How long have you been living in the same country? Same city? The same town even? If it’s been around a decade, maybe you should consider a change of environment? Haven’t you ever thought how life might be on the other side of the world somewhere? All the new people, new places, different cultures, different celebrations and different ways of life all still unexperienced by you. If you never felt like living elsewhere that’s perfectly fine, you feel comfortable where you are and that’s more than a lot of people can say about themselves in this day and age, but life is short, and the world is vast. You never know what opportunities lie beyond the border of your home country.
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The experience
If you haven’t lived abroad yet, it might just be time to change that. No one says this has to be a permanent change or lifelong commitment, but living in a country other than your own is an experience everyone should experience within their life at least once. The sense of exploration and adventure, the slow, gradual, sensation of feeling more and more at ease in a completely different part of the world is one like no other. It’s almost like moving out of the family house for the first time, and slowly figuring out your own way around, and doing things using your own methods. Straying off the beaten path of your parents and making your own way in the world. After a while, you will be able to look back and realise that you not only managed to deal with the stress of moving abroad, but managed to settle in a completely alien part of the world. Feeling fulfilled and stronger than ever, after such a character-building experience you are sure to be able to take other previously-daunting tasks with much more ease, making you a stronger person at the end of the day.
Language barriers
Chances are, that no matter where in the world you may want to move, the English language will most probably be a rather useful asset to have at your disposal. It will never completely make up for the lack of knowing the local language, but it might just be the second best thing. If you are planning on staying somewhere for a bit longer than a few months, at least attempting to learn the local language would be extremely beneficial. Not only will you feel more casual in your new environment, but the locals will have a different perception of you, treating you better than the average tourist. Not to mention, bilingualism is sure to open some more career opportunities, especially abroad.
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A new home?
While renting a house or flat is basically the norm nowadays, if you are moving abroad renting might just not be the best thing. Of course, that depends on where you move. If you move from London to New York, chances are you will still be renting, however, if you move London to Southeast Asia. For example, things change entirely. Housing prices over there are considerably lower than almost all bigger cities in the west, and even for the average person, buying property is not entirely out of the question. Even if you do not plan to stay there forever, keep in mind, you still end up with a property of your very own which you can do anything you like with. Want to move back but keep the house around as a holiday home of your very own? Why not? Want to rent the house out and get a steady income of cash from it while you’re off somewhere else? You can do that. Want to rent out the house on Airbnb and hire someone else to clean it? Might be more profitable than you think. Want to get into the real estate business? The sky’s the limit.
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Old home
Now getting a house abroad all sounds very well and good, but what if you already have a house? What if you already paid off your mortgage and you live in your very own piece of the world? Well, chances are you could make a profit on it if you really want to move away. Like the properties abroad, you can either rent it out during your absence, via agency or Airbnb. Or you can just sell it in its entirety that’s always bound to bring in some big cash. What if you haven’t paid off your mortgage yet but want to move away regardless? Well, dealing with property selling and ownership can be quite a pain Fortunately there are people you can get to deal with it for you instead. Companies like Completely Moved provide legal advice and services for house owners and house buyers alike, making the whole process a bit more bearable. So even if you do not really know how to approach the whole thing, you can always get someone else to trouble themselves with it instead, while you just think big about your possible future destinations.
New career doors
Living in a country where English is not the native language, can prove to be very advantageous for the average fluent English speaker. English is still the #1 language for communicating across the globe and English language teachers are always in high demand. If you cannot get to bring your old job over, or manage to somehow make it freelance, or ask your boss to let you work from home, then being a language teacher is definitely a position you should consider. It might be perfect for that bit of downtime before you get the job of your dream. Moving to a whole different city can be very cash-intensive, so you probably would not want to spend any needless time not earning anything. Maybe the pay is going to be good enough that you end up sticking with the job for a longer period of time, after all, being a teacher has its perks. Long holidays, no night-shifts, and a satisfying sense of authority.