More and more expats are joining the “Dry December” trend — choosing to skip alcohol during the festive season as a way to regain balance and focus on well-being. Between cultural differences, social pressure, and the desire for a reset, this growing movement shows that sobriety is becoming a new form of self-care abroad.
December is a popular time for making commitments to yourself and initiating life changes. And more and more expats seem to focus on one change in particular: this December, they are choosing not to drink.
You may have heard about Dry January, the idea of starting the first month of the year with a personal challenge of staying away from alcohol. Well, Dry December is pretty much the same, but it moves the commitment to the month that most expats consider the toughest.
Why December?
Try this. Search for "December as an expat" on Google, and you see articles titled "How To Survive A Lonely Christmas Abroad As An Expat", "When December Abroad Feels Different…," and "X Ideas for Surviving Christmas Abroad"—and the like.
And, indeed, December for expats can be difficult. If you celebrate Christmas or New Year, you will most likely start missing friends, family, and familiar foods back home. And if you don't celebrate these holidays, and find yourself living in a place that does, you will be looking at the other side of "uncomfortable." Everything and everyone around you is absolutely obsessed with getting ready for a holiday you don't feel a part of.
Holiday blues aside, there are lots of other factors that make December a complicated month for expats. The weather alone can be an unpleasant adjustment—the days are shorter, temperatures drop, and you may be starting to feel hints of SAD. And if you are in the tropics, ironically, you may start to miss the snow and cold from back home, simply because this is what you associate the season with.
Social routines can shift as well. Fellow expats may be traveling back home, colleagues may become less available, and your support network may become less stable. There is also the weight of emotional reflection, which we tend to give in to closer to the end of the year.
In short, December holds up a magnifying glass to all the challenges you are already dealing with as an expat. And this is why a lot of expats think that it's a bad idea to add drinking to the mix.
Why Dry December can be a good idea
As we've briefly explored above, living abroad can come with an intense emotional and sensory overload. Everything around you is new. And our brain often translates "new" into "stressful".
Drinking is one of the most tempting yet inefficient ways to handle stress. In fact, several studies show that when we drink alcohol specifically to cope with stressful situations, it actually leads to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness over time. Choosing a Dry December can be a great way to break through this counterproductive ritual and try something healthier.
For some, taking a break from drinking in December can translate into a welcome pause. Being sober can help you gain more mental clarity and feel more stable, even when everything around you is new.
It's also a surprisingly effective antidote to expat fatigue. You may have noticed that living in a new country often feels like a constant exercise in adapting, interpreting, and absorbing a new culture and way of life. Drinking often feels like a shortcut to shutting off your brain and getting some much-needed off time from the constant flow of thought. But alcohol actually amplifies mood swings and can make everyday challenges feel heavier than they are. Removing alcohol is actually what can give your nervous system the much-needed break.
Another notable benefit of not drinking this December is that you will be able to notice more of what is going on around you. Instead of hiding from this December, you will get to face it and experience it in full. And it could just be that it's not as bad as you had thought. Maybe you will find a new way to celebrate the holidays away from home. Or, maybe, you will discover interesting traditions in your new destination that you missed before.
Dry December can also provide you with an easy "out" if you are being pressured into drinking at social events. Instead of going into lengthy explanations about why you are choosing not to drink, you can simply say: "I am doing Dry December".
Speaking of social pressure to drink, though, this can also vary widely depending on where you find yourself this December.
December Drinking culture in different countries
When I was doing research for this article, I came across a lot of December drinking events specifically from the UK. It looks like drinking, and especially drinking in pubs, is a big part of December holidays. There is even a phenomenon here known as Mad Friday. It's the last Friday before Christmas, and in the UK it is celebrated rather intensely with office parties and pub crawls. It's one of the busiest nights not only for city bars but also emergency services. In fact, this Friday is often nicknamed "Black Eye Friday" because of the many alcohol-related incidents.
And it seems safe to assume that if you are spending this Christmas in the UK, the pressure to drink may be very concentrated.
"Drinking in London is on another level. We almost worship it. When I worked at an office there, I ended up in a pub almost every other night; sometimes I had a pint, sometimes I didn't. But the idea was always there", says Jana, a German expat in London.
If you are in Germany or Austria, drinking is still a big part of the celebrations. But it takes on a quieter and cozier nature. Here, and especially in smaller towns, December is more about winter markets and mugs of Glühwein and hot punch. Drinking is social but often more ritualistic. This created an interesting challenge if you are following Dry December. Sipping hot wine on a cold, snowy day can feel almost fairytale-ish. These little moments, when everyone around you is laughing and drinking, may be exceptionally difficult to resist. And giving in to "just one" of these moments unfolds into the potential danger of giving up on your commitment altogether.
In Spain, Portugal, and Italy, drinking is often part of meals and conversation rather than being a standalone main event. A glass of red here, a shared toast there—before you know it, it's 2am and you are still having dinner. Abstaining from alcohol here requires planning and patience. And, of course, willpower, as a lot of dishes here seem to be designed for wine pairings. "Before moving to Spain, I always needed some special occasion to get wine. Here, it's something you drink at lunch and dinner, like juice," shares Miranda (American expat in Alicante, Spain).
If you are in Japan, chances are you will be invited to a bonenkai, literally translated as a forget the year gathering. This is basically a large-scale drinking party, where you will get to reflect on the year and do your best to leave all the associated stress behind. As an expat, attending a bonenkai can be a fascinating cultural experience. But as an expat pursuing a Dry December, you will need to make it very clear to your hosts that you will not be drinking.
Probably the easiest Dry December destinations are in the Middle East and some parts of Southeast Asia. In some of these countries, alcohol is absent from public life altogether. And even if all you want is a glass of champagne to toast the end of the year, you will need to make some arrangements to make it happen. "I've been stationed in Algiers (Algeria) for a few years now. It's not been easy to get used to life here. But one major plus is that I've almost quit drinking. It's not that hard to find alcohol, but it's still extra hoops to jump through. So I end up living almost sober here," says Philippe, a French expat in Algiers.
Health benefits of a Dry December
Even if you are a generally moderate drinker, research shows that you may get some substantial health benefits from not drinking for a month. You may be able to lower blood pressure and even improve insulin sensitivity.
Alcohol is also known to disrupt REM and deep sleep. This leads to fragmented and less restorative rest. After quitting alcohol, a lot of people report deeper and more consistent sleep.
Taking a break from alcohol comes with notable benefits for your liver, brain, immune system, and overall metabolic health.
And beyond purely physical improvements, a Dry December can also help you achieve better mental clarity and improve overall mood. As we've mentioned at the beginning of this article, a lot of expats find December to be a particularly tough month for living abroad. A mental reset without alcohol can give you a greater sense of control and emotional steadiness. You may then find it easier to navigate this month with awareness instead of simply reacting to December triggers.
But perhaps the most meaningful benefit is the sense of agency it gives. When everything around you feels unfamiliar, choosing a Dry December becomes a small act of self-care—a reminder that you can set the tone for how you want to close your year, even far from home. It lets expats begin January with clarity rather than exhaustion, which is often the best gift they can give themselves during a season that can feel louder and heavier than expected.
