In a little over 4 weeks I’ll be starting an exciting new chapter in my life. I’ll be moving to Singapore, staying in an area called Sengkang, to be with my girlfriend Brin.
And strangely, I’m not feeling nervous about it. Perhaps I will nearer the time. But I’ve had a lot of time to think about it; pretty much since I met Brin back in January (generally a good idea if you’re getting into a long-distance relationship), so I’m mainly just excited that the day is finally (almost) here!
For the past few weeks I’ve been going through the process of… moving out. Except it’s more than that, because I’m not //just// moving out. I’m leaving my job, saying goodbye to friends and family (don’t worry, I’ll be back) and I don’t have a new home to move into. So I’ve been throwing a lot more stuff out than I normally would moving house, and I’ll be giving a lot away too. I don’t plan to take any more than the essentials to Singapore – clothes, toiletries, phone, iPad, Kindle. Pretty much what I’d normally take on holiday. I’m leaving nearly all my material possessions behind.
I like change. I welcome new challenges and opportunities. But the cost of change, inevitably, is leaving things behind. I imagine that’s fine with most people who move abroad. Maybe they can’t stand the weather here. Maybe they hate their job, or are just fed up, whatever. This doesn’t really apply to me. I think the UK’s pretty amazing, I enjoy my job and have some of the best friends and family around. I have pretty much everything I want here… except Brin. And that is why I’m moving.
But saying that, I don’t feel like I’m ‘leaving everything behind.’ I’m leaving some things behind, sure, like my TV and my CD collection, but not the things that matter. I’ve been 11,000km away from Brin for most of the year and it hardly feels like we’ve been apart. Yes, it’s half way around the world, but there’s Skype (well, Google Hangouts), email, post and phones. And I hope that some of my friends will visit too.
I feel a bit uncomfortable leaving my job. It’s reassuring, knowing you have money coming in each month. When things go wrong, you’ve still got your job, so must be doing //something// right. Similarly, my flat. It’s pretty nice, and coming home to it gives me a sense of having done pretty well so far. I think I’ve been lucky, but at the same time I think I’ve worked hard too. Yet I don’t regret having to give them up, at all.
It’s //exciting//. Liberating and challenging. I absolutely can’t wait to find out what it feels like to be without these things, that I’ve depended on and taken for granted for as long as I can remember. It’ll probably be the most difficult thing I’ve done. But going out of your comfort zone is sometimes the best way to learn; letting go of some things to try new ones. I want to see if I can be make it work in Singapore.
And there’s a lot more I’m looking forward to about moving too. It’s an amazing country. Super-modern and efficient, a stunningly beautiful skyline, ubiquitous (and delicious) food stalls, a near-perfect transport system, a wealth of culture, and even giant alien trees. It’s the best country I’ve been to, and I look forward to getting to know it better.
It’ll be an adventure, that’s for sure. A challenge too, but I’m quietly confident about everything working out. I’ve got accommodation sorted and enough money saved up to stay there a while. I don’t think it’ll be a problem adapting to life there. But more importantly, I won’t be alone. I’ll be with Brin.
Bring on September. 🙂