IL Postcard

Afraid You'll Fail (or, Worse, Succeed)?

Date: 10/03/2006

International Living Postcards-- your daily escape

Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2006

Paris, France

I can think of two reasons not to take the leap and pursue your dreams of paradise abroad:

First, your dream come true may be almost nothing like your dream imagined. You may wish you'd been careful what you'd wished for.

Worse…your new life overseas may be idyllic…everything you'd ever hoped for. Here I am, you may be left to wonder as you sit beneath rustling palm trees, gazing out at sparkling blue waters and clear blue skies…now what?

Indeed, what if, after months or years of research, you finally up-sticks and move to some exotic foreign locale…only to decide the place isn't for you? Was I mad, you may ask yourself…thinking I could live in this climate…under these conditions…with these people…so far from my family and friends?

No question, your first move may not leave you where you ultimately want to be. But I guarantee this: You won't regret any move you make, no matter how it plays itself out. You can always move again…onward to another tropical paradise…or even back home. Your ultimate regret will be that you didn't make a move sooner. In our two-and-a-half decades helping people adopt new residences abroad, I can think of but a handful for whom the experience was a disappointment.

On the other hand, I know hundreds happily installed in overseas digs…maybe not the first ones they tried but those they eventually found suited them best.

Take Dan Prescher and Suzan Haskins. This couple moved from Omaha to Quito (where they managed our Ecuador office for a year)…from Quito to San Miguel de Allende (where they became our man and woman in Mexico for nearly four years)…then, most recently, from San Miguel to Panama City (where they currently reside as our key Latin America scouts and reporters). Who knows where next for this globe-trotting husband-and-wife team, who've thoroughly enjoyed every overseas move to date…but are keen to continue trying on little corners of the globe for size.

See the October print issue of International Living for Dan and Suzan's report on lessons learned to date.

Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living

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P.S. Not worried that your life in relocation will fail…but, rather, that it will succeed? That you'll love your new home and, therefore, be responsible for building a new life in it? Don't worry…as an IL subscriber, you need never be completely on your own. We're standing by, not only during the research and planning stages, but also after the move and once you're settled. Our in-country staffs can connect you with other local expats…and will welcome you at regular Expat Nights, which we've begun offering in Panama and Nicaragua. As a subscriber, you get the red carpet treatment. Click here to check it out.