If you could live anywhere in the world, would you be living where you are now? If you were born in Tokyo, London, New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Rome or one of the world’s other great cities, would you save up and move to the city in which you currently live? Are you really enamoured by the place that you call home, or are you trying to convince yourself that it’s cool because you were born there, feel stuck there, and don’t want to admit how much it sucks?

When it comes to choosing a place to live, don’t settle for anything less than somewhere that inspires you. Where you live will have a huge impact on your day-to-day life, your career opportunities, the kind of relationships you’ll have, the language you’ll speak, how safe you feel, and just about everything else, so it’s worth giving this decision some high-priority thinking and, if needed, immediate action.

I’ve lived all around the world including Central Canada, Eastern Europe, England, and now Montreal. Between 2002 and 2005 I moved between different cities and countries about half a dozen times, not including all the travelling I did during that same period. Rarely a day goes by that I don’t consider whether I might prefer living somewhere else. Whenever I’m anything less than madly in love with the place I call home, I pack up and leave.

Should You Move?

How do you know if you really want to move? In my experience, world indexes on the “most livable cities” are virtually meaningless for deciding what’s right for you. What other people say about your city, good or bad, doesn’t mean much. Even what you tell other people about your city isn’t necessarily a good indicator of what you really think.

Figuring out whether a city is right for you is like figuring out whether a girl or guy is right for you: It all comes down to following your heart. Consider the questions posed at the beginning of this article and answer them when nobody’s looking.

How do you really feel about where you live?

What I Look For

Of course, different people want different things. Some people hate cities altogether. Personally, I love big cities. I love the bustle and beat. While I love Mother Nature, I prefer being surrounded by human nature. Here are the things I look for in a place to live, in no particular order:

• Bustle. I find crowds energizing, and when you get a lot of people together in a relatively small space interesting things happen.
• Beautiful women. Some parts of the world are far more fashion- and health-conscious than others. Other parts of the world use clothing to cover up the fact that they aren’t very health-conscious.
• Fewer malls. More shop-lined streets. There’s nothing quite like strolling down High Street on a sunny afternoon while sipping on a latte.
• Good underground transport. Big cities are usually one big traffic jam. I don’t want to own a car anyway, so it’s important that I can get around quickly on public transport.
• Laid-backness. I like cities that are open-minded and don’t take themselves too seriously. I look for places that are tolerant of all forms of human behaviour except, of course, that which would hurt others.
• Architecture. A lot of cities, particularly in North America, seem to have downtowns full of ugly box-shaped buildings. Beautiful architecture is inspirational and boosts a city’s morale. It’s even better when the city can mix historic landmarks with newer urban creations.
• Culture shock. While English is my mother tongue, I prefer living in not-English. Living outside of your cultural comfort zone makes every day more interesting.

Finding Paradise

The only way to really know if a city is right for you is to go there. But for some reason when people travel, they suddenly become museum buffs and art critics. Why? Visitor attractions are really just visitor distractions. They keep the guided touristas out of the way of the people who live there.

If you really want to put your finger on the pulse of a city, go where the locals go. If you find a club whose front door is in a back alley and is covered up by graffiti and bird poop, you’re probably in for a treat. When I was in Berlin, I ended up at a squat party where a three-toothed Argentinian guy was playing us Red Hot Chili Peppers songs on his guitar. Things got even more interesting when he decided to hang his balls out to impress the women in the crowd.

No matter where I go, I’m always evaluating a place from the standpoint of what it would be like to live there. Not only because I may actually move there if I like it, but because it’s way more fun to immerse yourself as a local, than to keep your distance as a tourist.

Taking the Plunge

I’ve moved all over the place. It doesn’t take a lot of time or money. I moved from London to Lithuania when I owed more money on my credit card than I had in my bank account. Unless your debt problems are really serious, don’t let tight finances slow you down. If you’re going to be in debt, you might as well be in debt in a city you love. Here are some things to keep in mind when relocating:

• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. When I decided I was going to move to Montreal, I didn’t know anyone there. I sent some emails to local geek groups asking for a place to stay while I got set up. I ended up spending my first month in the city in a beautiful mansion in the most affluent neighbourhood in the city. The guy I lived with has since become a good friend of mine. If you can’t think of anyone to contact at your destination, try CouchSurfing.
• You will meet new people. A lot of people are afraid of leaving their friends behind. But any friends worth keeping will not forget about you when you’re gone, and making new friends is purely a function of the effort you put into it.
• Choose your neighbourhood wisely. If you’ve taken the effort of relocating across the country or even across the world, don’t sell yourself short when it comes to finding the right ‘hood. When I moved to Montreal, I settled into a really cool, vibrant, artsy neighbourhood. I found a slummy building on an otherwise beautiful avenue, right across the street from a beautiful park where large crowds could be heard cheering at the free shows held every night. For $500/month, I was living the life.
• Don’t get too comfortable at first. This is particularly relevant if you didn’t have a chance to visit the city before you moved there. When I moved to Lithuania, I rented a furnished apartment and otherwise lived out of a backpack. And it was a good thing, because 30 days later I moved back to England. Before you start buying all kinds of things that will be a pain to move later, make sure you’ve had time to figure out if you really want to stay there.
• You might not need a work permit. If you’re moving to a country of which you’re not a citizen, getting the right work and/or residence permits can be a hassle. Consider looking at your family tree to see what other citizenships you may be entitled to. For example, when I wanted to relocate to England in 2002, I knew getting the paperwork done would be an uphill battle. I did some research into my family tree and found out that I was also entitled to German citizenship. I went to the German consulate, filed my application, and two years later (!) got my certificate of German citizenship. Now it’s easy for me to live and work anywhere in the EU. Not only that, but I can more easily work in other countries where Canadians require a visa, but Germans don’t.
• Learning a new language isn’t that hard. Within three months of moving to Quebec City, my French went from zero to conversational. There’s no better or more efficient way to learn a language than to immerse yourself in it every minute of the day.

My Favourite Cities

Everybody has their own favourite cities. Here are my top three:

1. Montreal. Gorgeous, high-fashion, yet down-to-earth women, bilingual vibrance, and reasonably priced food and accomodation. Summer in downtown Montreal is one big nonstop party in the streets.
2. London. London is so dirty it literally turns your snot black. And there’s almost no way to make eye contact with people. Still, it has every culture and lifestyle you can imagine, and it’s a great launching point to explore the rest of Europe.
3. Tokyo. Tokyo is proof that there is life on other planets. The signs are written in some strange alien language and the technology is light years ahead of the rest of the world. It’s a wicked culture shock.

Few decisions will have a more significant impact on your day-to-day life than where you decide to live. The place you call home will affect everything from the kind of people you meet, to the career opportunities at your disposal, to the language you speak, to how much money you have left over at the end of the month to spend on things other than food and rent.

While it can be difficult to admit that your hometown sucks, the good news is that moving elsewhere is much easier than you think.