One of my best friends received this advice from her dad once: “If you’re running away from something, just make sure there’s something you’re running towards.”
I’ve been thinking of this advice lately. In the wake of President Trump’s re-election, I hear a lot of talk from people in the U.S. who are thinking about leaving.
As someone who was still living in the U.S. when Trump was elected the first time around, I understand. I remember waking up the morning after election night in my apartment in New York and pulling the covers over my head and not wanting to get out of bed. In the weeks after his inauguration, I made my morning coffee in my kitchen and listened to NPR as Trump banned immigrants and talked about building a wall. I was disappointed and disturbed that a country FOUNDED by immigrants, BUILT by immigrants, was now turning inwards and turning people away. The diversity that I valued so much in the country that I lived in was being threatened.
A month before I left the U.S. to move to Portugal, after 9 years of living in New York, I visited Ellis Island for the first time. As I stood in the main hall, where 12 million immigrants – including my own ancestors – first landed before starting their new lives in the U.S., it hit me for the first time. I was about to become an immigrant. But I was going in the opposite direction of my ancestors – back to Europe.
I wasn’t leaving because I was running away from something. I was leaving because of what I was running toward – toward a new life with my partner, a new job, new people, a new adventure, and an opportunity to grow as a person in ways that I had no idea I was going to.
If you’re thinking of leaving the U.S. to move abroad, your mind might be jumping to all of the questions of logistics like visas and work. But before you start to worry about these things, I encourage you to start with a strong foundation of understanding what you’re running towards. This will help you to make the decision with your heart before figuring out whether it’s logistically possible for you. This is going to help ensure your success in the long run, and ultimately make you a happier expat, should you decide to make the move.
If you’re considering a move abroad, I encourage you to take some time to answer the following questions for yourself:
- Why am I thinking of moving abroad?
- What’s important to me in life?
- What makes me happy?
- What would I miss the most about the U.S.?
- What are my expectations about living abroad?
If, after answering these questions, you’re feeling even more excited about the possibility of moving abroad, then you might feel more ready to move on to logistics and figure out how to make it happen.
If you’d like to explore more questions like these in order to gain more clarity about your decision to move abroad, I invite you to book an intro call with me. I would love to support you on your expat journey.