Amongst the well wishers this week, I suffered quite a few questions about when I’d be settling down and why I keep “running away”.I choose to move to Canada because it’s not Australia where I’ve been before but the reason I’m going anywhere at all should resonate with everyone else that does so and I’m not moving away because the Government failed me as an Irish citizen or because there are absolutely no jobs in the Country, let’s bloody face it – hardly anyone really moves for these reasons!True, Ireland hasn’t been the best place to find jobs in recent years but if we all took a look inside and gave an honest account of what we found – the reason most people are moving abroad is simply because they want a change.
It’s not an Irish thing to move abroad for work either, we just happen to notice a lot more when it is – I’m writing this from a Dublin hostel getting ready to head for the airport, it’s swarming with Spanish, French and Brazilians, all doing the same thing – living away from home.When I think of this topic, it reminds me of the speech given by Steve Jobs at Stanford University. He tells the students how he would look in the mirror every morning and ask himself “Am I happy with what I am about to do today?” and whenever the answer to that question was “No” for too many days in a row, he knew it was time to change something. He concluded the speech by urging everyone, to never settle, to keep searching for love or what we love and trust that the dots would join at some point in the future.I guess that’s what happens a lot of people who decide to emigrate – they crawl on their knees through one too many crappy Monday mornings in a job they don’t like after spending yet another depressingly lonely Sunday evening on the sofa and then finally realise that something needs to change.Similar to a long term relationship with a loved one, living out a repetitive routine in the same surroundings can have a stagnating effect. This is how a lot of people live, without variety. In the beginning the routine obviously feels fresh and exciting but gradually, we fall into a comfort zone which lacks any real opportunity for the people involved to grow.
This simply does not happen when you travel (even with a partner) and likewise, when you put yourself in a position to experience new people, different lifestyles and new surroundings like the harbour bar portrush.That’s why I’m moving to Canada, that’s why I’m still searching and that’s why I keep running – to find who or what I truly love.I guess people are still going to ask when I’ll be settling down but really, we should never settle.
