Many of my friends and family back in Australia comment on how lucky I am to be living France and travelling around Europe. They often say how they would love to live the life I do but couldn’t possibly. Their reasons vary but none of them really make sense. There are no excuses. If you really want to live a vagabonding lifestyle or become an expat, you can.

Here are the 7 most common excuses for not becoming an expat according to Escape From America Magazine:

1)     “I couldn’t possibly relocate at the moment because I have school-age children, and I wouldn’t want to upset their educational progress.”

There are thousands of international schools spanning every continent and almost every single nation in the world – what’s more, if you commit to a permanent move abroad your child could well settle in to a local educational establishment.  You may even discover that they thrive in a new nation and through the medium of a new language.
2)     “I’d love to retire abroad but I have a medical condition that restricts me.”

Remember that there are doctors, hospitals, clinics and drug stores abroad!  What’s more, healthcare and dentistry overseas can be anywhere up to 75% cheaper than in the US for the same or even higher standards of care and medicine!
3)     “I’m not ready to retire, I still need to earn an income so I couldn’t possibly expatriate.”

According to a well-respected international survey of expatriates conducted by HSBC, a leading bank of the world, expatriate professionals earn on average 25% more than their peers back home.
4)     “I’d love to move but I’d miss my family too much.”

Think about the fact that the technologically advanced age we live in means that you can speak to people all over the world for free thanks to the likes of Skype.

You can bet your bottom dollar that they will come and visit and stay for prolonged periods of time and embrace the life you’ve steeped yourself in very willingly.  So, you’ll be able to enjoy quality time with them very single year rather than you all taking each other for granted when you see each other every day as you currently do!
5)     “I couldn’t do what you’ve done, I’d just be so lonely.”

I have never had more friends in my life than since I have become an expat.  Expats stick together, and expatriate friendships forged from a common place of excitement and adventure tinged with some trepidation are firm and lasting – surviving distances of thousands of miles when one or other in the friendship group relocates somewhere else!  So, no matter how many friends you think you have now, I can guarantee you will make more friends, and in some instances much better friends, once you move abroad.
6)     “I’m a patriot so I couldn’t become an expatriate – I’d be turning my back on my country.”

Just because you love everything about your current country, if you still want to expand your horizons and see more of the world, why shouldn’t you move abroad?  Not living in a country doesn’t mean you have turned your back on it.  Hell, Americans still have to pay tax back to the good old US of A when they expatriate anyway, and how much more ‘love’ can you show your country than contributing to its tax coffers!
7)     “I have too many ties that I just can’t sever so I can’t move abroad.”

This is the underlying restriction that really limits every single person, no matter which excuse they choose to voice about why they couldn’t possibly move abroad.  ‘The ties that bind’ us are an illusion – you are not physically tied to any one object, commitment or person, (unless you’re kinky), but if you choose to think of yourself as being restricted in life by your life, that is exactly what you will be.  You will be restricted in your choices, your opportunities, your happiness and your chances in life…and the only person placing those restrictions on you is you.

I’m sure there are plenty of other reasons people come up with for not following their dreams of moving abroad. Take action or stop complaining about your miserable lives, one or the other.