Decision Fatigue in Expat Life - The Hidden Energy Drain

Annegret Bertsch
24 hours ago
3 min read

You walk into a supermarket in your new country. The shelves are lined with yogurts you don’t recognize - dozens of brands, different sizes, flavors, labels in a language you don’t fully understand. What should be a two-minute choice suddenly becomes a mini-battle of research, comparison, and uncertainty. By the time you leave the store, you’re not just carrying groceries. You’re carrying the weight of one more decision.

This is decision fatigue. And for expats, it’s not the exception. It’s the rule.

What is Decision Fatigue?

Decision fatigue is the mental exhaustion that comes from making too many choices. Psychologists have shown that willpower and decision-making capacity are finite resources. The more decisions we make, the more depleted we become and often without realizing it.

For most people, daily decisions like what to eat, which route to drive, whether to answer an email now or later blend into the background of life. But for expats, every layer of life is filled with extra choices, big and small.

And it’s not just about being tired. Decision fatigue impacts our mood, our relationships, our ability to work effectively, and our overall well-being.

When you move abroad, the “default settings” of life disappear. Nothing runs on autopilot anymore. Here are a few decisions expatriates have to make.

Practical decisions pile up quickly:

Where should we live?
Which school is right for the kids?
Which doctor do we trust?
Where is the best place to shop?
Do we buy new furniture here or ship it across continents?

Even the simple question of what to wear suddenly comes with cultural undertones: is this outfit appropriate for the climate, the workplace, the neighborhood?

Emotional decisions are constant:

How do I react when culture shock hits?
Do I invest energy in maintaining friendships back home or accept that some connections may fade?
How do I deal with loneliness?

Social decisions never stop:

Who should I meet for coffee?
Do I attend this party, or conserve energy by staying home?
Who might become a friend, and who will remain an acquaintance?

The first move abroad can feel like an adventure. Every decision feels fresh, exciting, even fun. But for expats who move every two or three years, the cycle repeats - again and again. What was once energizing becomes draining.

The Evidence: What Research Shows

The Expat Insider Survey 2025 (by InterNations) confirms what many of us feel: expats consistently report challenges in areas that require high decision-making. Among the top struggles worldwide are:

Bureaucracy and administration (navigating visas, permits, taxes).
Housing (finding safe, affordable, suitable homes in unfamiliar markets).
Making friends (building a new social circle from scratch).
Language barriers (deciding what to say, how to say it, and whether you’re being understood).

Each of these is not one decision but hundreds - a constant mental load.

The survey also highlights that while many expats thrive professionally, the personal side of relocation often brings the most stress. That stress is rarely about one major crisis; it’s the accumulation of many small decisions over time.

When decision fatigue sets in, it doesn’t just impact the expat. It ripples outward.

Emotional toll: Stress, guilt, frustration, and exhaustion become constant companions. Many expats feel guilty for not “enjoying the adventure” more, or frustrated when small decisions drain energy they’d rather save for family or work.

Family impact: Decision fatigue can strain marriages and parenting. When every choice feels heavy, patience runs thin. Arguments can flare up over things that would otherwise be trivial.

Workplace consequences: For corporate expats, the irony is striking: the very reason they’re abroad - their job - often demands sharp decision-making. But when their energy is already depleted by the personal decisions of daily expat life, workplace decisions feel heavier too. Some expats describe themselves as running on “half-battery” at work.

From Fatigue to Awareness

Decision fatigue is real. It shows up in the supermarket aisle, in the doctor’s office, at the school gate, in the living room, and of course at the office desk.

For expats, it’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a normal response to the extraordinary number of decisions we face in building a life away from home.

But awareness changes everything. When we name it, we can work with it. When we simplify where possible, protect our energy, and choose restorative practices, we reclaim clarity and resilience.

We can’t remove decisions from expat life. They are part of the package. But coaching can transform how we approach them.

COACHING BECAUSE decision fatigue is real but it doesn´t have to run your expat life.