Traditionally people would have grown up, studied, worked and lived for the majority of their life in their hometown, surrounded by friends, family, and familiarity. The world, however, has changed a great deal and this is something which just doesn’t happen very much anymore. Amongst my group of friends who I grew up with, 2 still live back in my hometown, and I and my buddy Bharat Bhise have moved away, and we did so at quite an early age.

Bharat and I were speaking about this recently and more specifically about whether we regretted the move or whether we thought that it was the right idea, and both of us are convinced that we did the right things. Now if you ask our buddies who still live back home if they thought it was a good idea not to move away, they may very well have a different story to tell. Nonetheless, I believe that we made the right decision and even if you go back to your hometown later in life, it is firmly my belief that everyone should get away from their hometown, at least for a while, and here is why.

1. True Independence

Moving into your own house, whilst still living in your familiar surroundings where you grew up, does not represent true independence in my book, because you still have all of your friends, family and your support network around you. Living on your own like this may mean that you go to bed and wake up on your own, but open the door and you are right back to be part of the big group. When you leave your hometown you are really independent and there is nobody to call on for favors or help. You must make your own way, create your own group and be your own person.

2. Start Afresh

When you move to a new town you can be whoever you want to be, you can do whatever you wish to do and you can start your life fresh. This is not to say that you are leaving behind misery, it is more about having the ability to really embrace who you are, and living somewhere else will very much bring that out in you.

3. Open Up Your Mind

There is something about moving to a new country, state, city or even town, that really opens your mind up to new ideas, new thoughts and new opinions. When you remain in the bubble that you have lived in all of your life then you rarely get the chance to see these different attitudes and opinions. Sure you can watch movies and TV shows which are based in different places, but it is not until you enter into a different community of people that you will truly get to experience how it feels to be living alongside people who do things differently and who think differently.

4. New Activities

Back in your hometown you probably know all of the best bars and restaurants, the best venues and the best activities to do. So much so in fact that you most likely had the same experiences and the same routine when you indulge in some fun. When you move away however all of that is going to be new again, you are going to be spending your time on different activities, you will be trying out new restaurants, bars, and venues, and you are likely to find some new hobbies and passions.

5. Confidence Building

Exploring somewhere new, meeting new people, finding new ways to live, all of this is fantastic for building confidence and after just a few short months of living elsewhere, you are going to find that your levels of confidence have increased a great deal. It isn’t really possible to move somewhere new and just hides away and the more that you get involved with the community and your neighbors, the more that your confidence will grow.

6. Closer To Friends And Family

Something which Bharat and I have often spoken about is how absence makes the heart grow fonder and how since we have moved away from home, we have been closer to friends and family than ever before. In the main, this is becasue when we do go back and see them, we enjoy much more quality time together than we dd when everything was nice and convenient. You also miss your hometown and everything that goes with it, and this makes going back there a real treat and something which you look forward to for a very long time. People think that moving away means you are distancing yourself from your friends and family, in reality it serves to bring everyone closer together.

Move away and it may very well be the making of you.