Sometimes the choice of moving to another country is made for you by the circumstances in your own life, sometimes it is made by you feeling adventures and open to new possibilities the world has to offer. Although I truly hated year 2005 in year 2005, I have recently realized that without it I would be probably still in the same job, not even dreaming about traveling or having different passion than trying to survive day by day. Marcin was struggling to get any job and I was working two jobs not seeing much reward out of it. Our parents needed to support our everyday basic expanses and I remember my mum buying me a coat for a winter as I could not afford one. At that time I was having nightmares about the life we were living, realizing that if we do not do something, this will be it, nothing else is going to change. I will start hating my job and everyone around, not sleeping well and being frustrated all the time. Marcin with his PhD was becoming the “house-men”, cleaning our flat and cooking, getting bored and tired of looking for work, hearing that he is not good enough and being perceived as a treat… Yes, after a year of trying to make things work we have decided that it is time for some drastic measures.
You might think that your life is perfect the way it is, and there is truly nothing wrong about that. You are happy and this might be it for you, as the only things worth perusing in life are love and happiness. If you feel that you are doing great every minute of your life, perhaps there is no need for any drastic changes. But… There is always a “but”, isn’t there? The opportunities brought by big changes might out wage your fear before a big jump into unknown. The experience you might be presented with could be life-changing and there is a good chance you will discover things you did not know you are able to do or learn. The unknown might be even more appealing than you would suspect before changing your life forever. O yes, no doubt about it!
The biggest fear before a change lies in uncertainty of what is laying ahead. You are not going to know unless you try to find out. If you are reading this now, there must be a part in you which is nagging you to do something. You have only one life and sometimes all you have to loose is what you have now and all you have to gain is a sea of possibilities. Your life, your decision, your risk.
If you stay where you are, nothing is going to change, not drastically at least. I believe there are people who are comfortable with that and I thought I am one of them too – I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and I thought this is what I will be doing until I am retired – but life had a different plan for me, and today I am grateful for that. Life made me move from my home country and fight. Life made sure I will discover my true nature, my passion, that I will thrive in new surroundings. Few bumps and mistakes along the line made me realize that in reality the choice and responsibilities for these are mine.
There are at least 5 reasons I can think of why you should try and live in different country, at least for a while.
- You have a possibility to widen your knowledge about people and the culture, learn new language, and discover new custom and cuisine. Living in a different country it’s not like going on holidays, when you have a relaxing time and there is nothing to worry about. At the beginning you might not feel like home anymore, leaving your safe haven and coming into unknown. Try to look out for things which make you feel less on edge, whatever it is. You need to enjoy your new experience and keep yourself positive whatever happens. You will eventually find the balance if you start thinking about your new experience as a part in your life which is giving you a great opportunity to get to know not only new country but yourself as well.
- You can try working different jobs, something you would never ever consider staying in your own country. This could be fun, definitely! When I came to England, without knowing the language and not having much to offer apart from myself and my commitment to any job I will be lucky to get hold of, I was scared and excited at the same time. It somehow shocked me how relieved I felt about changing surroundings, putting myself out there not really knowing what lies ahead and what kind of job I could do with my limited English. My friend helped me enormously by getting me through an interview on cleaner job in nursing home – I was working during weekends and used my weekdays to learn English. Surprisingly enough I have discovered that I did like my new job, even thought I would not consider doing it in my own country. But people I work with made all the difference!
- You will discover your strengths and your weaknesses. Majority of people are literally packed with strengths they do not know about and what they perceive as weakness might be something positive too. Not letting yourself out there, not changing – temporary or permanently – the place you live you will rob yourself of possibility to see yourself in a new light, discovering what you are capable of achieving, doing, changing. I would never ever consider doing another degree, learning third language, traveling, writing my own blog if I did not move to England.
- You will change. Of course, we are changing all the time during our life, no matter where we are. But would I change that much if I was still living in my own country, doing my safe job, living in the same space? I am sure I have become more curious about things, braver to try something new I normally would not even think of just because I moved to England. I have learnt English and this opened so many doors, not only job-wise, but travel-wise too. I am not scared to get lost anywhere, as my attitudes towards uncertainty has changed – now instead of perceiving it as an obstacle I would rather treat it as a challenge I can have my take on!
- It becomes easier and easier to do that! The world truly changed and if you are young and feel the need to try something new, the possibilities are practically endless. If you lucky enough to be an EU nationality, choosing to live in one of the European Union countries is even easier – not having to go through all the paperwork and visas etc. Just make your choice, start learning language so you have some basics, save some money and try! What do you have to loose, really? Remember – it is your attitudes towards changes and willingness to be open to new things that will get you further.
So, there you go, you can achieve so much just because you decide that the time for a change is right now. But remember (always some “buts”… ), taking such a big step is not an easy start and sometimes you need to be really determined to keep going. Be patient and don’t give up, as at the end of the day you are able to achieve something great for yourself.
Let me know your thoughts if you ever decided to leave your safe haven to start new life somewhere else – I look forward to hearing your stories and your experience. Maybe you can add something to my list of reasons? I would be very grateful for all your thoughts!
Wind Travelers 
My husband and I picked up and moved from the U.S. to the Netherlands…BUT it is hard for most people to move somewhere permanently due to residency laws. Luckily, he has citizenship with Italy as well as the U.S., so we are free to move about the E.U. and settle where we want. We love the life we chose…6 months in and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
http://www.awanderlustforlife.com
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Thanks so much for sharing! Yes, that is so true, if Poland did not join the EU we would probably never move abroad. But luckily that happens and now we are very happy with our choice. Obviously it was not easy from the beginning but now we both think that was the best decision we have ever made! You can learn so much about yourself when you stop being afraid!
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I left many dimensions of myself in the last decade and a half but it is an amazing journey symbolized by my move from the USA to Costa Rica. Being willing to take a truthful look around you may be a great reason to exercise moving “away”. In reality exploring your greater sense of Self as an extensive Being you realize that on a Universal level we are still all so close and intertwined here on Earth that there is really very little that separates us. Traveling can give you a greater perspective, peace and transformation so needed by humanity on a whole. Blessings to you all.
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Thank you so much for your view – I could not agree more, traveling, leaving one place to live in a totally different will take you somewhere you do not expect and will open you to so many possibilities, it will show you who you really are, will tell you how well connected you are with everyone living around you. As someone noticed it will give you an opportunity to see which people are your friends truly too.
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