Over the last 3 years, I’ve moved 4 times, in 4 different cities on 3 separate continents.

To some people, it is insane. What would entice me to do such a thing? It’s not as if I lived in a small city or that I had no friends or family in Toronto - I had it all. I was living a place with public transportation, with my family and not paying rent, have my friends around me, and I built a network within the community. The last couple of years, I’ve hunted and looked for a community - I looked for people who shared the same interests in me, organizations that had similar values, and I signed up for reliable email lists to keep me informed with what I need.

Yet, when I leave, sometimes it feels like I throw them away. I break ties and the relationships I have built cannot be increased to a greater extent. The news that was so valuable when I was in Toronto no longer applies or valid. And so, moving to a new country, city, or place means starting from rock bottom - all over again.

So why have I given it all up time after time?

These are the reasons I love traveling and living in a new place:

1. Cultural Differences: Culture is defined as the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a society and usually shapes the way people think. Based on the way they grew up and what they had considered the ‘norm,’ people from all sorts of regions can interpret things differently. For example, in France, they have 7 weeks of holidays. When they hear that it is normal that North American only have 2 weeks of holidays, they are astonished and in disbelief. Yet, for us, 2 weeks is the norm and 7 weeks of holiday sounds kinda ridiculous. There are so many instances where I can compare North American values with France and often find it so fascinating. By living in a place, you have time to absorb the information, to observe and to understand how the people function in this society. It blows me away every time.
2. Traveling: Backpackers or world nomads often say that traveling does not cost a lot of money. What costs a lot of money is planning a luxury vacation with fancy hotels and accommodations. But if you just want to go to a place and see the sites and to expose yourself to the country, it does not cost a lot. This is especially true when you live in a smaller country and there are cheap airlines / trains that can get you one place to another for a cheap price. When I lived in Singapore, I could fly for an hour on a budget airline for under $100 roundtrip for the weekend and stayed in hostels to stay cost efficient. The other options now a days is Couchsurfing and renting homes with AirB&B. So the most important thing is really situating yourself in the middle of somewhere so you have easy access to transportation (trains, planes, airports) to get you on your journey!
3. The Experience: Living abroad allows you to grow in ways you can never imagine. From learning to become independent and dealing with unexpected problems to adaptation to a new place, I’ve been forced to grow up much quicker than if I had stayed at home. Every single time I moved away, I’ve had expectations, and sometimes they were right - but oftentimes, they weren’t. It is scary to know that things can fall apart - but it makes me think on my feet and to come up with Plan B - even if it is very hard. You are pushed into difficult situations and force to battle it out on your own.
   

Most importantly, I love telling stories. Living abroad really allows me to share stories about my own culture with others and vice versa. It also makes my life a bit more interesting.

Everyone has a story.

This is mine