Perhaps you are standing at the kitchen window, watching the rain make paddling pool-size puddles on the lawn. Or you’re nose-to-tail in rush hour traffic after yet another 10-hour day in the office. And all the while you are thinking, “Why am I here? Why am I doing this?”

Instead you picture yourself kicking back on a sun lounger, a cocktail in one hand, sunshine sparkling off the cool, blue pool beside you.

Or maybe you dream of a chalet high in the mountains, from where you can watch the last reds of sunset splashed across the snow-capped peaks ...

If any of this strikes a chord then you are in good company.

The question is will you be among the millions of people around the world who are uprooting their lives in search of a better one elsewhere? Are you going to be one of those who make their pool-side fantasy a reality?

It is certainly not as hard as it may seem to the many people who feel trapped by their jobs, finances, family, or whatever other reasons you care to name. What it does take though is a concrete decision, followed by decisive action.

Which is where most people’s dreams fade into nothing. For whereas the various survey results suggest there are millions of Americans, Brits, Kiwis, Canadians and whoever else saying they are keen to move overseas, a relatively small percentage actually do make the jump each year.

So what happens to the rest? There must be an awful lot of people mooning over the possibility, yet they keep putting it off as something they would like to do “someday.”

But you know what happens. Instead another week goes by, then another month. Before you know it Christmas is rolling round again, and you are still in that same job, the same house, living the same life. And all the while that nagging thought keeps scratching away at your insides – what if ...

So what is holding you back? If you dream of a better life – whatever that looks like – don’t you think it is time you took some real steps towards that future?

Certainly there is no shortage of information to help you go, from the multiplicity of moving abroad TV shows, to exhibitions, books, magazines and websites.

However, most of these resources concentrate on the mechanics of living abroad: where and how to buy a property, how to get a visa or a residency permit, how to open a bank account.

But going is only the first part of the experience. What is harder is making your life abroad a happy and successful one.

And that is where ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go? The Truth About Moving Abroad And Whether It’s Right For You’ comes in. For this book addresses the most important issue of all: should you go in the first place?

Is moving abroad really right for you? Do you have a temperament that will be suited to the expatriate life? Or are you the type of person, with the sort of circumstances, who ultimately would be best placed staying where you are?

Yes, the whole life abroad thing sounds great. And yes, moving overseas can lead to a healthier, happier, richer life. But it is no fairy godmother solution. Every relocation has its downsides, its inevitable stresses and frustrations. And sometimes it simply doesn’t work out.

So by removing those rose-tinted spectacles and unveiling both the ups and downs of life as a foreign resident, this book will not only help you make your decision, but help you make the best decision you can. And that can save you a ton of money in wasted transport costs, legal charges, removals fees and property expenses, not to mention all the emotional strain and upheaval.

Should you stay or should you go? Answer that all-important first question and at last you will be able to take the requisite practical steps towards the life YOU want to live.