Why I Quit My Job and Moved Abroad

If you told me a year ago that today I would be sitting on the patio of my apartment in Barcelona, peacefully sipping a coffee on a Tuesday morning while writing this blog post before I teach for the day, I simply would have laughed and likely gone back to anxiously responding to a work email on my phone. My current reality would not have been imaginable to me then and it is still hard for me to believe where I was a year ago and where I am in my life now. So how did I get to where I am today? Good question. It’s taken me a long time to pull together my thoughts for this blog post, one of my first, but it’s essential to my story… so here it is:

A year ago, at only 23 years old, I was extremely unhappy. I had a great job working at a young and cool PR agency in NYC, but the work was stressful and the environment was mentally draining. It was a major feat to get out of bed in the morning, I really mean major – like I would cry getting dressed in the morning knowing the day of work I had ahead of me. I was also getting over a lame breakup (don’t date your college boyfriends after college – it’s a waste of time!) and my friendships began to fade as people embarked on their post-college lives. Being single myself, I watched friends invest themselves in their relationships instead of themselves which was a hard thing to see. After a year of going through these same motions, I knew I needed to make a change.

Sure, I could have just gotten a new job and moved to a new city. But if you are committed to making a change, why not make it a big one? I didn’t have to sell all my things and move to a new country. I didn’t have to completely change my career path to do something I’ve never done before. But I was 23 and was watching my life happen to me instead of actually living it.

So the main thing was: I wasn’t happy.

I wasn’t happy with any facet of my life and am not ashamed to say that I was extremely depressed. I didn’t know who I was anymore and I simply needed to find myself again. And what better way to find yourself than to start over in a new country? With only 10 vacations day a year, I hadn’t traveled since I studied abroad in Australia for a semester in 2015 – and I realized that was when I was happiest; when I was traveling and exploring new countries, cultures, and gaining new life experiences. I had never been to Europe and with my limited number of vacation days, the likelihood of me being able to travel to find that happiness I once felt was slim. I loved the creative work I was doing at the time, but I felt like I wasn’t helping anyone and wanted to make a difference in people’s lives.

However it wasn’t instant happiness as soon as my plane touched down in Barcelona. In fact it was the opposite, after a month of living abroad I felt like I made a huge mistake and was ready to pack my bags and go home. But I decided to stick with it and really commit to the life-changing decision I had made.

And that’s just it: quitting your job and moving abroad is a LIFE CHANGING DECISION. It is something you need to really think about and research heavily. For me, it was the best decision I ever made and something I am so proud of myself for doing.

Are you thinking about doing the same? Make a pros and cons list and really evaluate what it is you are looking to accomplish by making this decision. Research where it is you want to go and how you will be able to support yourself there. You will figure a lot out along the way, just don’t let fear hold you back.

This post was originally written in March 2019.