February is the twelfth-best month of the year. Doubly so in Scotland, one of the most oppressively rainy and dark places I have ever been. This is our fifth winter in a row here and, thankfully, our last.

I’ve always had big themes for each year (like reading, amplify and reduce), but this year will be a bit different. This year’s theme is renewal. The family and I are leaving Scotland in the summer to start a new chapter, and with that comes a whole host of changes. That includes the typical ones you might think of, like finding a new place to live, getting rid of many belongings, and an endless stream of admin. But the most significant and exciting thing happening this year is that we will interrupt our established patterns and begin the process of starting new ones.

We did this before when we moved to Scotland, and I can’t wait to do it again.

renew.
verb. re·new ri-ˈn(y)ü
to make or become new, fresh, or strong again.

Why are we moving, and why now? There isn’t a single reason. It’s common knowledge that Scotland has a unique beauty, history, and culture that you won’t find anywhere else on earth. We’ve been lucky to experience it, and it’s everything people say it is. If you visit Scotland (and I recommend it), you can have a once-in-a-lifetime adventure (Glencoe is a case in point).

However, in terms of real day-to-day LIVING, I don’t really have anything else nice to say about this country I’ve called home for five years. We’ve given it our best shot. We doubled down. Bought a house (and renovated it). We tried to make it work; we really did.

Was it all bad? Of course not. We’ve had plenty of good days, even great ones, but most of these feel like they happen despite living here rather than because of it. We want to feel like we’re thriving and not just surviving. I can’t think of a better way to explain our decision to move than that.

Making international moves like this requires an “emptying” out of life. All the extraneous belongings, worries, and side-projects get discarded out of necessity, and things become much more crisp. Simple. Basic needs and everyday pleasures are all that you really think about. Although it might seem very challenging and complicated from the outside, the reality is that it is a mostly straightforward and invigorating process. All you need can really fit into one (or three) backpacks. Everything that needs to be in focus will be, nothing else.

“In what way are you repeating a pattern that is making you less happy than you otherwise might be?”

We’re lucky to have a choice of where to live and the means to make a move like this happen, and we know that while we’re sacrificing a lot, it’s nothing compared to the situation many families find themselves in. We’re not trailblazers by any means, but I wish more people would follow in our footsteps and give up their cozy jobs and material things to try life in another country. Even though we weren’t ultimately happy in Scotland, we are coming out of it a million times stronger, and our kids have some cool accents to boot.

These are things money can’t buy.