If you’ve ever been eager for a change, you might consider moving away from where you currently live or have always left and try someone new. It’s a big conversation to have, when it comes to moving, because while you want to do the right thing you might crave adventure. Most people do create some kind of adventure, so they move to new places and new towns and they gain a taste for something other than what they’ve been used to growing up their whole lives. The one thing that most people don’t consider however is emigrating across the world and starting again.
Expat life isn’t for everybody, and that’s OK. That means there’s plenty of room for those who want to go and see the world and live in new places to be able to spread their wings and fly. But what if you could just, for one minute, change your life and move somewhere else and experience new things? Would it really be so bad? Could it be the start of a whole new adventure for you? Either way, moving abroad is something everybody should experience at least once. If you’re part of the generation that takes a gap year after uni, the chances are very high that you’ve wanted to volunteer or travel, which means that at some stage you would have moved across the world to live and work in a new place.
It’s not a permanent situation for everybody, but if you do choose to make it permanent, you would be changing your life for the better. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best reasons why you should say yes to expat life.
- You are fully getting out of your comfort zone. It’s the best reason. There’s nothing quite like being stuck in a rut, but one of the reasons that you should absolutely say yes to being an expat at least once in life is because you are going to pull yourself way out of your comfort zone and experience something new. No longer will you be able to rely on your usual routines or your route to work or the people that you knew. Yes, it sounds terrifying. But does that mean you shouldn’t do it? Absolutely not! That’s all the more reason you should turn around and say yes. So, you get out of your comfort zone and you experience something new, if it doesn’t work out what happens then? You simply go home. That’s one thing that most people don’t remember when it comes to this conversation about moving abroad. Your existing home is always going to be there, you can head back to your home country no harm done except with a few new experiences under your belt.
- You’ll make new friends. I hear you saying what’s wrong with your old friends? There’s nothing wrong with your old friends, but sometimes it’s nice to get out of the same route that you’ve always lived in and experience meeting new people. Having the opportunity to immerse yourself in new cultures and understand the perspectives of people you would never have met before moving is important. There are plenty of reasons you should move to another country but meeting new people is the one that you will treasure the most. You’ll meet people from all walks of life from different backgrounds and cultures, and you’ll learn about their customs in the same way you learned about yours growing up. It will help you to gain a much better and newer appreciation for life in a new place.
- You might learn a language. It takes time to learn a brand new language, everybody knows that. One of the best reasons to move to the other side of the world though is that you can immerse yourself among people who speak that language every single day. They are already speaking that language and you could too, you just have to give yourself a chance to learn it. Yes, it will take time and it will be brand new, but what better way to learn something new than to really immerse yourself in the culture and among the people that constantly speak something new? It’s impressive to be able to hold a conversation in new languages, not only will you be able to impress employers, but your friends and family will be impressed with your newfound knowledge as well.
- You experience different cultures. There’s nothing quite like experiencing India from the perspective of a traveler, except when you get to experience it from somebody who’s now living right in the thick of it. First hand experience is not possible from a holiday because you don’t get to spend long enough in one location for it to really be relevant. You shouldn’t feel afraid of spreading your wings and looking to experience new cultures up front and first hand. Instead, you should feel excited at the prospect that you get to be that one who steps forward to do it. Instead of being so afraid all the time, embrace the changes that you’re about to have in your life and enjoy every single bit of moving somewhere new.
- You get to work abroad. It can be overwhelming to work in a brand new country of which the tax laws and the regulatory laws you have no idea. But there’s nothing stopping you from learning them. If you didn’t do anything because you were too scared to learn, then you really would never leave the house! Working in a new country gives you a taste of something completely different. We’re living in an increasingly connected world, which gives you the chance to pursue new employment opportunities abroad. You could be an expat in Dubai and end up working for a Sheikh. Moving abroad gives you the new skills and insights that you need to develop valuable international experience that you wouldn’t have a chance to develop at home.
- You can give yourself a much better quality of life. If you’re hating what you see out of your front door these days, there’s nothing stopping you from changing it. Most people don’t move abroad when they don’t like what they see out the window because they’re too afraid to make that change, but that doesn’t mean you have to be afraid. In fact, other people being afraid should be every reason you need not to be and to go ahead and grab an opportunity like this with both hands. You might find better living standards, better education and better employment opportunities just by moving to a new country. Believe it or not, the world does not begin and end at the end of your front yard.
- The weather. If you are living in a drizzly place right now, then you know how important it could be to you to live somewhere that has some sunshine. Sure, you might not be too worried about too much sunshine, but why not go somewhere that makes you feel excited to be alive? Whether you are heading somewhere like Dubai, or you are heading somewhere like Australia, there’s nothing quite like the beaches you could find and the better climatic conditions. If you have issues with respiratory illnesses like asthma, you might find warmer climates so much easier to manage. You’ll be able to breathe easily, and what do we need more in life than air?
- You get the chance to start over. You may not need a do over in life entirely, because you might be quite happy to bring your family along with you for the right. But you get to give yourself a do over in terms of your growth and maturity. If you’ve never seen yourself as the kind of person to immigrate and move abroad until now, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed at the daunting prospect of changing things up. After all, why change something that isn’t broken? But if you go through life with that mentality, you would never get anywhere would you? Instead of panicking about whether you’re making the right decision, say yes now and think about it later. It’s the best way to ensure that you are feeling good about yourself and the decision that you have made.
Becoming an expat may not have been on your lifetime bingo card, but it’s something that you should consider if you’re looking to change things up and make a difference to your future. Don’t be afraid to say yes to opportunities like this, because they don’t come around all that often. There was once a whole story behind the 10 pound poms who went to Australia, but Australia isn’t the only place that you could go in life. There are countries in the Middle East that you could head to, countries in Europe that you could head to and you could even immigrate to America or Canada if you have the right skills. Being afraid to push yourself is only going to hold you back, so take these tips and all the reasons that you need to go ahead and say yes, and go for it. You will never regret changing your life.
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