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4 Posts
Hey everyone! 
Before I start, here's a bit of background about me. I'm a New Zealander who has been an expat since the age of four. My family relocated to Switzerland for my father's job, and we never returned (except for holidays). All my life I've been a New Zealander to the core, and it's the only place I have ever called home. Every time we go back to visit friends and family, I feel like I never want to leave, and my heart breaks when I have to. The last two times I visited, I almost stayed behind - in fact, when I was back in NZ in 2012, I was *this* close to it. As I walked to the departure gate, my entire body SCREAMED not to go. I'm pretty sure that if I'd stopped walking, I wouldn't have started again, or I would've, but in the opposite direction
Last year my father enrolled me in a university course in England, which I felt okay about. I looked forward more to moving to England than to studying, because at least that would be a change from Switzerland (I never liked it there). It turns out it the problem wasn't Switzerland; it's that I really, really, REALLY want to go home to New Zealand. I like my university course (I'm currently in my first year), but I feel it won't lead me anywhere, or at least nowhere I want to go.
So I've been considering moving back to New Zealand. I have the money, and I have the possibility and connections (all my extended family lives back there). I've worked before and know how to look after myself. I know I have the guts to do it. On the negative side, however, I'm only 18 years old and don't have a university degree. And I know I will shock the hell out of my family if I told them I planned to move to NZ! Lol.
Am I crazy? Sometimes I feel like I am
But deep down I know this is what my heart longs for, more than anything. I know New Zealand isn't perfect (my family keeps telling me I have a romanticized view of it, since I only really lived there as a young child, but I'm well aware that it's no utopia), I know it has problems like every other country in the world, but I don't care. It's good enough for me.
So, I really need advice - pretty much of any kind. I think I've made it clear that I want to do this, but should I? And how can I make it work? Has anybody else ever dropped whatever they were doing and moved abroad?
Thanks so much!
Before I start, here's a bit of background about me. I'm a New Zealander who has been an expat since the age of four. My family relocated to Switzerland for my father's job, and we never returned (except for holidays). All my life I've been a New Zealander to the core, and it's the only place I have ever called home. Every time we go back to visit friends and family, I feel like I never want to leave, and my heart breaks when I have to. The last two times I visited, I almost stayed behind - in fact, when I was back in NZ in 2012, I was *this* close to it. As I walked to the departure gate, my entire body SCREAMED not to go. I'm pretty sure that if I'd stopped walking, I wouldn't have started again, or I would've, but in the opposite direction
Last year my father enrolled me in a university course in England, which I felt okay about. I looked forward more to moving to England than to studying, because at least that would be a change from Switzerland (I never liked it there). It turns out it the problem wasn't Switzerland; it's that I really, really, REALLY want to go home to New Zealand. I like my university course (I'm currently in my first year), but I feel it won't lead me anywhere, or at least nowhere I want to go.
So I've been considering moving back to New Zealand. I have the money, and I have the possibility and connections (all my extended family lives back there). I've worked before and know how to look after myself. I know I have the guts to do it. On the negative side, however, I'm only 18 years old and don't have a university degree. And I know I will shock the hell out of my family if I told them I planned to move to NZ! Lol.
Am I crazy? Sometimes I feel like I am
So, I really need advice - pretty much of any kind. I think I've made it clear that I want to do this, but should I? And how can I make it work? Has anybody else ever dropped whatever they were doing and moved abroad?
Thanks so much!