The privilege of choosing to live abroad

And some of my favourite learnings from Japan, Slovakia and Germany

I have had the significant privilege of living and working abroad in three countries beyond my home country of Australia. I say it’s a privilege because I was able to choose to do this because of a curiosity to see more of the world, not because there was any reason to leave my homeland; additionally, although I sometimes wished for a more powerful passport (especially in Europe), I was still able to get work in Japan, Slovakia and Germany, most of it relatively well-paid.

All of this is a couple of decades ago now, but my feelings about these places are still strongly warm and sentimental. This photo was taken in my final weeks living in Amagatsuji, Japan - a little town not far from Nara. It was on my way to walk around an ancient burial mound or kofun, belonging to the maybe-real-maybe-not Emperor Suinin, a regular strolling route for me, and it was mid-summer, when rains would slightly dust off the humidity. I was so happy living there, and it makes me so happy now to look back on these funny old photos.

I absolutely love almost every aspect of travelling, but for me, almost all of these wonders are eclipsed by the opportunity to live and work somewhere. It’s travelling on steroids, with weeks or months or years of new learnings, local friends, surprises and habits you never expected to adopt.

The (unenforceable) two-year rule