Contradictions of Travel

A traveller! By my faith, you have great reason to be sad: I fear you have sold your own lands to see other men's; then, to have seen much and to have nothing, is to have rich eyes and poor hands. --William Shakespeare, As You Like It (1599), Act 4, Scene 1

Got the quote above from Vagablogging. It is true people are leaving their own land for a better or greener pasture, or this is what they thought. I am not denying I never thought of the same.

For the past few months, I have been busy contacting some migration agents for free consultations. Their first few initial consultation is free, so why not use them? Moreover, they are the professionals! They know what is best for you!

I am quite satisfied with a few of them - they at least tell you the truth! If they see that you don't have a chance to qualify for migration, they just tell you so. I am not at all unhappy with them for being so truthful. I am actually glad.

But there are those who never say a thing but start quoting you a fee. You ask them Question 1, they answer you Question 2 (sometimes I wonder whether they do read what you wrote). There's also times, where they are answering a question in which I never ask at all! And they don't even bother whether you can pass the migration standard. Eventhough I am not a migration consultant in profession, by reading the Immigration website is enough to equipped me with the knowledge I need. One of them is a lawyer (who turned into a Migration Specialist) whom I got referred to from my aunt. Sometimes I wonder, whether they do dare to look into the mirror and call themself a professional?

Why do we want to leave our own land and settle in a strange land? A place where you know nothing except when you get to read it on the 'www' or maybe you have the chance of visiting it. I have heard of cases where, a person left for another country with the whole family for a couple of years and in the end, they return to their native country. Reason: the children have graduated and went back to the native country to work. While the parents have no one there so they sold their house and return to their own country. My uncle always say this"... but they get to make a few thousands bucks by selling their house because the property price is increasing everyday over there! Just migrate, if you don't like it - you can always come back here". Yes, I agree but in a way, it is easier said than done.

First, you will have to sell-off all your properties here to accumulate enough money/assets to show the migration officer that you can bring enough money to live in that country, in which you won't have to live like a parasite, meaning living on their people's taxes. Secondly, you will have to think whether you will be able to look for a decent job there because, a company usually wants to hire someone who is familiar with the country's work environment and not someone who can just speak their language. Can you just adapt to a new environment? Thirdly, can you move to a country where you have no one? All your relatives and friends are here. Who are you going to turn to when you need someone to talk to? Call the Good Samaritan hotline? Then, you will have to worry whether you can bring your pets along, because it will cost another lump sum of money.

Hrmmn... there's just so much cons compared to pros. So, why are people still leaving?