Changes

It occurred to me today that over the last 10 years, I’ve moved 15 times, among 7 cities, across 3 countries. That’s more than once a year!

I wonder how common something like that is. Here are stats from other people I know over the last 10 years.

Looks like I may be on the higher end of that spectrum – it does depend on what phase of life you’re in, of course-in which case, everyone in that list apart from my mom and brother would be fair comparison.

Moving has never really been an ordeal for me-I seem to be more focused on my goals rather than the inconvenience or emotional effects of leaving a place.

Over these changes, I’ve learned to live, get along and connect with people from different cultural backgrounds, beliefs and races. I’ve also learned, tolerance, generosity and when I need to get away. As I write this, I realize that I may have moved more than some people have in their entire lifetime.

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with someone who mentioned that they are too attached to their garden to move out of their current place. It’s interesting that they would choose to sacrifice opportunities to live a much better life for a garden that they can acquire at any other time in their life.

On the other hand, these days, millennials speak of lifestyle design: working backwards from a vision of your ideal life. We have remote software jobs that can be worked from a mountaintop or a sleepy coastal town. People seem to be abandoning the chase and returning to simplicity. The chase makes sense when figuring out a career but things eventually slow down and the chase is abandoned in favor of ‘laying down roots’.

I don’t expect to move much in the next 10 years. In case I have to, I think I’m well equipped for it.