As most of you know I’ll be leaving South Africa in February next year. I’m going to the UK where I’ll do my best to eventually make it to the US. I’ve had mixed reactions to my decision but most people support the move. I’ve been really fascinated by what people see as my motivation for going. Overall it is about experiencing life, but I’ve broken it down into the three most common reasons that I think people uproot.

Fortune
Apparently you can make lots of money overseas. That’s not really a huge motivation for me, but it would be nice. I would like to work in a music industry that is more lucrative for the genres I appreciate. I’m tired of working my arse off to sell 20,000 CDs and then celebrate going gold. The fact that gold status in South Africa is only 4% of the sales required for gold status in America is sad. The real tragedy is that reaching that 4% is as difficult as reaching 100% abroad.
So perhaps I can earn more doing what I love in another country. I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

Fame
I wouldn’t call myself an attention whore, but I do appreciate a bit of the spotlight. Why else would I choose to work with rockstars? I think I’m more interested in shining that spotlight, and I’ll have access to much bigger lighting rigs abroad. I guess I want to be recognised for contributing to something huge. I feel that I will have a better shot at that in the UK or America. I’ve always wanted to work on an international level, I’ve been talking about leaving for ages and now I’m finally doing it.

Love
Now most people chose to accept ‘a girl’ as the reason for my departure. First of all she’s not just ‘a girl’! Ana-Paula and I have only been together for 5 months – but there was a 3 year relationship before that and a solid friendship in between. She is a truly amazing woman and absolutely perfect for me. She isn’t the reason I’m moving (I always planned to) but she certainly is a worthwhile incentive.
I’ve always criticized people that move for a lover, and now I take that back. I still doubt I’d agree with moving after a holiday fling. Love, on the other hand, now seems like a very good reason.

I’ve done a lot of soul searching during my quarter-life crisis and I’ve come to realise that almost any experience can be a rewarding one. I want to experience life to the fullest. Fame and fortune may come from hard work, but love is a rare find. So if I’m going to experience life by diving into the deep end, what better reason to jump than love!