I decided to write about this after seeing ate Jane talk about it yesterday in her article; Grass Isn't Always Greener On The Other Side Of The Fence
There is always this misconception about going abroad that it's a sure ticket to success and a lot of people are buying into this, especially in my country.
I am not against going overseas due to the current hardship in the country and I will gladly do so if given the opportunity, but I will only travel out when I have something tangible to do over there (unless I am just going to visit) and that's the mistake a lot of youths are making.
The mistake I am talking about is going overseas without any plan and just leaving everything to chance because they believe things will be sorted out when they get there.
This is generally brought about by the few persons that have gone abroad and are now living well, but these persons don't tell the full story. Some actually have a legitimate source of livelihood and are very good at what they do, so they get adequate income to take care of their needs.
Then, on the other hand, we have the ones that have gone dark and are now involved in different crimes to make ends meet, these are some of the ones that go abroad without a plan because they feel money rains down on the streets.
They arrive there and life deals them a solid blow, they get desperate and dive headfirst into different crimes which are usually drug trafficking, prostitution, and fraud. You couldn't think of something tangible and legal to do in your country of origin, what makes you think it will be any easier in a foreign land?
Ask some of the persons that are clamoring for traveling overseas what they are going to do, and they won't be able to give a straightforward answer. In the end when they get there, the ones that are disciplined enough not to go into crime and are doing menial jobs, end up hiding from the authorities because their visa has expired after a while.
Won't it be better if you go over there with a job already waiting for you? But instead, they prefer to leap before looking at where they will be landing. Even the ones that are legitimately working and earning a substantial income are finding it hard because of the high standard of living, especially if you're in the united states of America.
There was a thread earlier this year on nairaland.com where someone asked for those abroad to share their experiences. A lot of people talked about what it takes to be living abroad and they actually gave an honest review which borders around what they earn monthly, tax, house rents, and other bills.
From what I could gather, the tax over there (especially in the U.S) is high as well as other bills. But even after giving their reviews, a lot of people still disagree and believe it's all milk and honey over there. The usual reply you will see is; "if it's so hard, then come back".
So am I trying to say no one should go abroad? Of course not, I am only saying you should plan well before going. Like I said earlier, I will jump at any opportunity to go abroad but I will do it the right way; by getting invited to work there, and I am going to do it through tech.
I'm currently learning programming (which is now on hold because of my busy schedule in school) and it offers a good way of working abroad, as a lot of programmers who work abroad earn very high.
I have come across some programmers that end up working abroad because they are so good at what they do. At first, I was thinking about ditching the whole going abroad idea and just working remotely for a company when I have gotten really good at programming until I came across a post by a senior programmer on nairaland.
In the post, he was complaining about the frustrating state of the country and how it's getting more and more difficult to work remotely. There are problems associated with power supply, internet connection, security, timezones difference, and the last straw; payment system.
The government of my country keeps coming up with crazy economic policies which most times affects those that receive payments from overseas companies. All these are some of the factors that make most people want to leave the country.
I have a couple of friends that have left the country, but they had solid plans and are currently doing very well in their new location. Some went there to study on a scholarship, some others went there after getting recruited by a sports agent (to play basketball) and a few of them got job offers with a lot of perks attached, the bottom line is that they went there with a solid plan.
Closing thoughts
No country is perfect and it's not just a bed of roses in overseas countries, there are thorns in there as well which will prick you if you don't handle it carefully.
Having a solid plan makes staying abroad a remarkable experience, but going there with a mentality that success is guaranteed even without planning is very dangerous and it tends to backfire most times.
We all have the capacity of succeeding anywhere in the world including our country of origin, but sometimes there are circumstances that hinder us from achieving our goals in our native country and make it easier in a foreign land, but all these boils down to having a solid plan before going abroad.
Thanks for reading 💖💖💖
Saturday November 20, 2021
I think our movies also have a part to play in this. You see a man leave Nigeria and come back wealthy. It's not that easy over there too but they don't show us that.