“We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths” – Walt Disney
Relocation seems to be the song on everyone’s lips today!
In the face of local political and economic frustrations besetting the country, who does not relish the thought of moving away from it all? Take Tafe Samuels, a young working-class woman living in Lagos. Tafe gained her undergraduate degree in Economics three years ago from a university in Abuja, and moved to Lagos for better working opportunities. After a long and arduous search, she secured employment in a logistics company, with a take-home pay of N90,000 (about USD250) per month. This job barely pays the rent and utility bills in exorbitant Lagos (she had to rely on her parents for that), and half of this is spent on transport, groceries and entertainment. Like the rest of Lagos, she dips into the other half to secure electricity and water when the public infrastructure does its regular hiccups, and can barely put away any money in savings. She regularly dreams of escaping the “hand-to-mouth” cycle, but is scared to move an inch from where she is due to fear of the unknown.
Tafe however knows that things could be way better than they currently are. On her secondary school and university reunion groups on Facebook and WhatsApp, she can tell some of her former classmates are getting a better lease on life. Last month, Tunde and Kelechi posted their graduation pictures and Master’s certificates they had both gotten from top-rated universities in Australia and Toronto respectively. From her status updates and pics, Somto is clearly living it up in Atlanta, with her big house and fancy SUV. And just three days ago, Diran – who is based in Chicago – announced (with an offer letter snapshot and a thanksgiving-filled status update) that he had been promoted to the position of a Manager in his company. A google search of salaries for Managers in Dipo’s industry and country revealed that his monthly take-home pay (after tax) was USD3,180. Twelve times her own salary? Someone she finished secondary school with? Chai!
At this point Tafe’s mind is made up. The horror tales of the menial and demeaning tasks, the chilly and unfriendly weather, the struggles of fitting into a new culture, the chances of losing everything in the process, have lost their grip on her. Relocation is the way, baby!
Just like Tafe Samuels, millions of people think about relocating to or find themselves in new countries; where they hope to achieve their dreams and enjoy better lives. This move could be emboldened by frustrations faced in career, education or marriage. Making the move might be the best decision a person could make, and it could also be the worst decision. What makes the difference is knowledge. Knowledge they say is power. Therefore, it is very necessary to arm ourselves with information that will help us tackle the challenges of the unknown.
Enough of the scare …. it’s time to open yourself up to all of the new opportunities and experiences that come hand-in-hand with traveling or finding yourself in unfamiliar grounds. This chic right here will be sharing a number of considerations that you must take into account before and after relocating to help you ease your way in the country you find yourself.
Are you thinking of relocating to another country?
Did you recently move to a new country?
What are the things we should know about?
Let’s meet here!!!
The Chics Domain 