I moved to Austin 8 years ago today.

If you’re in your 20s here are 8 reasons why you should move away from where you grew up

1. Learn who you are. When you’re surrounded by your loved ones and close friends, you shape your values, preferences, and goals towards theirs. Moving away allows you to discover who you really are.

2. Network. I used to think I wasted my network from home by moving away. The reality is, I instantly doubled my total possible network size. I’ve met so many people I never would have met. With a remote world, this is especially powerful.

3. Culture. I’ll never forget walking into a store in East Austin and hearing nearly all the employees speaking Spanish. I was . Since then I’ve met more people from more backgrounds than I ever could have where I grew up. These perspectives have made me become more empathetic.

4. Your own traditions. I love traditions. My family has many of them and I’ll keep them alive as long as possible. But I’ve also been able to create my own traditions. Create things that become yours and you start to feel the pride that traditions evolve into.

5. Loneliness. Yeah, this happens. It’s tough to handle at times, when you want nothing more than to hug a loved one. But being lonely and finding ways to get through it is a great way to find out what makes you happy.

6. Maturity. When you’re away from your hometown it allows you to experience the pain points of bad decisions, rather than having someone else bail you out. Learning from bad choices increases your decision-making ability as life goes on.

7. Minimization of regret. I talk to too many friends who stayed close to home who are happy, but they often feel like something is missing and now they are stuck. If you want to move, do it. If it sucks, moves back.

8. Confidence. I moved here not knowing anyone. First job paid me $37,500. It was tough. But I got through it. It gave me true confidence later that I could do anything I put my mind to. That will pay off the rest of my life.

That’s it. It’s a big decision. If you’re ever wanting to talk through this, I’m happy to lend an ear.

If you just moved to Austin, check out this thread on what to do when you get here and follow me for similar threads. https://twitter.com/alwaysbehustlin/status/1333581610210500610