Podcast Episode 12

Ladies, welcome back to a new episode of the Anna Bey podcast. I am Anna Bey. And in today’s episode, I am going to talk to you about how to start all over again in a new country. This is definitely a subject that I have had a loads of experience in, as I live in a foreign country myself. I am currently based in Geneva in Switzerland. Originally, I am from Stockholm, Sweden. However, I have lived in many countries since I left my home country. In this episode, I’m going to reference to when I used to live in Rome, when I used to live in Ibiza, when I lived in Malta, and when I lived in London. Because what’s interesting to find out is how did I make it happen when I moved by myself to Rome, Ibiza, Malta, London, because all of those experiences were back in the days when either I was a beginner or I hadn’t fully finished my personal upgrade and lifestyle upgrade just yet.

Okay, ladies, let’s start because I want to cover as much as possible with you today in today’s episode. First things first, the idea of relocating to a new country is actually not even on the map for some people. I have always been the person who really does believe, since I think, yeah, since I was a teenager, that anything is possible in life and that if you want something, you can just go out and get it and make it happen. And it’s totally doable. No matter what you put your head to, everything is doable, right? However, I came to realization that actually not everybody is wired in that way. I am aware that I do have ladies with me who actually do not feel like that, who feel the total opposite. They feel perhaps that, “Okay, well, if this is the way it has been, then this is the way it’s going to be. There isn’t really a way out. This is just the way things are. I should just accept it and live with it,” type of thing. 

Now that is so far away from my own mentality, which is why I believe that if you live in a country or you are born in a country or in a city where you don’t feel like it’s 100% for you, then you can actually play with the idea of either moving or doing something about it. You don’t have to just accept your reality just because universe handed you these cards. Everything is changeable, everything is doable. And honestly, whatever you want to accomplish in life, you can do it. Moving to a different country is not as difficult as some may seem. We are going to talk about that in a few seconds. But the thing is, I just want you to understand that you can place this opportunity on your map if you want to, okay. So, it’s just for you to start thinking about the idea that if you’re not 100% happy with where you are right now, you know that you can change that, right? Good.

Okay. But, why do people want to move country? I think that the reasons can be any. Maybe people feel just simply done of where they currently live. Maybe they feel that the city is too small for them, or there isn’t enough opportunities where they live. Maybe they feel like the people are not on their wavelength. Sometimes it can be a culture that you feel like, “You know what? This is not really where I feel at home in. Or, this is not where I see myself living in.” Why you want to move is really up to you. And it’s doesn’t really matter. You can move for whatever reason you want. 

I knew from an early age that I didn’t want to live in Sweden. Well, I would say maybe in my teenage years I realized that. Because for many years I had just understood that, “Okay, I feel like there is definitely not enough opportunities for me here. I kind of want to expand my horizon.” And Sweden is actually quite a small country, even though it’s a very developed country. Many people, they might think, “Why do you want to leave such a developed country? You should be so happy to be in Sweden. Sweden has such a good reputation,” blah, blah, blah. The thing is that sometimes you can just say why you’re not happy of where you are. It can be anything. It can be a cultural thing, it can be the size, it could be the opportunities. It can be anything. 

So, you don’t have to think that, okay, just because you are, let’s say blessed to be born in, I don’t know, let’s say United States of America, right. But, what if you want to live in a very smaller, obscure country that is just more exotic and feels, I don’t know, more fun for you in some way? Why not do that? Why do we have to follow certain rules and expectations or stereotypes? So I felt that, “You know what? Yes, I’m so grateful to be in this country. And I know that the opportunities here for me are not something that everybody in this world can be blessed with. But you know what? There is something else that I want in my life. And Sweden is just not doing it for me. I am going to leave, even though it kind of goes against the status quo.”

But, I guess how I felt and how I am as a person is that I dare to gamble. And just as a little reference note, with regards to living in different countries. So, because I have moved around a lot and I need to tell you that, to some degree, it can also become a little bit negative to move around as much as I did. Because what happens? There is always a negative side effect to everything. Although, I’ve had a very interesting adventures, a fun life, as a result of living in so many different countries. But, the negative side of just always moving around is, first of all, you don’t really develop a deep community because you need years and years and years for that. And belonging to a community is actually one of the really important things in life, unless you are an introvert who really doesn’t like to spend much time with people. But humans are social creatures, and I do think that it’s healthy for us to belong to a community and to feel the need to have a community around us. 

If I’m going to do a psychoanalysis on myself, and I’m just saying this for full transparency for you ladies, so that you can get to know me a little bit, but also so that you understand where my kind of free spirit originated in. And that has to do with that, I am somebody has mixed parents. So my father is from Finland, my mom is from Estonia. I myself grew up in Sweden. So obviously for me, I have families that are pretty much all over the world. Mainly, of course, in Finland, in Sweden, in Estonia, but also I have family in Germany. My family is all spread out. That means that my community is a little bit all over the place. So obviously that didn’t make me feel that, “Okay, I have this really, really, really deep roots in Sweden and that’s why I want to stay.”

I think that if perhaps I was one nationality only, and all my family members and cousins and aunties and uncles and everything lived in the same city or even in the same village, if that was my reality, then maybe I would think twice before moving. However, I know that you’re always going to gain something with something and you’re always going to lose something with something. This has been something that I’ve lost in my lifetime up until now. But on the other hand, I have gained so much other type of experiences and adventures and really feeling alive to a certain degree, when I have had all these experiences. And as a result, because I don’t have these deep roots anywhere, it has been incredibly easy for me to just pack up and go all these years. And, you know what? I’m still in the same position. I might even leave Geneva one day. I don’t know yet.

When I moved to Geneva, we decided that it was going to be a test to see, “Is this where we want to build our future?” And to be honest, we’re still not 100% sure about it. And that’s what also is another side effect of moving countries so many times. You gain so much experience, and sometimes having so much experience might actually sabotage a little bit for you. Why? Because you know what to compare with, you know what to expect. As an example, having lived in London and having had all this entertainment in London, having had this comfort of London, because London really has everything you need, right? Then moving to a city like Geneva, don’t you think you’re going to be so annoyed on X, Y, Z, because you are so used to having this, having that, having access to that? 

So, that’s sometimes a negative of gaining experience, is that you end up knowing too much information and you start comparing cities too much. So, that’s one thing. But, you know what? I think, to some degree, I will find my place and I will find my roots and just stay put once and for all. But, I don’t want to stress that. Meanwhile, I’m just being aware of this fact, knowing that, “Okay, I don’t want to be somebody who keeps escaping for the rest of my life.” And that’s also important to think about. Don’t start all over again in a new country, just because you want to escape. A new country might not necessarily resolve your problems. Sometimes, your problems will actually catch up with you. So, there is no escape. That’s one thing.

So having said that, ladies, what happens when you actually move abroad? Because we need to think about the positives, right? And I would say though that from my experience, even though there are some negatives, you definitely have, I think, more opportunities and more positives when you live abroad. First of all, you can become whoever you want to become. You can create whatever you want to create in life. You feel alive as a person and life feels exciting and places are new and things are new. It really shakes you up to a level where you just feel like you’re totally present and you are alive. I would say the feeling of being alive is one of those things that I really took away the most with me when I moved around, because it just forces you to be more present. It forces you to make the most out of where you are. And it also kind of forces you to get exposure to things that you wouldn’t necessarily expose yourself to otherwise, if you would have remained in your own comfort zone. 

That’s why I say that when you change country, you end up living a little bit more of an adventurous life. You end up having more opportunities come your way because you subconsciously seek them out. And, of course, consciously as well. And I just think that, especially when we are in our young days, but we’re not yet committed to a family or a spouse or anything like that, living in a different country is such a great way to learn about life. What happens is that you end up growing a lot as a human beings. And I always kind of said in a jokeful way that when I will have kids, and as soon as they kind of grow up, I definitely want them to do some years abroad because it’s an incredible school of life. You end up growing up a lot. You end up just maturing so much, to a level that you wouldn’t have if you would have stayed in your own country. I really do believe that.

But like I said, there’s also the negatives. And those I already mentioned, that you kind of lose the community aspect, which is actually a very important aspect to life. This doesn’t mean that you cannot develop a community abroad. You definitely can. But, I do want you to be aware that in some countries and cities, it’s actually harder to develop a community. I felt that London was a great example of that because in London, most people are kind of not from there in a way. Most people in London are always in a rush. It’s a big city. It’s also size-wise a massive city. So, everybody lives in all kinds of parts of London. And it’s just harder to keep relationships going. And people, unless you are of course, born and bred in London, but most people are not from London who are in London, meaning that most people don’t have their families. 

So I don’t know, it’s just… London is a particular city. But I also found when I lived in Rome that as a foreign woman, I did find it hard to find my community there. I found it difficult to find Italian female friends. All my female friends were expats like me. Of course, male friends was very easy to find. You just leave your doorstep and you have so many new male friends, right? I’m just joking with you, male friends with quotation marks. I remember Sundays in Rome, I used to feel it were so depressing because Italians have Sundays as their family day. And you really felt alone on Sundays because all of your friends were with their families. And then, you were just kind of with your foreign friends, with your ex-pat friends, because none of us had anybody to be with on Sunday. So, that’s something that I really did feel. 

But, loneliness is definitely a side effect that does come with living abroad. And I’m not going to lie about it. You are going to feel lonely. But, you know what? You’re also most likely going to feel lonely even where you are right now. Lonely is just kind of a natural state of being. We are going to feel it, it’s normal part of life. And we shouldn’t actually feel too uncomfortable with it. What happens is that if we don’t embrace it, since it’s such a natural state of life, when we don’t embrace it, it ends up becoming crippling. And many people are so scared of living abroad because they think that they’re going to feel lonely, and that’s what holds them back. I just think that it’s better to just accept it and take it with you. When you do feel lonely, think about what you are gaining as a result. You’re gaining all these other great things and opportunities and adventures and excitement in your life.

So, feeling lonely temporarily is okay, and there are ways of curing it. You can distract yourself. You can do things in moments when you feel lonely. You don’t have to feel like it has to take over. Now, the last negative thing about living abroad is that oftentimes living abroad, you end up, of course, making a lot of international connections because you are going to make friends with the locals. But you’re also going to make, most likely, a lot of friends with the foreigners who are also living in this country. It just becomes natural that you seek out the friendship of other foreigners, because you are pretty much in the same boat. And that’s very comforting on many levels because you have somebody who really understands what you’re going through. 

So, that’s definitely a tip if you live abroad. But the problem with having all these expat friends is that, at some point, they’re going to leave the country that you are living in. They’re going to move back home or move to a different country. And that becomes a little bit difficult if you want to maintain this connection that you’ve already made. I mean, if I look back of all the countries and travels that I’ve done, I mean, I’ve met so many people in my life and I’ve made so many connections in my life. But of course, it’s not realistic for me to still stay in touch with every single person because you just lose touch and it’s normal, and you’re not in the same country anymore, or you might never be in the same country again anymore. So, that’s the negative things, that many connections that you will make might not necessarily be connections that will stay in your life. And that’s the sad part of it.

But, I don’t want to put this dark cloud on you. I still want you ladies to feel that, you know what, if you feel that this is an option for you, oh my gosh, you’re going to reap so many benefits by doing this if this is what you want to do. But, I just want to prepare for you, so that there are no harsh surprises. Please be aware that, of course, moving abroad is not going to be always an easy walk in the park. But, that’s the sacrifice that you gain when you take the risk of gaining something so incredible and, in a way, one in a lifetime opportunity. I would say that some of my happiest memories in life definitely came from my experiences abroad. So, I do not regret all these countries that I lived in. So maybe this can inspire you, I don’t know.

Now let’s talk about the logistics, because I think many people, they don’t even play around with the idea of moving abroad because they think that it’s just too difficult. Or, it might feel impossible, or just too complicated or overwhelming. I guess the reason to why I was never stuck in that state of being is that I’ve always been a doer. If I have an idea, I just go and execute it. I don’t think twice that, “Oh, I can’t do it.” Or, “Oh, no. It’s so difficult. Oh, I can’t be bothered.” I’m just never like that. I know that everything is possible again, and everything is also possible when you have Google on your fingertips. So why not just figure things out if you have question marks?

That’s exactly what I did when I got the idea for the first time that I wanted to live abroad. I was still living at home with my parents. I was a teenager and I got this idea that I wanted to move to Italy. Maybe not forever, but definitely to study Italian language. I liked Italy and I wanted to experience a different culture. And as I was from Sweden, it’s very common for us to do like a sabbatical year before we go to university or something like that. And as I didn’t feel like immediately continuing my studies after high school, I thought that, “Okay, taking a sabbatical, learning a new language, experiencing a new culture, kind of enriching myself in that way, that’s not really going to be a waste of time. Let me do that while I get back my hunger for study again, or until I know what I really want to study.” Because that was the other thing. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life when I was 19. 

Well, okay, the idea of leaving my country didn’t come to me at 19. I think it came when I was 17, but I executed it when I was 19 years old, because only then did I finish high school and I really was able to leave my country. So what I did back then, and yes, we had Google back then, is that I just went on Google and started Googling, studying Italian in Italy or studying Italian In Rome. Because I thought that, “Okay, let me go to Rome since this is the capital city. It will probably be easier there as it’s the biggest city,” et cetera, et cetera. 

So that was just my idea, nothing overly complicated. I had a question in my head, I went to Google to execute that question, and I got my answers. I found an agency that organized language school studies. They helped you with applying for a student loan in Sweden. They helped you find accommodation, et cetera. But, I just wanted to find some language schools in Rome, so I just used them for that. And then, I also applied for a student loan. Up until that I left Sweden, I was studying full time. But, I was also working part-time in a cafeteria or like slash restaurant. So I did save up some money, but I didn’t have enough money in order to also pay my tuition fee and all of those things. So I had to also take a loan for that, which I did. My loan got approved. I found a school thanks to this agency. And then, kind of the rest is history. 

That’s how I got started. But, if we are going to break down the nitty gritty of the logistics of moving abroad, then let’s just break it down into visa and work permit, language, money, accommodation, and kind of just do it. So, okay, let me go back. So, okay, first things first. You need to, of course, have a permit to be in a country or to work in a country. Now, obviously I’m not an expert and you are going to have to really Google this information because all of it is available on Google. So if you feel like, “Oh, I’m not sure if I can be there or go there.” Well, if you’re not sure, then you go on Google and you find out. It’s really not difficult, and it’s going to take you about 10 minutes. I would also suggest to maybe read on online forums where people are asking these questions, because you might have some specificness in your question that might not always be answered in an article, right? 

So, really go and check those forums as well. I would also give the advice of calling the embassy of the country that you are interested in moving to, but I am aware that we might not always be able to go and work in a country that allows our nationality to go there. So, what do we do then? There are always ways around it and the reason why I say that is because during my travels and living abroad, I have met people from all kinds of countries and backgrounds and nationalities, and not everybody came in visa free. Some people had some very interesting ways of how they were able to come to this country. So, I don’t want you to just dismiss an idea. I want you to properly do research because you’d be surprised what kind of information you’ll be able to find that would’ve actually helped you to get to a country where you initially thought you weren’t able of going to.

But, if you are not able to go to your first choice country because of visa restrictions or work permits restrictions, then really have a list of backup countries. Sometimes, you don’t even have to change countries. Sometimes you can just change city and that’s more than enough in order to tick the boxes that you want to be ticked. But again, think about the permits. So we have the kind of entry permit, and then we have the work permit. The work permit is sometimes a little bit more complicated. However, you’d be still surprised what information you can find when you do a search on Google. So please ladies, Google these things. You’d be surprised what you can find.

Now, the permits might feel like an obstacle, but I want you to crush that obstacle by just having a little Google party. The next obstacle would be the language. But, I don’t really see this as an obstacle because I think it’s actually an opportunity to go to a country and learn a language from scratch, like I did with Italian. I didn’t know any Italian. But even now when I moved to Geneva, I didn’t really speak any French. But I’ve gotten by quite well here, even though you still have many people who don’t speak English here. So, I would say language is only crucial to know if you have to find a job where you work in this country and you have to work in the local language. Now, that’s the only time it’s crucial for you to know the language. 

But when I have lived abroad, I mean, when I lived in Malta, I didn’t speak any Maltese and neither did I learn any Maltese. I was working in a foreign company, so I only needed to know English. And I got by with English, but then again, English is like Malta’s second language. So, it wasn’t too hard over there. Here in Geneva, I work for myself. So, I don’t need to know the local language. In Rome, I did have a part-time job, but that was also not necessary for me to speak Italian. And, let me think. In Ibiza, same thing. I didn’t need to know the language. So, you would be surprised how many jobs there are out there where you actually don’t need to know the local language. You can get by so well with English, or even sometimes with your own local language. I mean, when I had my first job in Malta, I had to know Swedish because I worked for a Swedish company over there.

So, there are ways around it. But if you feel like, okay, you want to go there because you want to actually learn the language, then definitely look into being a language school student. I think that’s great. Sometimes, you know what? You can do it as part of the beginning. So, let’s say you go there for the first six months as a language school student. That usually gives you enough time to learn a language to the point that you are almost fluent in it. At least, that’s how long it took for me to learn Italian fluent until I forgot Italian many years later, but okay. Six months was approximately how long it took me to get a proper grip of the Italian language and speak it with some form of fluency. Not on expert level, but with fluency. I think between three to six months is usually how long it takes people. Of course, it all depends on the intensity of your studies and how easy it is for you to pick up in your language. So, you could always start by doing that. And then, once you have a little bit of a hang of the language, you look for a job. Then, things are already so much easier for you than if you wouldn’t have been on location.

Okay, so language obstacle, no problem ladies. Do not worry about the language. Now, what about the money obstacle? Because that’s definitely a little bit more of a nerve-racking obstacle. Because what does money mean? Money means freedom. Money means opportunities. Money means you can do whatever you want in life. However, if you don’t have money, then you cannot do much. And that’s the sad, brutal reality we live in unfortunately. But, let’s put it this way, that depending on where you want to move, and depending on how extravagant you want to live, you will need different amounts of money. So, if you do not have much money, then maybe you can start small. Do a smaller project, maybe move somewhere that won’t cost you too much, or really move on a shoestring and be fine with that. 

You also have to think about what you will be doing on location. So, if you move there and you have a job offered, then you might not have to move with loads and loads of money saved. It will be easier for you to move this way. However, if you move somewhere and you have to find a job on location, or you’re going to be studying a language in the beginning, then of course you will have to have more savings. I would say with regards to money, you always need to have some form of savings because when you are moving country, you are definitely taking the risk of… things can definitely go wrong. You might be unlucky with things. The worst thing can happen and you might not have a community who’s there supporting you. Or, have a family who will help you out if things don’t work out. So, you have to be your own backup plan and have savings. That’s a must. 

I’ve definitely been also stupid, moving countries without savings. But, I was really lucky in that sense that things did work out. But, I did learn from that experience and I told myself to never do that again. So, that’s why I really want to emphasize on how important it is to have savings, even if it’s just a little bit of savings. I usually say that if you are moving to a country, jobless, and you’re going to look for a job on location, at least have two or three months salary in your savings account, so that if you are not finding a job in the next three months, you still have money to survive there and to live there. You don’t have to be desperate basically. 

So, that’s kind of a minimum threshold. I mean, depending on what type of job, of course, you’re looking for. Sometimes, people want to have a one year salary saved in their bank account in order to feel comfortable. But, I think that if you are starting out kind of with simple jobs, like easy to get type of jobs, then two, three months should be fine. But, of course, you just never know. When I have moved countries and started looking for a job on location, I usually found my job within one month. But definitely not in a few weeks, definitely more like up to one month. So, that’s just as a little side note. So, if we’re going to look at my previous experiences that has to do with money and occupation at the location, then in Rome, I took a student loan and I went as a language school student. Then in Ibiza, I googled a job before I went to the country and I found a job before I went to the country. And that’s how I ended up going to Ibiza. 

Then in Malta, I searched when I was already on location. When I went to London, I did the same thing as in Ibiza. I googled a job before I relocated and I got the job before I relocated. So as you can see, I have a little bit of different experiences. And I think that even though I have this experience, I don’t think I have a favorite method. However, I would definitely say that googling a job before you move to a country is sometimes a little bit underrated because you’d be surprised what you can find. I mean, who would think that you can actually find a job in Ibiza before moving to Ibiza? Well, I did. I found a job as an animator in a hotel. I mean, it’s not a top paying job, but for that age, it worked perfectly for me. And at least it got me a foot into Ibiza. Then I lost that job, but that’s a different story.

But, when I was standing there without a job, it took me, I would say, about two weeks until I found a new job. So even if things don’t work out, it’s not necessarily the end of the world because you are able to also search on location, which I did in Malta and also later there in Ibiza. And even in Rome, when I got my part-time job. Searching on location is by far the easiest method, because you can just apply to all kinds of jobs and people will call you for an interview and you can be there pretty much the next day. It’s just so much easier, right? But, I want you to play with the idea of the different opportunities of how one can find the money, can find a job. That there isn’t just one formula of doing it. That there are actually different ways. Just don’t forget to use Google. Believe me, Google might land you a job, okay. So if money and finding a job is an obstacle for you, then just go on Google and research. This is going to be your ticket to your destination.

So, we have covered the most common obstacles, but there is one last obstacle that is called accommodation. And a lot of the times people feel like, “Oh, where am I going to live? And how can I find where to live if I’ve never been in that place before,” et cetera. Or, “I have any people who live there who can help me.” Now with regards to the accommodation, I’ve also had different experiences of how I was able on finding it. Sometimes, I found it because of Google. Sometimes, it was offered with my job. Sometimes, it was because my boyfriend had accommodation and I just lived with him. And sometimes, I would stay in a hotel in the beginning and then search on location. So you see, there are different ways how you can do it.

When I went to Rome, I just went on Google and I googled accommodation and I found rooms to rent on a vacancy website. I phoned them up and I asked if this room is available and if I can rent it, without even actually being there physically and seeing the room. And they were trustworthy enough so that I was able to secure that room. I didn’t even have to send them a deposit or anything, but usually that’s what they would require. But please, that can be a little bit dangerous by the way, because sometimes scammers would just make you put a deposit and then they would promise you a room or an apartment, and then they disappear. So, that’s something you have to be really careful about, because believe me, I once got scammed. But, not in Rome. Rome, I had a lucky break.

So, you can definitely do it that way. But yeah, that might not be the most common ways of finding accommodation, which is why I do recommend to actually search on location. Which is what I did when I moved to London. I stayed the first, I would say, three weeks in a very cheap hotel. But of course, when you stay three weeks there, the bills add up. But, that’s the only thing I could do at that point. And then, I searched on location and I was able to find something within three weeks, because you have to find something that is available immediately. And sometimes, it’s hard to find something that’s decent. London can be one of those cities. In Ibiza, I was actually offered accommodation with my job because when you work as an animator in a hotel, you usually get to stay at the hotel premises. But, there are other jobs that could offer that type of benefit. So, it’s all about what type of job you’re looking for. So, you can also have it offered that way.

Also, by the way, if you are having a more of a serious job and they’re looking for a foreigner to work in this country, then you’d be surprised how many times they will actually offer some form of company accommodation. Maybe it’s an apartment or something like that for your disposal until you find something of your own. So, that’s actually a very common perk with many companies like that. And then, of course, you might have a partner or a friend who tells you that you can stay with them in the beginning. And that’s also a great thing. So, if you have those connections, definitely make use of that as well. So, you see accommodation is not really a tough cookie to crack. It’s all about just thinking outside of the box. And the worst comes to the worst, just stay in the cheapest possible hotel, or even worst case, a hostel until you find your accommodation by searching on location.

So, ladies, these are the five most common obstacles and the ones that probably causes the most worry and overwhelm. And as you hear, it’s really not that complicated. It might look complicated from the outside, but it’s really, really not. I think sometimes that a sixth obstacle to add to the list would be the person’s fear. Your fear, thinking that something bad is going to happen, that you are going to be lonely, that you have nobody there. I don’t know, ladies. Maybe you think that just, if you are going to take the step, that you’re so vulnerable that the worst is going to happen to you. 

But, you know what the good thing is, from my experience, is that of course there are going to be negative things that happen because that’s called life. But, when we are in the moment, we are always able to cope with anything that comes our way. Even when we are in a foreign country, we just end up figuring things out. It’s not difficult and you will probably not even have to panic. It always seems more difficult from the outside, but when you are there, you see how easy it actually is to live in a foreign country. I mean, easy to the degree that the difficult things are not going to be the ones that you thought were going to be difficult. I definitely recommend to do this, especially in your 20s. I think 20s is a great way of living abroad, especially because I said that you grow so much as a human being. And it usually feels more difficult the older you get, because usually you have family, kids, spouses, et cetera, and you can’t just leave that behind. But, when you are in your young days, you want to make the most out of your life. And you also want to do all these things before you get tied down to things, right? 

But, if you are somebody who are not in those years anymore, but you feel that, “You know what? I want to make use of my life, because one day I am going to be too old for anything.” And that’s true. At some point, when we are, let’s say 90 years old, it might not be such a great idea to move countries. I mean, Some people do it, but that’s when we definitely need our community to help looking after us. But, right now when you’re healthy and when you are strong enough to do it, why not just doing it? Do it even so just for a year. Just to try it, just to have that cultural enriching experience or have that sabbatical. Just to feel alive, because when you widen your horizons, you are going to feel alive and that is a big dopamine kick. But, that’s also, in a way, a big learning experience about life. You’re going to learn a lot of things about yourself. You’re going to get out of this as a different person, a better person. Definitely a better person. 

But most importantly, ladies, don’t forget the opportunities it can bring you. Like I always said, if I didn’t move to Italy, who knows if I would have been where I am today. It had such a significant influence in my life and to everything that I do today. You just never know how life would have turned out otherwise. And to tell you the truth, I don’t even dare to think because I am just really happy that things turned out the way they did. So that’s why, if you’re hesitant, then maybe think about just doing it, just trying it. Just to give you that experience and see where that can take you. And, you know what? If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. You can always, always go back to where you are today and that’s not necessarily a bad place to be in.

So ladies, I hope this has inspired you to maybe do some new changes in your life. I mean, we are now about to enter a new year, 2021. When we create those new year’s resolutions, we should think about what is it exactly that we want to get out of our life? What do we want to do with our life? And like I said, if you have played with this idea of starting all over again in a new country, why not just doing it? Trying it out, see where that will take you. Anything is possible. So, if you want to dream big, think big and just go after those dreams. Anything is possible, ladies.

Now, ladies, for those of you who haven’t watched my latest YouTube video, How To Look Elegant Without Looking Boring, this video is linked in this show notes. And it’s actually a really good video because there’s a lot of stereotypes about elegance that we need to just debunk. And I’m giving you some really actionable tips on how to add some spice and flavor to your wardrobe so that you don’t have to look boring. Now, lastly ladies, if you enjoyed this podcast, then make sure you subscribe and leave a review. All your support means the world to me, and also makes it easier for me to continue creating valuable content for you. Now, ladies, I will be back next Wednesday. Until then, take care and don’t forget to visit my YouTube channel for my latest videos. Bye for now.

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