blog of obscure journalism.

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For more insights into how love and travel combine, check out this inforgraphic from Expedia: