5 benefits of moving away from your hometown in your 20’s

Hi, lovelies, I hope you are all having an amazing day, in this blog, I talk about why moving away from your hometown while you’re young is one of the best things you could do and the benefits it can have on your life, especially if your hometown is small. In my previous blogs, I have talked a little about my move, but if you don’t know for some context, I moved states from Adelaide to Melbourne with my now ex-partner when I was 19. I stayed there for a year and a half and in that time, my life changed, living in a new environment, but I also changed so much as a person, for the better. There are 5 main points I want to discuss that I have found elevated my experience and made it all worthwhile. So, let’s get into it!!

Growth

My first point is growth. So, I believe that it can be crucial for your growth to move away from your hometown. From the place where you grew up and everything is familiar, you know everyone, and support is close by. To then move away, to where you know nobody, can spark the evolution of a person to grow in so many ways in a new environment. Even if it’s a few hours out from where you are, say if you live in Melbourne moving to a small country town in Victoria a few hours out, or, you could move cities or even countries if you want to get the full adventurous experience, but just moving away from your hometown is enough, whatever that might mean for you. We as humans are meant to grow and evolve through our journey here on Earth, so you can’t expect to stay in the same place, without experiencing different things and places and have tremendous amounts of growth, especially if you’re hometown isn’t necessarily a healthy environment, and that will differ from each individual and their experiences throughout life. Environments hold energy, although this is a conversation for a different day it is important to consider how certain places can make you feel. For example, if you have had negative experiences in your hometown and never leave you are probably sitting in a low vibrational environment and most cases will not grow to your full potential. So, when you leave your hometown and return, you may get this icky feeling in your stomach because the energy still holds the negativity. I know a lot of people who have moved and only go back to their hometown if they really need to, for example, for family or important events because of the feeling they get when returning. In my case, when I moved back, I could not live in my old room at my dad’s where I previously lived. I felt like crap when I would sit in there, even though I had changed so much internally it was the energy in the room. So, I stayed with my best friend in her apartment for a while, until I changed up the vibe of the room, deep cleaned and got rid of a lot of old energy so that I could eventually move back there. This leads me to my next point.

A fresh start

Secondly, just having a fresh start. I believe it is an excellent opportunity for a full reset, no matter where you are in your current situation, or who the people in your hometown perceive you to be. Moving away from everything that you know allows you to rebuild yourself because nobody knows you, you can show up however you want, your most desired self. For example; say you always wanted to cut your hair up to your shoulders with a fringe but you were fearful of what the people who are used to your long brown locks would think. When you move, nobody has expectations of what you look like, or how you act. You can create an entirely different version of yourself and nobody would even know. Moving somewhere new means that you will most likely be judged in some way, because you’re new, you’re unfamiliar so you may as well make your first impression as someone you actually want to be! Also, with my point of a fresh start, moving away from any bad memories or toxicity you dealt with back at home would feel like a weight of your shoulders, like you can just breathe for the first time. This is definitely how it felt for me and this is not to say that all hometowns are toxic, but if you did have any lower experiences because of maybe unhealthy relationships within your family or friends that may have caused any trauma or you’re just looking at the same things every day and knowing you want more, whatever it is you always have choice to start fresh.

Perspective

This leads me to my next point – Perspective. We have learnt all we know from the environments that we have grown up in, and the people in our hometown, so we only see the world from that perspective. We are like sponges who soak up everything in our environment and project that out to our external reality. We might think that things that are looked at as normal, aren’t necessarily healthy or isn’t a way of life that we would want for ourselves and our future, but that is all we know. When you move away it’s like you get a birds eye view on everything that goes on in that environment, then you get to decide if those same patterns are what you want for you and your future. By getting perspective you are able to make the necessary changes to improve your life so even if you did want to return at some point, you will know what you do and do not want to accept into your life. I know for sure I got so much perspective moving states, just being aware of the patterns that take place within my parents and friends lives and being able to choose to do things differently because I was actually away from that and had the space to really work on myself and do things that genuinely felt good to me, not because everyone else around me is doing it.

Independence

The next point is independence. Moving away from the support of your family and friends at a young age can be difficult. You are pushed out of your comfort zone to the greatest extent, unless you really love travelling or crazy adventures, but the average person would be a little terrified I’d imagine, which is totally normal, because I know I was. This makes room to grow independence at pretty fast rates, well in my case I went from living at home and not thinking about what’s for dinner most nights because it’s served up for me, to having to budget so I could actually afford to eat, all within a few months. This concept was pretty wild to me when I first moved, it was an obvious responsibility but its things you just don’t think about until you’re gone. You have to figure out bills, electricity rates, water bills, appointments, healthcare, how to pay rent, new travel systems if you’re moving cities and learning a complete new way of life. The smart thing to do if you are planning to move away is to have a plan of some sort, maybe like a six month to a year sort of plan so it doesn’t seem so daunting at first. Everyone is different but I found in my opinion that being able to take control of my life was liberating. When I got into the swing of things, I found I could do so much for myself being independent. I learnt how to cook my own favourite meals that I never ate at home, I could buy the groceries that I wanted every week, I new where everything was in my house because nobody was moving it and I actually started to thrive, the thought of going home eventually made me nervous because I got so used to my own company and my little routines and new way of life. So, I guess my advice I would give with this one is taking charge of your life and learn how to live independently but also don’t be afraid to ask for help, especially if you’re really struggling.

Taking a risk. – Builds strength and resilience

This leads perfectly into the next point of taking a risk to build strength; they say with great suffering comes strength and resilience. Moving away from everything you know and are used to will definitely be a challenge. Especially if you are particularly close with your parents or family like I am. It will get lonely at times, maybe even a little dark but never lose hope because it is always worth it, and you can always go home, I would hope. I think that’s what kept me sane the whole time, knowing I could go home if I desperately needed to. It was an 8-hour drive or an hour and a half flight at absolute worst-case scenario, but if you can stick it out, try to. It is so rewarding when you get to a place where you are finally comfortable living a live that you built on your own terms. You get to look back at everything you went through and know that you did it. You made it. This will also give you courage to take more risks in the future, because you know you had your back through the hardest times and overcame a huge challenge, so it raises the bar on the potential you have for yourself. And when you’re ready you can return home, or you might find you love it, you might meet someone romantically, you might land the job of your dreams, or you might want to stat exploring a new location. The first move opens your eyes to the unlimited opportunities in the world. At times I actually would think of myself as a failure if I went home, back to the same old people and places that I felt I had outgrown so much, but don’t be too hard on yourself. Sometimes an environment is only for a season, it can serve you the lessons you needed at that time to grow into a new person, so if you do return to your hometown, you won’t repeat the same cycles because you have higher standards for yourself, for the new you, created through that journey. And it’s always good to start back at the roots to regroup and prepare for your next phase, whatever that brings. Or when you leave, you may feel like a weight is lifted off your shoulders from an unhealthy environment and may never want to go back for long periods of time, maybe just when you must for a family event or special occasion. Environments hold energy, so don’t put yourself in places that energetically don’t feel good to you. I think I’m going to wrap it up there, if you have any questions I’m happy to answer them, you can DM me on Instagram or email me with the link below. Have the best day always embrace your power and reach for the stars. Love you xx