Does the expat life increase creativity?

One of the most common ways to cure a creative block among artists is to pack up their bags and head to a new country. This is usually a temporary effort to get those creative juices flowing again, but what about long-term or permanent stays? According to a recent study from Columbia Business School, living abroad just may improve innovation and creativity. The study looked at collections from over 270 fashion houses and creative directors who had spent time living abroad. Based on certain rankings that fashion stakeholders and journalists gave to those fashion houses, the administrators of the study were able to conclude that when the creative directors lived abroad, they tended to be more creative.

Another study conducted by the American Psychological Association concluded that people who live abroad as opposed to just traveling, experience more creative bursts. They also practice flexible thinking and are successful in their careers.  If you were thinking along the lines of ‘weekend beach trip’, a change of scenery is helpful, but immersion into another culture achieves your goals.

According to Adam Grant, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist and author of the new book “Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World”, working abroad has remarkable effects for creativity.

Any time you have a problem, you have an extra set of resources at your disposal to say, my home country has taught me to think about it this way,” he says. “However, if we were to go to Chile, here’s how I would look at a problem while I’m there.

Many successful business people gained their notoriety from spending years of their lives in various countries, such as the writer Ernest Hemingway, and head of fashion house Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld. The expat creativity research falls in line with all the research that’s found how personal diversity encourages and enables creativity. Studies indicate that immigrants are more likely to be highly creative than people who grew up in one country, and bilingual people show higher creativity than people who only speak one language.

The causal relationship between living abroad and creativity continues to be assessed. The certain evidence finds that it expands minds, opens doors leading to worlds one had never imagined and forces them to think in new ways. This alone is an environment that creates the perfect recipe for creativity.

Adapted from sources: britco.com, techinsider.io

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