I find that planning everything out first made it easier. I aligned my finances, looked at places I’d actually live in, and even applied for and got offered jobs. Just working at the logistics first.

At that point, knowing my ducks are aligned from a purely logical and feasible standpoint, it was easier to make that emotional jump because lining everything up removed a lot of the excuses. The whole thing took about a year to prepare.

Worst (or best) case you line everything up and then realize you don’t actually want to leave. Then maybe something you actually do enjoy is where you’re at and keeping you emotionally there. And then you just cancel all your plans if that’s the case.