I'm writing this from my room in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, as I procrastinate on packing and other tasks related to moving. Georgia — which is now my official state of residency — marks the eight state I've lived in. Factor in different cities within a state, as well as moving back to one I had previously lived in, and I've probably moved somewhere around twelve different times. Part of it was from being a military brat, and part of it is from being an ambitious adult with a constant search for change.

Since mid-2016, however, I am about to hit a personal record: living in four different states within one year. I left Northeast Ohio for a few months' stay at a hotel in Houston en-route to Atlanta, and within a week will be leaving again for the small but beautiful town of Buena Vista in the mountains of Colorado. To me, this is somewhat normal, and I've had many friends and acquaintances who've lived similar lives.

For many, however, it is daunting - without experiencing firsthand the joys and benefits of relocation, they only see the fears and frustrations. There are a lot of both real and imagined fears that come with picking up and skipping town, and I think it is important to be realistic and address them as objectively as possible.

Leaving Behind Family

This is more of a concern for some people than others. My family has moved about as often as I have, and the idea of a "homestead" and growing up in one house in some town somewhere with my family continuing to stay after I leave is something I've never experienced. Even my mom, who grew up largely in one city, once told me she couldn't fathom the idea of staying there. I've learned to accept being far from family as an inevitability and something I couldn't control even if I wanted, so it hasn't been much of a concern for me (although I am sometimes jealous of the people who only need to make a short drive to go visit for the holidays). In fact, I couldn't even call my parents to tell them about my new job offer, because they weren't even in the United States at the time.

For those who have lived a more static life, however, I am going to try to put myself in your shoes, as well as going off of the words I've heard from friends in similar situations. We are fortunate to live in the era of telecommunications and reliable transportation, and some things never really change. I knew people in college who called their parents practically every day, and that could be done across town or across the world. In school, we were only afforded a few opportunities to drive or fly home each year (barring summer breaks), and that's pretty consistent with the real world. Missing the family pet? Alright, that part sucks, and I can't defend that one; I miss my dog more than anything, but at least it makes it even more awesome when I do get to see him. Overall though, the only real change is you can't go enjoy your mom's cooking once a week anymore. As far as regular communication, staying in touch, and visiting on special occasion, just trust me when I say that part doesn't change. Is it difficult? Sure. But let's be real; what major accomplishments in life have been achieved without difficulty?

Ultimately, you might be farther away, but you're not actually leaving anybody behind.

Exception: dealing with family members that are sick, elderly, or otherwise in greater need of your physical presence. That's an extenuating circumstance far different from, "I'm afraid to leave the place I grew up."

Logistics

Let's be real; this part sucks. It's not quite as bad as people make it out to be, but it's a lot of work and it's frustrating. I've never had an issue finding a place to live, but it can definitely be a headache during the process. I've learned two very important tricks to making it easier:

1) Own as few possessions as possible

2) Just trust that it will work out

Also, owning a truck or an SUV makes this a heck of a lot easier. I once moved less than a mile away in my Honda Civic and it was probably more of a pain than taking everything I own from Ohio to Texas in my SUV.

Almost everything you own can be donated, and much of it can be sold for some convenient traveling money. Sell your dresser for thirty bucks and you just got yourself a tank of gas. Make use of the Sheetz or Speedway rewards too; those free nachos or can of Monster on that long drive is a blessing.

New Friends and Old Friends

Do you have friends in the place you currently live? Yes? Then that means you know how to make friends. If you can do it there, you can do it here.

Leaving friends behind? Much more of a relevant issue in the 1860's. Cell phones and social media: use them. I still maintain close friendships with people from high school, and I haven't lived in Northern Virginia since 2011.

Also, sometimes friendships run their course. People end up going different ways in life, and you can live down the street from somebody and stop being friends with them for whatever reason. If leaving ruins a friendship, that friendship wouldn't have lasted in the first place. Besides, real friends will support your goals and ambitions.

Familiarity Ruining Objectivity

I went to Ohio from the D.C. metropolitan area and ended up meeting a lot of people who grew up in some small town in the sticks. The idea that your hometown — whose population makes up 0.00000714% of the world* — is filled with the best people or opportunities you will see in your life is arrogant at best.

Realistically, there are 57 million square miles of land on this world, filled with many different people, cultures, and opportunities. Even after subtracting unnecessary areas like Nebraska, that's still a lot. Open-mindedness implies experiencing or learning about something before reaching judgment, and to say that your one town is perfect for you without experiencing other opportunities is, from a logical standpoint, pretty irrational.

*Going off of rough estimates of 5,000 people in a town, compared to 7,000,000,000 people on earth

You Need to Trust Yourself

There are always a few things I firmly believe in that greatly help with making the change. Things such as, "I know I can find a job if I need to." Not only does this type of thinking improve your confidence and happiness, it also prevents falling into the self-fulfilling prophecies that come with a negative mindset.

I'm not worried about my ability to find a job or a place to live, because I have a proven track record showing that if I try -and am willing to be somewhat open-minded - I can make it work. I'm far more worried about other stuff, such as meeting a seemingly awesome girlfriend somewhere just to find out she's the type of person that makes our guests take their shoes off when they enter the house.

"We Built A Life Here"

This somewhat common phrase is actually pretty erroneous but can be easily corrected by getting rid of the last word. Many of the skills, education, and experience you acquire somewhere aren't geocentric, and as I stated above, true friendships aren't going to dissipate solely from moving somewhere else. In fact, I think planting roots in one area actually limits your ability to build a greater life, as it cuts out the professional connections, friendships, relationships, and career opportunities that could exist anywhere else.

Now, I will absolutely concede that this is less relevant for certain people, say a farmer or shop-owner whose business is purely local and established within a particular area. However, most of the people I've met don't fall into that category.

Nothing is Permanent

This one needs to be both bold and underlined. Heck, I'd surround it with bright flashing neon lights if I could. Yes, some consequences of decision-making are more permanent — death, prison records, getting HIV from a girl in Ravenna, Ohio who wears a pink camouflage jacket — but many are not. Almost everything in life can be changed. In fact, it's really not even that hard. Maintain good relationships, be responsible and professional, at least try to manage your money properly, etc.

Let's take my case, for example. I love the Southeast, but after a while, I came to realize that Atlanta itself really isn't the place for me. So what? It's not like I'm in a prison camp; I can leave if I want. Granted, I don't have a house or a family, so it's definitely easier for me than for some people, but the concept is still the same. What if I eventually have a change of heart and decide I miss the place? Simple, I move back. You can always move back. Life is full of choices, we always have choices, and yet we fall into this crazy belief that we don't, namely, because society likes to say otherwise. External factors don't solely determine your life; you do.

And, most sobering of all...

There Is A Harsh Reality We Often Overlook

I once pointed out a simple observation, which I firmly believe is true: You can move somewhere new and leave everything else behind, or you can stay somewhere and watch other people leave. Life is dynamic. Things change and people change. Staying somewhere out of fear of change is counterproductive because it doesn't actually do anything to prevent it. It's almost once a month that I'll go on Facebook and see that somebody I went to college with in Northeast Ohio is moving to somewhere new.

You can be afraid of the unknown, but the unknown is always going to happen. Someway, somehow, change will occur. Don't be the person who holds themselves back because you fear change, just to see the successes of all the people who don't.