As I contemplate moving countries for the 6th time in my life, I am struck with how easy and normal it seems.

Sure, there’s stuff to be managed and the inevitable snags when setting up new bank accounts, new telephone numbers and selling old cars. But it’s also refreshing: a chance to slough off the skin of a old life and start afresh.

Admittedly, it’s the first time in nearly 25 years that we have moved countries on our own dime, with the need to pack, freight and unpack everything for ourselves.

But that is also a blessing in disguise, because it provides a powerful incentive to assess each possession carefully. We’re disposing of lots of stuff that has, in the past, just made its way from country to country, without undergoing much in the way of scrutiny.

Now we’re only keeping what we really want to keep, and that’s powerfully liberating.

Most people admit – if forced – that “change is good”. But they admit it with a grimace.

Not me. Change = big, wide smile.