why i moved out of the country

In May of 2019 I took a big leap of faith and took a job 8,300 miles away from home. Terrified, stoked, happy, sad, anxious, elated, nervous, but most of all grateful. It was a whirlwind of emotions, and everyone knows I don't deal with those well. Let me start this by saying I have spent my entire childhood dreaming about travel. Watching Travel Channel, watching the Food Network wishing I could eat my way through Europe, skimming through Pinterest, and watching all travel vlogs. But there I was, I had just turned 25 and still didn't have my passport. WHY? Fear? Money? Career? Time? Family? It was hard for me to pinpoint my reasons for never doing it on my own. And the reason wasn't something I actually accepted until I finally moved. But that is a story for another time.

It took a lot of car drives and a few tears before I said yes in April. And 10 minutes later I received an email confirmation for a one way ticket.

I held it together until the day before my trip, when I had to say by to my family and friends. I broke down. Questioned everything! Am I doing the right thing? Why am I doing this? Is it really something I am going to benefit from? The easy answer to that is YES. But sitting here reflecting on myself here are the 5 reason I moved out of the country.

1. I was getting too comfortable.

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I have a big fear in my life of settling. And an even bigger fear of regret. The year and a half before I moved out of LA I had never been as happy as I was. I lived with three of my best friends. I had a group of real friends (those are hard to find in LA) for the first time in my entire life. I worked in the coolest hippest part of Downtown Art's District. I finally understood myself, and was not afraid to be myself. I wasn't just comfortable, I was happily comfortable. I remember looking over my life and I stopped. I was terrified to be comfortable at 25! What? No way, I shouldn't feel like I could settle down, I shouldn't feel like I'm going through the motions. It was hard for me to admit... but I needed change. So when I got offered the opportunity to move across the country or across the world, I chose to move across the world.

2. I wanted to challenge myself.

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I have always loved the idea to surround yourself with people who are better than you. I took a look at my life and decided I wanted to be the person who was learning and essentially the most junior person in the room. And let me tell you, for someone who prides themselves on knowing the answer, on being the person people come to, on being one step ahead of everyone... it has been quite the humbling experience. I may have gotten my confidence knocked down a few notches at first, but then I realized the person I wanted to be had grown so I have a lot more work to go.

3. Wanted to experience a different culture.

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Looking back at it now I don't even think I knew what culture was. In America, and maybe this is just me but, our culture is not very welcoming. We come off pretty harsh and selfish. That could be me speaking from LA, but nonetheless it is what it is. I wanted to know what it was like to be new. To feel uncomfortable, to be ignorant, to be a minority. There is something about immersing yourself into another culture that pushes you grow as a human, to understand people more, to experience life. The coolest part about Dubai is that it is a hub of expats from all around the world. I meet people everyday from countries I would never even be able to pick out on a map. But it helps because you learn how to communicate with so many different cultures. It was not long before I realized I could not use my American sarcasm with most people. I pride myself on being a pretty funny person... but I got out here and NO ONE understood my humor. NO ONE. Now I have some people who do, and now I communicate a little better with those who don't. But it doesn't stop me from trying to hit that one liner from time to time.

4. I wanted to grow my resume and my career.

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It takes a certain type of person and personality to move out of the country on your own. As a person who hires people, seeing that on a resume is a huge plus. Imagine if I could show that side of my personality on my resume, that's the hardest part of your personality to portray on paper. To be able to build connections around the world personally will help me professionally in the long run. I was lucky enough to move with a job so I didn't have to search for one when I came out here. But it also put me in a different light in my company by saying yes. I became flexible, I became even more of an asset, I became a stronger piece on their playing board.

Most importantly,

5. I did it for me.

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One of my favorite quotes is: "No reason to stay is a good reason to go." I'm 25, I have no kids, I live in a room in an apartment, I was in a relationship, but it had only been going on for 6 months. And I would be DAMNED if I ever let a relationship get in the way of my personal growth. But most importantly I knew deep down I wanted it.

I think the hardest part in all of it was admitting to myself that it was okay to do something for me. I knew my family would be upset. I also knew that I probably wouldn't keep in contact with a lot of people. But I knew it would be the adventure of a lifetime! And here I am 10 months later sitting on my terrace in Dubai enjoying the sunshine and my new life.

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Long story short,

I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about it! You will hear a lot of things along the way both good and bad. But surround yourself with positivity along the way. Music, podcasts, YouTube, blogs, and most importantly PEOPLE. If you want to know more about specific things don't hesitate to reach out. I would love to connect and hear your thoughts or your personal stories!