Is it because I dislike where I live currently? No... well not entirely anyway. I love the US and am very lucky to have been born here. Sure, we have our own unique societal issues like anyone else, our skeletons in the closet and our dirt under the rug. But for me, the Pacific Northwest will always be home, I truly believe that it's one of the best parts of the world to live in. But as much as I love this area, if it's all that I ever saw of the world it would be like reading the inside cover of a book and claiming to know what it's about.
Is it because I'm bored of my current situation? YES. This is honestly one of the biggest reasons I'm moving. I'm going through a phase that I think a lot of people around my age go through. No longer enjoying the ignorant youth of my early 20s, but not yet at the established, secure time of my mid-30s/40s. I've got a decent job, making decent money. I have a decent apartment, I drive decent car. But is that what I want? If you asked 10 year old me to choose between having a boring, decent life or having a spontaneous, exploratory life, which would I have chosen?
Is it because I'm afraid? Yes. I know this seems like a strange reason to upend my life and move to the opposite side of the globe, but hear me out. In my humble opinion, this life is all there is. No afterlife, no heaven or hell. So my fear stems from the possibility of living with and dying with a regret of not doing more, not going farther, not pushing the boundaries of what I thought I could do.
For me, believing that we have this short timeframe with which to experience life makes it all the more precious. How lucky I am to have been born where and to whom I was born, giving me opportunities that others of my same species have no chance at. It seems an injustice to have been given this blessed life and not do all that I can to enjoy it at it's fullest. Yes, I am afraid. Afraid of wasting this window of time with which to experience all that the world has for me.
About a year and a half ago, I had a realization one night. I realized that I had to travel. I was stuck in a routine life where the days were barely distinguishable from one another. A choice was necessary; stay in this lane where everything is easy, predictable, and unremarkable, or take a detour (the scenic route if you prefer) where though life may not be easy, it will be worthwhile and exciting.
I am moving abroad because I have to. I have to make the most of my short time on Earth. The world owes me nothing but I will go to the outer reaches to see what I can take from it.
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese
