After graduation I emigrated from Spain to the UK at first, then to Canada, in order to make a better living. I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations, yet I have mixed feelings about it.
In my twenties I was young and hungry. It felt like an adventure, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on projects that didn't exist back home. It was also a way to achieve independence and prove to myself that I had what it took to succeed alone and compete with what I perceived to be better educated engineers.
In my thirties I started to notice how I had become estranged from friends and family. My parents began to look old at first, and eventually weak and frail. Those fears turned true when I lost my dad in my late thirties. I've heard other people talk about the shock of seeing your parent age in discrete increments every time they travel back home, so I know I am not alone in this.
Now in my forties I finally have some free time to look back and wonder whether it was worth it. From this vantage point, a simpler life close to friends and family looks pleasant, but at the same time I figure that if I had stayed then I would have always wondered what it would have been like if I had moved overseas.
So, it's complex. These days I'm thinking of possibly going back to Spain. It has better weather and food, if nothing else.
Very similar situation on our end and it was one of the reasons to return. We used to visit parents 2-3 times a year. Every time you go, you see your parents getting older and you start having all sorts of thoughts about it.
about seeing parents aging, smartphones with camera and video communication make this a lot easier. ever since i gave my mother a smartphone, our contact changed from an occasional email every few months to daily messages and regular sharing of photos.
In my twenties I was young and hungry. It felt like an adventure, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on projects that didn't exist back home. It was also a way to achieve independence and prove to myself that I had what it took to succeed alone and compete with what I perceived to be better educated engineers.
In my thirties I started to notice how I had become estranged from friends and family. My parents began to look old at first, and eventually weak and frail. Those fears turned true when I lost my dad in my late thirties. I've heard other people talk about the shock of seeing your parent age in discrete increments every time they travel back home, so I know I am not alone in this.
Now in my forties I finally have some free time to look back and wonder whether it was worth it. From this vantage point, a simpler life close to friends and family looks pleasant, but at the same time I figure that if I had stayed then I would have always wondered what it would have been like if I had moved overseas.
So, it's complex. These days I'm thinking of possibly going back to Spain. It has better weather and food, if nothing else.