Why Right Now is the Best Time Ever to Decide to Live Abroad   by Connor Davies

in Travel    (submitted 2012-02-04)

Now - right now - is perhaps the best time that there has ever been to move abroad and live in a new country. I'm pretty convinced of that.

Moving abroad to live in a new country is not a new dream. The lure of the exotic and the unfamiliar has been a powerful draw for many people for generations. But we are living in different times now. Even when compared to as recently as 10 years ago, things have changed so much that it really is not hard to see why now is such a great time to move abroad.

Do you want to move overseas? Do you have dreams of sitting on a pristine white beach looking out over the Indian Ocean, or living and working in a megalopolis in Brazil? Wherever you want to live, whatever dream you have, now is the time to get up and do it.

Here are a few of the reasons why I'm so convinced that now is the ultimate time to move to another country to live, work or play.

Ubiquitousness of the Web

The internet is everywhere. OK, there are some places where it has not yet penetrated, but I'll bet that you can find at least a handful of places in any country in the world where you can get a decent broadband connection.

That's even true of less economically developed countries. I was in Africa ten years ago and it was pretty easy to find internet access in the towns and cities. I haven't been back since but I'm sure it must now be easier than ever.

And this is only going to improve, what with the smartphone boom and everything. Soon there will not be a place on earth where you cannot get internet access, and that means…

… you can work from anywhere, communicate from anywhere, hold conferences from anywhere, speak to your mum from anywhere, research exchange rates from anywhere, transfer money from anywhere, etc, etc.

You could essentially be sitting in your beach hut in the Caribbean, bashing off an email to your accountant whilst getting ready for a video conference with your latest client. And no one will think anything of it.

With the internet everywhere, that means you can live, work, volunteer or whatever else you want to do from anywhere in the world.

Growing Need for English

If you can speak English then the opportunities for finding work are even greater now than they have ever been before.

You don't need me to tell you that English is the global language. But with no signs of that changing any time soon, and with English being the language of the internet, the chances for any native English speakers who want to find work abroad are greater than ever.

There's teaching English, of course. That's been around for a while, and you can take a qualification such as CELTA or TESOL to find work almost anywhere. But I think that these days, such is the demand, you could just turn up in most cities in the world and start finding students willing to pay just to speak to a native English speaker to improve their own conversation skills, qualification or not.

It also means you could set up a business in your new country providing an English-language service to local companies, either on a freelance basis or through finding a paid position. Having a native-English speaker on staff to check emails for mistakes and talk to foreign clients is enormously helpful to many companies, and the opportunities are there if you look hard enough.

Basically, the more need there is for English in the world, the more demand there will be for people who speak English, and you can take advantage of that.

Cheaper than Ever

Traveling is cheaper than it has ever been before. Increased competition and the rise of comparison websites have meant that you can find travel insurance, health insurance, flights, car rentals and much more for less than ever before.

In some parts of the world such as Europe you can even get flights between countries for free! (I flew from London to Barcelona with Ryanair in 2009 and the only thing I had to pay was the credit card processing fee of £12).

Technology is also cheaper than ever before, with powerful computers and laptops now available for anyone on a budget. That means you could set yourself up as a freelance worker abroad without any specialist equipment apart from your laptop. You don't even need a telephone if you have Skype, and there are services that allow you to receive electronic faxes as well.

The world may be in a bit of a bother with the economic situation, but that has not changed the fact that it is still a very affordable time to move abroad to live and work. And if you choose the right destination (i.e. one with a particularly favorable exchange rate) then you could find your quality of life going up considerably.

Easier to Stay in Touch

We've briefly touched on this within the section on the prevalence of the internet, but I feel communication deserves its own section.

I'm telling you, Skype has been a lifesaver for me. Ever since I moved to Argentina from the UK (that's 6,926 miles away) I have been able to keep in touch with loved ones as well as my freelance clients via video chats.

It makes such a difference when you can actually see your friends and family whilst talking to them, and when I go back to the UK for Christmas or a holiday it really doesn't seem like I have been over the other side of the world for long at all.

And it's not just Skype. Now with Apple's FaceTime you can be sitting in a café in Madrid talking to your friend back in New York and showing them the local scenery. Android smartphones also have a number of video chatting apps to choose from.

And another thing: when you're missing a few home comforts, now you can switch on your computer and watch your favorite TV programs from anywhere. If you're from the UK the BBC has just brought out an international version of the iPlayer so you could even catch up with all the episodes of EastEnders as they come out.

Remote Working is Becoming More Normal

If you like the idea of working from abroad then now is also a better time than ever before because it is becoming increasingly normal for companies to hire people who are not only working remotely but also working from different countries.

That means it is now easier to convince your boss to allow you to work from abroad or to start up a business abroad working for clients back home. Whereas a few years ago it would have raised a few eyebrows if you were working from across the world, now no one seems to mind in the slightest.

You've also got so many more tools to help you to work from abroad. Dropbox to backup all your files and transfer large documents; Skype to set up a local number in your home country and keep in touch better; email which you can access from anywhere; software to arrange online meetings and organize your schedule with colleagues.

All all this means more opportunities for you, whatever job you want to do.

Time to Make the Move?

The above reasons are why I personally think that there has never been a better time to live in a foreign country. And the great news is that it is only likely to get easier, cheaper and more convenient over the coming years.

So if you want to move abroad to live, volunteer, work or anything else, don't let anything stop you because there has never been a better time to emigrate.

About the Author

Connor Davies writes at http://AspirationsAbroad.com, where you can find in-depth articles, tips, advice, and useful resources to help you to act on your dream and move abroad to live, work, or volunteer.