pull up stakes

Idioms  

1. Move away, leave one's home, job, or country. For example, We've lived here for years, but now it's time to pull up stakes. This expression alludes to the stakes that mark property boundaries. [Early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Seeing a big brand like Nike pull up stakes, he says, “makes you wonder, what’s next?”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 20, 2023

Saeedullah, 45, did not fully pull up stakes when he returned to Afghanistan.

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2022

A pop music icon helps a pitiable pachyderm in Pakistan pack his trunk and pull up stakes for a nature preserve in Cambodia in the documentary “Cher & the Loneliest Elephant.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2021

Anyone hoping to pull up stakes in favor of a prime “rural lifestyle” dwelling - perhaps someday here in Eastern Oregon - will have to wait for these issues to be resolved.

From Washington Times • Dec. 27, 2017

Back in my troupe, my father occasionally made us pull up stakes and leave a town despite the fact that we were welcome and the crowds were generous.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss