 It's been over one and a half years since I've packed up my life in Sydney to move up north to Queensland. It's been quite an adventure, but I've found it to be so much more challenging than I originally thought. Here are some of the truths I've found about moving abroad without romanticizing it. The truth is that making friends as an adult in a new city is hard, and even if you meet people you like you still feel lonely sometimes because when you're starting from scratch it's easier to build one-on-one connections than a big friend group. I feel really overwhelmed when I'm in social situations with a whole group of people I've never met before and I find I get so much more enjoyment from deep, meaningful connections than surface-level small talk. That's why when talking one-on-one with someone I find I get so much more out of the interaction and get to know them so much better than in a large social scene. Another truth is that you'll also be alone a lot of the time and be forced to learn how to enjoy your own company and become more independent and more self-sufficient, which will bring up a lot of difficult emotions. This has been one of the hardest things for me, learning to enjoy my own company. I often do most things by myself, as you see in my videos, and a lot of the time I feel quite lonely and alone. This has started to change a little as I've begun making a hand through a friend, but it's only taken until now, a year and a half later, to do so. Being on my own has given me a greater sense of independence, which I wouldn't trade for the world, and it's shown me so much more about myself, what I'm like, things that bother me, and things that challenge me. I found at the beginning that taking myself out on brunch dates or even just eating by myself was really uncomfortable for me. I really do miss sharing experiences with others, especially my family, and that's been really hard. The truth is that the newfound independence you gain from starting your life over will prove that you're capable of so much more than you had ever thought possible, and that will make you demand a lot from yourself, from life, and from others around you. But it will also encourage you to make the most of your limited time here on Earth. I've found I appreciate the little things so much more, and I don't like to waste any second of my day. So while moving abroad has been one of the hardest things I've ever done, it has also been life changing for me. It's pushed me so far out of my comfort zone, and I've learnt a lot about myself during this time. There have been many times when I've cried on calls with my family or friends back home, and I've thought about moving back many times, particularly when the loneliness has been at its strongest, but pushing through that initial uncomfortability and knowing that I'll be okay, and each day brings a new start, the challenge has made me so much stronger in my sense of self than anything else that I've done before in my life. So should you move abroad? Well.