[felixarba]

Nationalism is not the thing stopping most people.

It's your friends, family and the feeling of belonging. This is culture, not nationalism. I lived in Canada for 10 years before moving back home. I had a great life in Canada, fulfilled things I quite literally never dreamed possible, but I didn't belong.

I lived my life between vacations, just waiting for the time that I can go back home and spend time with family. I realized this is no way to live life.

[david-gpu]

Yeah, people who have only spent a year or two abroad so not understand the consequences of staying there permanently.

Estranged friends and family. Aging and dying parents. Feeling like a foreigner in your country of origin (reverse culture shock). Your own children, at the end of the day, belong to a foreign culture rather than your own. Etc.

[bartvk]

This. Big chance you'll lose all of your friends, and family ties will suffer greatly. One of my friends moved from Europe to Australia. I think I'm the only one that visited him.

[Aeolun]

I mean, you should kind of expect that if you move to the other end of the world?

[david-gpu]

It is one of those things that sounds "obvious" when somebody points it out to you, but I can tell you from personal experience and from several other people that when you are in the midst of moving abroad you have lots of other things in your mind and, frankly, rose colored glasses on.

What you find online tends to be the many people who spent a year or two abroad talking about what a cool experience it was, not long-term immigrants publicly admitting the downsides of their past choices. It is a very common feeling that is rarely spoken about outside of immigrant communities.

If you pay attention to the comments, you will find that the people who only talk about the positives of moving abroad either haven't done it, or did it but they went back to their country of origin. Where are the long-term immigrants --typically with spouses and children-- talking only about the positives? And for the many who return... if living abroad was so great, why did you move back? Why don't you tell people about that as well?

[munksbeer]

>Where are the long-term immigrants --typically with spouses and children-- talking only about the positives?

Here. I'm an immigrant to the UK. I've been here 20 years. I love it here, except for the weather, which I miss from my home country.

I do miss a lot of other things, but all in all I've made my life in the UK and settled here with children.

I think I'm one of many, many millions of people globally who have done this and speak positively. I'm not sure why that seems far fetched to you?

[Aeolun]

Living abroad is great. Not seeing your old friends so often any more is hard. But you have the same issue whether you move half the world or two hours away from them.

[signaru]

Opportunities that require big risks is also another factor. My academic acquaintances abroad may be doing well financially and travel-wise, but they all have to live their foreign bosses' ambitions despite being very bright people. It's far easier to take crazier entrepreneurial risks with the safety nets in one's own home-country.

[hshshshshsh]

If easy is what your optimising for Entrepreneurship is probably not the path.

[signaru]

Entrepreneurship sure may be difficult as a whole. However, some difficulties are not really necessary. For me, it's a matter of seeing the end goal and removing as much obstacles as possible to get there faster (optimizing for time). I see the need to have a proper job or chase funding as additional obstacles if you are abroad.