There's only six weeks left until I move to Australia. It seems crazy to write those words, but this move has been a long time coming. (In fact, it's been roughly two years in the making, if we're going to include the first time I floated the idea aloud.)
Every day, someone asks me if I'm "excited" to go. And while I am, unfortunately any excitement at this point is being overshadowed by the stress and the sadness associated with moving. I've lived in Toronto for 11 years. Every single year I've threatened to move, but now that I'm finally doing it, the reality that I'm leaving behind my friends, my dog and my community is finally sinking in.
That, and there's the administrative burden associated with moving. Everyone knows that moving is a pain in the ass—but moving to another country, for an indefinite period of time, as a self-employed individual? Yeah, it's just a little overwhelming.
To give you an idea of the process, here are just some of the departure tasks necessary before you move to Australia:
