Are you ready to move on?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve planned your life out for yourself to even the most specific details. It doesn’t matter if you have everything all laid out already. The moment that you fall in love with someone, all the plans that you have for yourself suddenly won’t seem so set in stone anymore. You start to allow yourself to be more flexible. You start to rethink your future because you know that you have to accommodate this new person who has a profound impact on your life. Sometimes, in an effort to make sure that your relationship doesn’t fall apart at the seams, you force yourself to make a few concessions and adjustments in your life. And sometimes, that means that you end up having to move – and that’s not a small decision to make.

There are plenty of plausible scenarios that might compel you to move for the sake of your relationship. Maybe you’re in a long-distance relationship with someone and you eventually know that you are going to have to move to where your partner is to take the next step in your relationship. Perhaps you’re already in a long-term relationship with someone and maybe an opportunity in a distant place happens to materialize; and it’s one that they can’t pass up. So you have a choice here. Either you be selfish and stick to your own plan at the expense of your relationship. Or you take the plunge and you just go ahead and uproot your life for the sake of your love.

Regardless, you are faced with an uphill climb ahead of you; and it’s one that you can’t take lightly. The purpose of this article isn’t to encourage you to just move with your partner; nor is it one that is telling you that you should just stay put. The point of this article is to help you approach thinking about this issue in a more systematic manner. You have to understand that you are risking a lot by choosing to uproot yourself for the sake of the relationship. And so you really can’t afford to be leaving any stone unturned when it comes to thinking about it. It’s a risk. It’s a chance. And you have to make sure that you are methodical with how you approach coming to a decision on this.

One of the biggest factors that go into determining the success of a relationship is distance – and distance can take its shape in both a physical and emotional form. And a lot of times, the emotional distance between two individuals is often heavily affected by the physical distance between them too. Sure, you can try to draw things out with your relationship by experimenting with a long-distance romance even further. But at the end of the day, you can only get so far if you stay apart from one another. Physical closeness is integral in the longevity of a relationship. And that’s why this is such an important decision that you need to make; one that you really can’t be taking lightly. So here are a few things that you really need to think about before you come to a decision.

1. Is your partner really someone you can see yourself sharing the rest of your life with?

Probably, the most important factor in this equation is your partner. You really have to figure out if they’re someone who is actually worth uprooting your life for; if this is the kind of person who you know you really want to build the rest of your life with.

2. Are you both in a financial standing that is good enough for you to be able to take this risk?

Money is an uncomfortable topic, but it’s a necessary one. It wouldn’t make sense for you to move if you know that you aren’t financially equipped enough to handle it. And maybe it might make the situation easier if you know that moving could actually ease the financial burdens of your relationship too.

3. Do you have a backup plan in case things don’t work out?

While you don’t necessarily want to assume that the worst is going to happen, you still want to make sure that you prepare for it. It’s not about expecting that things are just going to go wrong. But it’s also making sure that you are responsible enough to have a contingency plan in place.

4. Are you moving to a place that you would actually enjoy living in?

Of course, before you move to unfamiliar territory. You have to do your research. What kind of life is waiting for you should you ever choose to move there? Could you find a job for yourself there? Does that place have the kind of culture and community that you would enjoy being around? Is this the kind of place that you could actually see yourself living in for the rest of your life? You have to figure out if the place you’re moving to is actually going to make you happy.

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Have you been in this position before? Talk to me in the comments below!