Starting a new life is often considered the biggest decision someone can make. If you’re serious and have decided to start a new life, or maybe you’re fed up with your current life and think that a change of location is the only thing that could turn things around, then money will certainly play a role when you’re thinking of changing locations.
How to Start a New Life
Maybe you’re planning a move or wondering how to start a new life, but you don’t want to move. Or you want to change jobs but don’t know how. How do you transition from where you’re now to where you want to be?
Identify What You Want
First, think about what’s making you unhappy. Is it the job, the city, or something else? Then ask yourself if there’s something concrete that would make it better. If so, write those things down and make their specific goals.
Be Realistic
Once you’ve defined your goals, think about whether they’re achievable. It’s not just about saving money but also how much effort you’ll have to put into it. If it seems too difficult or too risky, it may not be right for you. But if it’s achievable with minimal effort and cost (and doesn’t require major changes), then you should try it!
Imagine What Your New Life Would Feel Like
Try to imagine what your new life would feel like.
- What would you do daily?
- What would it look like?
- Would you be able to spend time with your family and friends, or would it be harder to find them because they’re so far away from you?
- Would there be the kind of stores you like or a place where you could pursue your sports activities?
- Maybe it’s a small town where everyone knows each other but also has its own space – where you can live among strangers and still feel comfortable. Wherever that may be, try to imagine yourself living there for a few hours before moving on to the rest of this list!
Don’t Run Away, but Take Care of Your Current Life First
Walking away is easier than dealing with things at home, but it can also be risky. It’s easy to get frustrated with your current situation, and it’s tempting to leave it all behind. But before you do that, make sure you’ve tried everything possible to solve the problem at home. If there are steps that need to be taken by others, such as your parents or spouse, it’s up to them to take those steps when they’re ready. Don’t push them to take action when they aren’t ready – that will only worsen things.
Running away from problems leads most people down two paths: blaming others (which never solves anything) and expecting someone else (such as a friend or family member) to fix everything themselves (which, again, never works). Neither way of thinking usually leads to anything good. Instead, try asking yourself what parts of the situation you’ve control over right now and what still needs time.
Choose Your New Location
If you plan to relocate, the next thing you need to do is look at the cost of living in your new region or country. You’ll need to compare them to those in your current location and figure out how much money you’ll need in your savings account for your relocation and living expenses until you settle.
The easiest way is to compare your average monthly rent or mortgage payments, credit card debt, utilities, groceries, and gasoline or public transport costs. You’ll also need to factor in other things, such as school tuition if you’ve children and health insurance if applicable.
You can find this information on websites like Numbeo or Expatistan. On these sites, you can enter your current location and compare it to other locations worldwide entered by other users. This will give you an idea of what it’ll cost to live abroad and help you decide if it’s worth it for you to move.
Calculate Your Budget
Now that you have a clear idea of living expenses in your new place, it’s time to figure out how much money you’ll need to get started. The first step is to figure out your budget.
Start by looking at your current expenses and adding them up.
To do this, list all of your monthly expenses – whether they’re recurring bills or one-time costs like attending a class or buying something specific – and write down the total dollar amount. Do the same for any monthly income, such as unemployment insurance or freelance work; again, write down the total dollar amount.
Next, compare these two numbers: Add up all the monthly expenses and any additional costs (e.g., rent) you’ve already accounted for in calculating the total, and subtract that figure from the extra income you’ll have left after paying those bills. This will give you an idea of how much money will be left over after all the bills are paid each month (and whether that’s not enough money to start over).
Don’t Forget Your Relocation Expenses
You also need to factor in your moving expenses, which can be a significant amount depending on where you’re moving to. For example, if you’re moving from North America to New Zealand or the United Kingdom, you can’t just rent a van; you’ll need to hire a moving company and make sure everything of value is insured.
Save Money for Your Emergency Fund
Anything can happen at any time, and if you’re in transit, you may not get some things sorted out, such as signing up for health care or health insurance in your new location, which can quickly cut you off from your financial freedom. For example, I have a friend who had an appendix in Southeast Asia and didn’t get his insurance sorted out. He had to get help from his family to get his health insurance paid on time. Sometimes your insurance could be saving your life at the least expected time.
Test the Job Market
If you can’t already support yourself, you’ll probably need to earn enough money to afford your new life.
To find out if you can afford to move, it’s important to research the job market in the community you’re considering. The number of jobs available, their pay, and other factors will help you decide to move there.
For example, if you’re an executive at a large company in New York and are planning a move to a small town in North Carolina, would you consider working for a much smaller company, or could you negotiate with your current employer to relocate and work from home?
A job takes up much of your daily life, so think carefully about what you can imagine doing each day.
If you’re moving abroad, you also need to consider the language. For example, if you move to South America, will you need to speak Spanish for your type of job, or can you find a local job where you can only speak English?
Do More Research
You’re moving to a new place! Whether it’s for a new job, a relationship, or just because you want to live elsewhere, choosing where to live is an important decision.
Before you decide to move to a new place, do some more research about the area:
- Is it a safe neighborhood, or is the crime rate high?
- Is it an inclusive society, or is there a lot of racism?
- What’s the culture like (people, food, entertainment)?
- Do you’ve family or friends in the area?
- Are there places where you can go out and meet people?
- Is the climate dry or humid? Are there droughts or floods in the next few years?
- Think about all the paperwork you need to do before you leave.
Before you pack your bags and hop on a plane to a tropical paradise, there are a few things you need to do. You might think these things are some of the first things to take care of, but they’re often easier to do if you already have a place to go.
- Identification documents
- Passport
- Visa (if required)
- Driver’s license (if required)
You’ll also need travel and health insurance and a social security number or equivalent if in your home country. If you’ve credit cards, bank accounts or mortgages in your current country, life insurance, etc., it would be a good idea to make sure everything is up to date.
Make a List of Pros and Cons
Next, make a list of the pros and cons of each option. This way, you can weigh the pros and cons of each option.
First, write down a list of all the benefits your new life would bring – and then what could go wrong. For example:
Advantages: You’ll be able to travel! You’ll be able to see more of the world than you ever thought possible.
Disadvantages: You may not like traveling as much as you think! Your wallet will hurt paying for plane tickets and hotels every month (at least until you’re financially stable).
Pros: You can change careers – or start a whole new one! If you want to do something specific with your life, now’s your chance to try it without worrying about quitting because it’s not going well financially or socially.
Disadvantages: In the beginning, it’ll be hard to find job opportunities because no one knows who they’re hiring yet. This means that sometimes it’s hard to find a job even if you wanted it badly enough, and there may not be many openings if you apply outside the country (which is why I haven’t gone back since moving abroad three years ago).
Pros: You get to meet new people and gain new experiences.
Disadvantages: Preparing to leave is a headache and takes time.
Transitions Are the Biggest Challenge
When planning a new life, there are a lot of moving parts. One of the biggest challenges is often the transition, which can feel like an overwhelming hurdle if you’ve no idea where to start. But here’s something to keep in mind: transition is also one of the most important steps.
It’s true. The transition phase (when everything is falling apart) is when things start to fall into place. If you look at it from an engineer’s perspective, you’ve to plan everything – and that goes for starting over in another country or city, too.
If You Can’t Afford to Change Locations, You Can Still Start a New Life
If you can’t afford to change places, you can still start a new life. You may not have the means to change your place of residence, but you can start a new life without moving by working on your attitude and health. Starting a new life should always begin within.
Let’s not kid ourselves, we live in an expensive world, and sometimes the only way out is to keep going. But if you can’t afford to move on, or even if you do, that doesn’t mean your life has to stagnate. There are other ways to start over without having to move away from home or even your current job.
5 Ways to Change Your Life Without Moving or Spending Money
If you can’t get out of your rut, maybe it’s time to think about changing your life from the inside out. There are many ways to do that without spending money or moving away from home. Here are five:
- Change your mindset. You can change the way you look at the world simply by putting on different glasses. For example, if you think everyone around you is constantly judging and criticizing you, they probably are! But instead of focusing on their negative qualities (which are probably no worse than yours), try to see their positive qualities.
- Change your routine. If something isn’t working for you anymore – whether it’s at work or in your personal life – you’ve every right to change it! Whether it means getting up earlier so no one has time to eat breakfast before you go to schoolor work; meeting up with friends every night after dinner; or going back to old hobbies like writing poetry (if only!) – make those changes! As long as they make sense within the context of your circumstances (e.g., financial obligations), go for them wholeheartedly, because nothing worth doing is easy… and sometimes it’s better to take small steps than none at all when trying something new.
- Work on improving your health. Exercise regularly, eat healthy (or at least make sure what you eat is good for you), get enough sleep – all of these help us feel better about ourselves and therefore think better about our lives.
- Make new friends. Belonging to a community of like-minded people is a great way to feel happier and more fulfilled. Why not join a group that meets in person? Or maybe you’d rather make friends online? There are lots of ways to do that!
- Build a new project. If you want to be more productive or try something new, build a new project. For example, if you want to learn photography, get a used camera and start taking pictures; if you want to learn to cook but don’t have anyone nearby who can teach you, search for recipes online; if you want to write a book but don’t know where to start, ask someone who’s written one before for advice; if there’s something that makes your heart beat faster when you think about it than anything else in the world – do it!
The bottom line is that we all want to live our best lives, but we don’t always know where to start. Sometimes the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step – but sometimes that first step is hard to take. I hope this post has shown you that your new life can start anytime, anywhere, and isn’t tied to where you live or your bank account. You’re responsible for finding the courage to make changes, whether they’re drastic or small. You must believe in yourself enough to take the first step before you can experience real change.