Culture shock comes in many forms—and sometimes it’s wearing a winter coat.

Moving to a new country is all fun and cultural exploration… until the weather slaps you in the face like an ex with unresolved issues.

As an intercultural trainer, I prepare people for the big things: different communication styles, workplace norms, mealtime surprises (hello, dinner at 10 p.m.!). But one thing that often blindsides people? The weather.

As an expat myself and a cultural trainer, I expected new food, new customs, maybe some polite confusion over how to pronounce paella. What I didn’t expect was that “sunny with a breeze” in my old country (Canada) translates to “put on a down jacket with a fur collar” here in Spain. Meanwhile, I’ve had to retire my snow boots, thermal mittens, and emotional support parka.

When I arrived in Spain, I stepped off the plane and immediately started sweating in places I didn’t know could sweat. I wasn’t walking—I was slow-cooking.

And then there’s Northern Europe—aka the sunless continent. Many of my clients there were being prescribed vitamin D like it was a food group. Doctors handed it out like candy. One client joked, “My bones are 80% calcium, 20% desperation.”

Culture shock is real. But weather shock? That’s the sneaky sidekick that fogs up your glasses and makes your old wardrobe obsolete.

This is just one of the many invisible layers of adaptation that people face when relocating. As I support globally mobile professionals, let’s not forget the “small” shocks—they often tell the bigger story.

this image was generated by AI