To live abroad is to embark on a journey as exciting as it is daunting. 

Nowadays, relocating to foreign countries has become more and more common - especially amongst the youth. In fact, thanks to modern technology and world globalization, distances got smaller and smaller.

Needless to say, moving to another country is indeed a gold mine of new opportunities. Millions of people around the world have taken that big step and are living in a different country to the one that they grew up in. They have jobs, they study, and they even have their own families there.

However, whatever the scenario may be, the series of events both leading to, and following the big move, is definitely not a walk in the park. So, what made them take the leap and move abroad?

Moving to a new country is a big decision that involves thoughtfulness, thorough planning and securing a budget. One may choose to move for work or political reasons or simply for the love of adventure.

Starting with the pros: living  abroad will put you in new, exciting, or terrifying situations that you would never have encountered in your home country. 

Endless lists of foods that you have never tasted before, places that you have always seen on the television screen, smells and sounds to capture your imagination and cultures and traditions that are outright different from yours: you do not  want to miss any of this. Picture yourself walking down through a street and engaging in conversations with natives: the knowledge you’ll gain will not be found in any book or website and that is the most rewarding of all.

You will even make new friends along the way.

It is an overall enriching experience that will broaden your horizon, independence, emotional development - even your professional growth. In fact, your perfect job or degree may just be waiting for you over there, in need of your skills, knowledge and ambition. 

However, there are still some disadvantages to consider as it also offers loneliness and culture shock. You will have to learn to speak the language, make new friends, get used to the customs they have and learn to accept different opinions and points of views. Another downside is that once you start to really settle in the country you are in, you will miss everything you left behind - even those places you thought you did not like to go to. 

Moreover, we are  definitely not forgetting about all the financial challenges - currency conversions, taxes, paper work. Headaches are sure promised on this journey- especially if you come from a rather poor home country and want to move abroad to the rich western world, everything will be quite expensive for you and you will have to find work in order to be able to cover your costs abroad.

Hence why, being prepared for everything prior to the move is a must to reduce the impact of all the downs.

All in all, moving to another country is quite the journey. Admittedly, really hard at the beginning, but the overall experience is totally worth it as there will always be beautiful lessons to learn from moving to new countries- beautiful lessons that can only be learnt through experience. Changes are not always easy and moving to a new country is a really hard choice to make. However, the experience of being on your own makes you really appreciate everything you have and everyone you have got by your side. So what do you say? Will you add it to your bucket list?