I rarely include solely outsider content as I love writing myself, however, I really wanted to share this excerpt from the article: 14 Things Only People Who Have Worked Overseas Can Understand, read it here (I've also shared it on my Facebook page, sorry for the overload but it's just so accurate).
#2 We are not “lucky” or “blessed”
It may seem that we are now living in a better country with amazing job prospects and sun 365 days per year judging by our Instagram or Facebook feed, but that’s not 100% true. In fact, finding a job and sorting out all the moving stuff and paperwork requires anything but luck. It’s more like hard work, persistence, and tremendous dedication to making things work that plays a major part.
Anyone can choose to work and play where we are now. For some reason, most people decide not to make the leap of faith and put effort into the potential prospects elsewhere (and there are always opportunities available for those who seek them).
It’s not that we were “lucky” or “blessed” to get that opportunity and you didn’t. It’s just the fact that we played hard to get it and you’ve chosen not to.
I would just like to comment that this is so true and it's quite disheartening when people say 'oh you're living the dream' or 'must be nice' or 'you're so lucky' because it makes me realize that most of the population thinks living abroad is based on luck when it isn't or that one day you can decide to move to Italy and stay there forever. If only you could see the HOURS (and I mean double-digits here) spent in line at the police station or getting documents translated, the money that goes into yet another stamp or visa application, the rejection and starting over...it looks less like being blessed and more like hard work. I hope in reading this blog and following along with the journey you've gotten to see some of these aspects- the good, the bad, and the ugly. So feel free to DREAM and be inspired by the dreams of others but don't forget the "how" in how dreams are actualized.
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