Moving abroad is viewed as a transformative experience, and six months in, I can say that is absolutely true. My move certainly positively altered my mindset, as I learned to start again in a new place and realized that I am more capable than I ever thought. Here is my story of how moving abroad shaped my life and why prioritizing your happiness should be on your 2023 bucket list.
By Tess
Growing Up
I grew up with parents who loved traveling and instilled the same passion in me. Throughout my childhood, we travelled regularly, from road trips down the West Coast of the USA, to visiting Europe every few years to see my mom’s family in Czechia.
My mom – who is without a doubt one of my best friends and biggest supporters – would create a photo book of each family trip, and even made multiple copies so that my brother and I could take them with us when we moved out. Her stunning photography captured the memories so perfectly and although I avoided being in the photos in my teen years, I am so appreciative that she did this.
My dad would keep every trip exciting – from narrowly avoiding missing flights to nearly getting arrested by the Greek police. Having started his own business himself, and rejecting the traditional 9-5 career path, my dad is also one of my biggest inspirations to prioritize my interests and my passions over everything else.
My parents both experienced moving abroad in their early 20s, and have always been supportive of me and my younger brother following in the same steps should we ever have moving abroad on our bucket lists. I will forever be grateful to my family, who mean everything to me, for letting me follow my dreams, no matter how big or small.
Moving Abroad
One important thing to know about me is I love to plan, using spreadsheets and word documents to keep details organized. While this is generally seen as a favorable thing, I can be an over-planner, sometimes to a fault. I recently came across a 5-year plan I wrote at the age of 19 in my Google Drive, and it could not be further off my current life trajectory.
I have toyed with the idea of living abroad for years. At the age of 12 or 13, I dreamt of starting a new life on the coast of California. At the time, I went as far as to learn the names of all 50 states in preparation. Then, a trip to the UK in 2016 gave me a new idea of where to move to. Quite quickly, this plan changed, and for some time I planned to move to Vancouver, BC, a larger city than Victoria, but still close to home.
Over the last few years, I've gotten more serious about moving abroad and finally started taking the steps necessary to move from Canada to Scotland midway through 2021. At the end of last year, I went through an unexpected and pretty major health scare, which caused a significant shift in my mindset. I became more determined than ever to start prioritizing the little things that made me happy, like traveling. It was both a reminder of our mortality and the final push to move abroad.
In December 2021, I applied for my visa, and it felt as though a huge weight was lifted off my chest. There was still lots to be done, but that first step off the ledge had been taken. I started my Instagram account and blog at that time with the hopes to inspire others to travel and live abroad, and every positive comment or message I get inspires me to keep doing what I'm doing.
Although my experience of moving abroad was a bit tumultuous at the start, now nearly 6 months later, I can say that moving to Scotland has been the best decision I've ever made in my life. It has opened so many opportunities to me, has let me travel more than ever before, and has helped me meet so many new people. I have a small network of close friends, who mean the world to me and have kept me going through the hard days. This experience has also led to me meeting my partner, who is the most unfalteringly supportive and kind person I’ve ever known. I can’t accurately express how much love and appreciation I have for my support systems both here and back home.
Prioritize My Happiness
Moving abroad is a great way to discover new things about yourself and challenge yourself. But that’s not to say that moving abroad on its own will solve your problems or make you happy, you’ll just be taking on the same problems in a new city. But, the change in environment, and the challenge of uprooting your life and moving it to a new place, may help you figure out how to overcome those problems better than staying in the same place.
It can be hard to figure out exactly how to go about prioritizing your happiness, but for me, the foundation is twofold – realising long-term dreams of moving abroad and prioritizing life over work. I recognize that I am very lucky to have the opportunity to work remotely, something that has given me so much added flexibility in my life. It has allowed me to spend more time traveling, exploring my new home city, and spending time with those who matter to me.
I’ve found happiness in Scotland, in things like the landscapes, the architecture, and the people. With the support of my partner, who continually reminds me to find beauty and joy in the little things, I began to discover happiness in the more minute aspects of life.
At the end of the day, it’s not about forcing positivity all the time or pretending to be happy when you're not, it’s just about looking for happiness in the right places, and making choices that prioritize your happiness. No matter what it looks like for you, I think prioritizing your own happiness should be at the top of your bucket list. Because life is hard, but you must persevere because you deserve to enjoy the little moments, the people, and the things that make you truly happy.
About Tess
Hi, I’m Tess, a 22-year-old born and raised on Vancouver Island in Canada. My parents were always passionate about travel and instilled the same passion to explore the world in me.
In June of 2022, I packed up my life and moved to Glasgow on a Youth Mobility Visa to experience living abroad. I created @travel.withtess to document my expat life and travels, in an effort to inspire others to step out of their comfort zones & see the world!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travel.withtess/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/travelwithtess
