I was just talking with my boyfriend about how quickly October is zooming by. I know, it’s always the same. After August releases us from its hot little fist, it’s like we start to free fall through every month leading up to the holiday season. And then, just like that, it’s the New Year. Only this time, not only is the year coming to an end, but so is an entire decade. And to be honest, I feel pretty weird about it.
When I look back over the last ten years, it’s like entering a museum.
My visitor’s ticket lists the Big Deals in size 8 font from high school that have since faded into funny anecdotes. The college archives are in watercolor: dancing in windows, drunk cries absolved in the arms of friends, the beauty of isolation on small-town backroads. A small, dark alcove with a Roman archway dedicated to the painfully abstract modernism of college hookups. A proud exhibition of high-resolution photos from studying abroad in New Zealand. A single pointillism of a romance since past with a boy who is good and kind. A Renaissance gallery filled with the colors of the unknown, of adventures to faraway places I never imagined I would take. Just before the exit, a replica of The Scream.
And then, I’m out. I’m sitting at my small, square, black-varnished kitchen table, on a bright yellow secondhand chair. To my left, a tree peacocks just outside my window, gorgeous gold and green leaves rustling beneath a sky threatening to rain. I’m drinking Earl Grey tea while I write this. On my laptop, about thirty tabs are open, testifying to my commitment to learn how to make a creative career out of blogging and writing. In my backpack are notes from an advanced course in a language I didn’t speak one year ago. If I hadn’t decided to leave my home country everything probably would have still worked out just fine, but I did leave and I’m here now, I know exactly what I would have missed out on, too.
8 Reasons to Move Abroad in 2020
1. To Prove to Yourself that You Can
How many times have you heard about someone who moved abroad or seen an advertisement for a position outside the country and thought to yourself “That would be so cool!”? I’m convinced this feeling is way more common than people care to admit. I’m also convinced that the reason many ultimately don’t take the leap is because they’re intimidated by the logistics.
Orchestrating an international move is not easy; I won’t sugarcoat it, it’s really, really hard. The fact that there are tons of exit points along the way make it especially easy to convince yourself that this isn’t what you really want, never mind, you’re perfectly happy where you are. But I’m going to push on that a little. Are you really?
Are you happy, or just content because you’re comfortable? Humans need routine, yes, but we also need stimulation and novelty. Learning to manage and juggle these three human necessities is par for the course when you move abroad and the experience will leave you the most exhausted and the proudest you’ve ever been of yourself.
2. Professional Pause—Are You Really Happy Doing What You’re Doing Now?
My undergraduate university still thinks I’m unemployed (which I guess I technically am, even if I actually just work for myself) and sends me newsletters of job opportunities based on a collection of boxes I checked sometime between sophomore and junior year. Occasionally, one will look mildly interesting, but more often than not, I find myself deleting the email before I’ve made it to the end of the email. It’s not that they’re bad jobs, but all of them require me to live in one place and commit to working full-time with only two weeks (give or take) of vacation. Now that I have the privilege of living in France, where the government mandates a minimum of five paid weeks off per year, a standard two weeks of unpaid vacation is a laughable concept that I don’t see myself ever compromising on.
Moving abroad and now living in France has given me the opportunity to form a professional vision for myself that is way more far-reaching and creative than I probably would have had otherwise. No one can say that jobs such as au pairing, nannying, or teaching abroad are especially glamorous, but it does give you the stability and freedom to let your mind marinate in possibilities for yourself you may not otherwise have considered.
3. Professional Development—Take Your Job to the Next Level
If you love your job and can’t see yourself leaving, then don’t! All I want to say here is, if you also happen to love travel and think the idea of doing job in a brand-new location sounds like the adventure of a lifetime, then look into opportunities within your company, or with companies listing similar positions to what you’re doing currently—but in another country.
If you’re still in college and know what industry you’d like to go into, check out companies with rotational programs that include a placement in another country. This option also facilitates international networking opportunities (which, by the way, all people who travel have) meaning that you gain experience, contacts, and skills that will keep you on the cutting edge of whatever profession you’re in.
If any high school or college underclassmen are reading this, don’t forget to capitalize on your opportunities to learn a foreign language (or two!). English may be king in many industries, but native languages are key to forming the relationships that will set you apart within your chosen industry.
4. Learn a Language You’ve Always Wanted to Learn
So, you’re happy with your job, and you don’t really want to pack up everything and move abroad indefinitely. That doesn’t mean the idea of living somewhere new for a bit doesn’t sound exciting! We humans are complex and oftentimes contradictory in our desires (for example: some days I just want to buy a small house in a rural town and populate it with cats and others, I want to move to Shanghai). Fortunately, when an interest in living abroad for a little while clashes with wanting to have an established home to return to, language-learning emerges as a viable option to satisfy both urges.
To get an idea of what your desired country or city offers in terms of language learning opportunities, a Google search is always a good place to start. If you choose to take formal classes, make sure it’s an accredited school that will provide you with a certificate of completion, preferably one that states what level of proficiency you’ve attained. You never know when these little things will add up to pay unexpected dividends later, so even if your interest is purely extracurricular, it’s worth considering from every angle what you can gain from the experience.
5. Discover Opportunities that You Never Knew Existed
Volunteering as an English teacher. Interning with a non-profit in a foreign country. Sharing your passion for hiking. Working as an English language assistant in France or Spain, or as an au pair, or a nanny. Joining the Peace Corps. Applying for a working holiday visa to New Zealand or Canada or some other country perfect for road tripping. Working as a tour guide. Learning how to work as a freelance writer. Teaching English online. Working as an English language instructor in a foreign university.
All of these options and more are available, though obviously some are more difficult to obtain than others. They each come with their relative pros and cons though, namely that the ones with lower barriers to entry allow for a more free-flowing experience than the ones with higher barriers to entry, which are more structured. Both types introduce you to new people and new ways of thinking that just might change your life.
6. Step Back and Figure Out What You Really Want
The number of women and men I’ve met while living abroad who ended up where they are today simply because they gave themselves permission to take time for themselves are literally uncountable. I am continuously amazed by how happy, well-adjusted, mature, and confident these people are; they were all things you assume you’ll just be one day but that actually take a lot of work. And they weren’t all what we would consider proper “adults” either. One of the most mature women I’ve ever met was a 19-year old German who volunteered in Peru at the same time as me.
Living abroad does something psychologically to you, I don’t think there’s one specific word in the English language that encompasses it, really. It gives you permission to process things and think about things that you never would in your normal, day-to-day life. And bit by bit, your brain learns to let a wild, childlike imagination back into your consciousness. It’s overwhelming and incredibly uncomfortable at times, but when it’s all said and done, the feeling is truly empowering like none other.
7. Get to Know Yourself
When I graduated and moved to Arequipa to volunteer as an English teacher with Helping Overcome Obstacles Peru (HOOP), I had no idea what I wanted long-term. Well, that’s not totally true. I thought I knew what I wanted long-term. And then within six weeks of living in one of the most underrated, beautiful places in the world, all that came undone. I had what I still consider to be the best time of my life and didn’t realize any consequences from my decision until later, after the magic of Arequipa had long since faded into the distance from many a taxi, bus, and airplane window. But in the tumble of emotions that came from choosing to step into wild uncertainty came a sense of clarity.
I learned (and am reminded daily) of the importance of taking time for myself, of taking the time to let the world in, of making the conscious decision to move through life with the conviction that if you’re not uncomfortable or uncertain a lot of the time, you could be doing better for yourself. We live for such a damn long time, where I am in my life right now, I really don’t need to have it all figured out. But where I am right now is also the perfect time to dig into who I am and what I really want, and I would have never learned how to do that if not for moving abroad.
8. Encounter kindred spirits
The women and men I’ve befriended outside of my home country hail from all over the world. They have all changed me, challenged me, and supported me in innumerable ways that I can notice in my every day life. Through them I’ve become more tolerant, less quick to judge, and more confident in my instincts. Quite simply, these are shooting star friends, who blaze through the atmosphere of our being and electrify us with the comfort and knowledge that someone, somewhere, will always understand us.
Closing thoughts
When I look back over the last ten years, it’s all so vivid. With a new marker for the next ten years rising over the horizon, it seems that now, more than ever, might be the time to plan for something drastic, a big change. To find reasons to move abroad in 2020. Why? Well, why not? In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller: “Time moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Questions about my experience moving and living abroad? Talk to me in the comments!
