Moving from one country to another, permanently, is a big deal. Having had my home in England all my life, it is quite an upheaval to make it now in Sweden. As readers of this blog will know, my Swedish wife Elisabeth and I are moving in June to live in her country for the first time together.

Of course she moved country, permanently, when we married in 1981 and made our life in Britain. Only we didn't expect it to be permanent, not even as long as it has turned out to be!

I am really glad that she can now live once again close to her roots and her large family. And I am looking forward to discovering her country in a way I have never had the opportunity to do before.

In short, we are delighted to be making this move. Yet it also has its painful aspects: leaving our son and daughter-in-law behind in England chief among them.

Then there is all the bureaucracy, the red tape to negotiate. Unregistering from this in the UK and registering for it in Sweden - tax, driving licence, medical, etc. A jungle of red tape is an apt image.

We are lucky that both Sweden and Britain are members of the European Union. This makes a lot of things more straightforward than they otherwise would have been.

And there is the rub. When all is said and done, we count ourselves very fortunate to be able to make this move. We think of the majority of the world's population who do not have the freedom to move where they want, when they want. As Westerners, with passports accepted in most countries, we are incredibly privileged. A lot of things are so easy for us, compared with what most people on this planet experience.

So, even as we hack through the jungle of red tape, even as we wrestle with the emotions of leaving family and friends behind in Britain, we count our blessings. And renew our commitment to live to help make the world a fairer place for all.