There are so many reasons why one will decide to go abroad. We travel in search of security, greener pastures, site seeing, education and some times for no apparent reason.
In the haste and excitement to travel there a few things that one will have to consider during the planning stages of the journey. So lets take the listed reasons one at a time:
1. Security:
When people are persecuted in the their homeland due to political, cultural or any other tangible reasons they are compelled to flee for their lives and seek for asylum in other countries, but one thing people forget is that it is not all countries that will qualify you and/or accept you as a refugee so you have to be mindful and do you home work very well before taking the bold step of traveling.

2. Greener Pastures:
There is nothing wrong for a man or woman to travel to other countries in search of better jobs that will allow them to gain more money that will then translate into better standard of living. But there are a lot of factors that gos into that decision. One very important factor is skills set. What set of skills do you have? and how strong or how old are you? These factors are important because without any skills you will be left with doing only manual jobs for long hours that are sometimes very difficult and draining to the body and if you are not young or very strong you might end up using all the money you make to pay for hospital bills. So make sure you have acquired a set of skills, such as in the fields of construction, health care, electrical , plumbing, etc.

3. Education:
This one is my favorite because today all major universities and institutions are looking to recruiting smart and resourceful students into their institutions. Therefore if you are able to take what ever entrance or qualification exams and pass with distinction there is a high possibility that you may make it into the institution of your choice. the clue here is to know exactly which institution you want to attend and getting to know all the requirements.

The above is just a summary of thing that we will be discussing into details here as readers raise questions and we begin to dialogue. However, there are other important factors such as language, culture, weather and others that one will seriously have to consider whiles thinking about travelling abroad. Remember today’s technology enables thorough and detailed information acquisition when ever it is needed.

Let’s hear from you!

Europe’s population has crossed an important watershed, setting it on a downward spiral that will be very hard to reverse. Even raising birth rates back to the replacement level of two children per woman could not halt the momentum of decline, according to a new study.

The turning point came in the year 2000, the study shows, when the continent’s “demographic momentum” switched from positive to negative.

“The problem is that, for the first time, the current generation of young adults is fewer in number than their parents’ generation,” says Brian O’Neill of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenberg, Austria. So if they want to make up the numbers as their parents die, they will have to produce more than two children per woman.

With Europe’s women currently having only 1.5 children each, there is little sign of that happening. O’Neill says it may be that only more immigrants can keep the population steady.

Sailing against the current

The new study, by O’Neill and his colleague Wolfgang Lutz, is the first on what they call the “demographic momentum” of the European Union. The momentum reversal in 2000 means “it is now like sailing against a current, towards population shrinkage and ageing”, says Lutz.

The researchers calculate that even if Europe’s fertility rate instantly recovered today to replacement levels, the population would continue to fall - from the present 376 million to 360 million by 2100.

If the current fertility rate persists for another 20 years before recovering, Europe’s population would fall to 290 million by 2100. “Each decade we delay will knock an extra 25 to 40 million off the population in 2100,” says O’Neill.

Waiting women

The study has also revealed for the first time the demographic importance of women waiting until they are older before having children.

“They may end up having as many children before, but by delaying child-bearing they are further depressing the number of children born each year,” says O’Neill. He calculates that this is responsible for 40 per cent of the momentum for declining population.

This finding could have important policy implications for governments. Encouraging women to have children earlier would be almost as effective in raising populations in the short term as encouraging bigger families, says O’Neill.

Journal reference: Science(vol 299, p 1991)

Source: 

• 19:00 27 March 2003
• NewScientist.com news service
• Fred Pearce