1. Am I ready to move out of my country ?
To answer that, you first need to answer this question : do you want to leave your country or do you want to move into a different one ? You don’t see the difference between the 2 phrasings ? It is small, indeed, but it is capital. In the first case (I want to leave my country), you probably feel there are various things you dislike about your country, things you are not comfortable with, things you want to get away from. Fair enough. However, the risk for disappointment is very high, because no, the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. Every country has its problems and its struggles. The things you dislike in your home country might not be better in your new country, and if they are, other things might be disappointing. Leaving your country for leaving makes you look at things with a critical eye, so you end up regretting what you left behind.
On the other side, wanting to see something new is a more positive attitude, instead of comparing two countries and lifestyles you might be more open to just seeing and living the differences instead of judging them. You need to be ready to accept things are not the same, and sometimes you prefer how it works at home but to be happy here you have to adapt the this place’s way of life.
One easy example : the understanding of time in Latin America.
You want to invite (local) friends over for dinner. You tell them to come over at 7pm. You spend your day preparing everything, you sometimes rush to finish on time. However, your fist guests will not arrive until 9pm. You would find that lack of punctuality very impolite, we’re not talking minutes but hours ! Latinos are on time for professional or administration appointments, but in their private life, time is more flexible, and they wouldn’t understand if you got mad for that. So you can either adapt or stop inviting them over…
2. Is Latin America an option for me ?
Honestly, you are the best person to answer that question, but to help you we can discuss specificity of life here, and check if you like/could adapt to them. For instance, did the punctuality example not annoy you ? That’s a good sign !
And what do we like so much about Latin America ?
→ First of all, there is cultural proximity. Latin cultures are close to ours, I’m not sure we would feel so comfortable in Asia for example. But that is a very personal feeling. We like all the aspects of latin culture : talking lots, complaining a little, food, partying, living ! We like the warm and lively atmosphere, especially thanks to our point number 2 :
→ Climate. In the most southern part of the continent, the seasons are equivalent, even if reversed, to the northern hemisphere. But in the rest of the continent, the climate is very agreeable. Tropical in the center, milder in the rest, every country and region has its seasons and changes, but overall the sun shines pretty much everywhere, the temperatures are either hot or at least enjoyable, and the sun usually rises and sets at regular hours, all year round.
→ Nature. Both fauna and flora are amazing. Beaches, deserts, tropical forests, mountains, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, waterfalls… you can find it all, and all these places have lots of beautiful plants and amazing animals. From Mexico to Chile, all the countries also have cultural and archaeological sites, Machu Pichu is only the most famous.
→ Cuisine : As all over the world, each Latin American country has its own specialties, and in all the countries we’ve lived and all those we’ve visited, we always enjoyed the most delicious food !
These are only some of the reasons why we love Latin America so much, it’s hard to make a complete list. It would always lack the most important ingredient, the subjective and personal one : « I feel good here ». There’s only one way to know it a place feels good, it’s to visit it before making the decision to move.
Have you made your decision ? You want to move to Latin America, then check out our practical information categories, to find out the concrete and practical aspects of moving to Latin America, including the sometimes less fun parts.