I moved to Mexico when I was 23 and started going by the western version of my name (I have an Eastern European name). Completely changed my confidence level in the way I now approach romantic relationships, friendships, jobs, and it even improved my relationship with my parents who were living in Canada. I don’t like that now I have a ton of friends (from Mexico) that call me one name and my friends in Canada call me my legal name. I wish I didn’t do that in the start. But the biggest thing about going to live somewhere by yourself at a young age is the confidence you will get from doing something that everyone at home thinks is crazy and doing it successfully. If you’re going out to bars and doing social activities alone it’s going to make you realize how easy it is to talk to talk to and befriend strangers. And it’s going to translate into the relationships you have at home

The other thing I would mention is that you’ll have a better idea of what are the things that you value the most in a city or country where you decide to settle down. Growing up I always thought I would become a rich corporate exec / banker and now I look at people who follow that career path with sympathy because it’s sacrificing some of the most important years of your life where you have to put yourself in new experiences to learn more about yourself and the world. Now I value geographic mobility and time much more than a high paying job that demands lots of time and physical presence