They say that you don't know what you've got until it's gone. It's a truth that I haven't been able to stop thinking since I left behind the only home I've ever known. Relocating to Canada gave me the change in pace that I needed, along with some perspective about some of the things I took for granted about life in Australia.

Pursuing your dream job is a scary prospect. We often comfort ourselves by prescribing conventions to the process. New York is for theatre, San Francisco is for tech startups, and Los Angeles is for movies. However, when it comes to your dream job, you don't have to share your location with others doing the same thing.

Dear Lifehacker, I am heading to Canada for a working holiday and I might end up staying there long term. I’ve been working as a software developer for a long time and love the company I work for. We have talked about me perhaps working remotely in a contractor role and I’m interested in this possibility. If this does come to pass, what legal and tax issues should I be aware of, working from another country and being paid by an Australian company.

Uprooting yourself to start life in an unfamiliar place is right up there as one of life's most stressful events. You need to deal with unmotivated government agencies, it's expensive, and you have to decide what to do with your personal belongings. And then you need to do certain things to make sure you don't get screwed after you arrive. Here are the fundamentals on what to do to help you settle in a new country.

So you're heading overseas to work. How do you decide which gadgets are worth taking and which ones to leave behind? Adaptor plugs are pretty cheap and easy to find, but at some point it makes more sense to just replace an item when you arrive at your destination. And what about large items like a desktop computer? Where do you draw the line?

So you've decided to move overseas for the long term. You've got your visa sorted, you've booked your plane tickets, and now you need to get ready for a new life in a new country. It's easy to lose yourself in the excitement, but you'll need to tie up loose ends and prepare yourself for one what will be one of the most stressful experiences you'll ever have in life.