There is no greater sense of adventure than deciding to live and work in a new Country, taking part in the great flow of people around the world that has historically been such a dynamic driver of human innovation and change.

For many of us though, the proposition of moving out of the country you have lived your whole life in is one that is simply too big, too scary and too seismic to contemplate seriously. Sure, it would be great to spend your days lazing in the afternoon sun in the garden of your casa rural or land huis, but what about navigating your way through the tax system where all the complex legal requirements are presented in a language that is not your first? Emigrating successfully can be one of the most rewarding, horizon expanding and growth inducing experiences a person can go through, where you reveal yourself to the world as someone who is not bound by geography, ambition and determination.  And sometimes, it is simply time to go because your current situation is not conducive to your personal goals. Here are 5 reasons that it may be time for you to think about packing your life up and heading in search of pastures fresh and green. 1) You’ve worked yourself into a rut This happens to a lot of people and it can be a source of frustration and disappointment later in life. For example, think of a person whose only real experience is working in bars and restaurants. For a while this is great and she quickly begins to progress up the chain to assistant manager, but at some point she will realise that has a very limited and industry-specific set of skills and that she has effectively worked herself into a corner. At this point, emigrating to another country might be a great way to get herself out of this rut without having to go and retrain to learn a whole new raft of skills. Working in bars and restaurants is a great way of learning a new language quickly, and with two languages under her belt, our fictional lady will have a whole range of new opportunities open to her from teaching to working in the international business departments of high flying financial companies. Often it is the willingness to drastically change your situation and place yourself in a new and challenging environment that is the impressive thing to employers about emigrating rather than the actual nuts and bolts of what you were doing. 2) Things have all become a little too routine This is related to the above point but applies to a much broader slice of a person’s life. New experiences and constant challenges help a person grow and keep them sharp as a tack and they’re more healthy. Routine on the other hand, acts to enclose a person’s mental landscape to a very limited range of activities and mental processes, whether it is in the case of a person’s work, their social life or their life in general. Upping sticks and hauling out of there becomes a way of breaking your routine and injecting a bit of novelty and excitement into your life. You will have new co-workers to collaborate with, new social points to frequent and new friends to do it with, all of which will mean that your mind is no longer trapped by only having to consider the same limited number of actions. Of course, you may well find yourself falling into a new routine after a while in your new home, but there is always likely to be ways to assimilate further into your new culture. Take up surfing in Australia or flamenco dancing in Spain, join a baseball team in America or go trekking around the jaw dropping vistas of South America. 3) You need more space The UK builds the smallest new homes in Europe and the rest of the continent isn’t a whole lot better for providing bang for your buck when it comes to space. If you are finding that your family or amount of possessions means that the value of being a home in your country of origin does not make a whole lot of financial sense, then moving to a place where the same amount of money can get you almost triple the amount of space is a no brainer. In our modernised world of global travel and communication, staying in a country where you cannot afford the space you need to live the life you want to out of some sense of loyalty or sense of apprehension is madness. 4) You need to start learning new things again Just like getting caught in a routine that means you are not challenging yourself anymore, if you stop learning new things and skills then you are not utilising your full potential. Practical knowledge and the education that comes with becoming “street smart” in a new country is a guaranteed way to get your brain firing on all cylinders. When a person is learning new things and gaining new knowledge and understanding about the world, new courses of action become possible and previously abstract ways of doing things become conceivable. Emigrating is likely to not only teach you a whole truckload of information about how life works in a different part of the world, it will also teach you a great deal about yourself. How do you cope under pressure and how good are you at communicating with people whose language you are not fluent with. Finding out how adaptable you are as a person is something that not everyone gets round to doing. 5) You need to go where the action is It is unlikely that your home country is going to be number one when it comes to every industry. Some industries have better footholds in some parts of the world and it makes sense for people who are interested in being a part of these industries to go where the best people are doing their thing. If the most dynamic surfboard manufacturers all seem to be located in Australia and that is the direction you want to go in life, then it makes sense to go there. If you think that one or more of these 5 reasons to emigrate applies to your current situation then it seems like you should be giving some serious consideration to where you want to go and how you are going to get there. It will be a challenge both in terms of the social side of things but also in organisational terms like getting the right expatriate insurance and navigating through a new tax regime, but it will also be a gloriously enlightening and strengthening trip into the unknown. Are there any other big reasons to emigrate that you can think of? Have any of your emigrated successfully? Practicalhacks