I'm Shipping Back to Boston

And just like that (sorry, I had to), our time abroad is coming to an end. It feels bittersweet to put these words to (digital) paper when I constantly feel a wide range of emotions. We’re headed back to Boston, which for the purpose and name of this blog, makes total sense. Everything else about the move feels a little less meant to be.

It’s no secret that our time abroad hasn’t been anywhere near what we thought it would be. Just two months after our big move, COVID came along and threw the entire world’s plans off for two years and counting. It changed the way we adjusted to a new work environment. It hindered us from making friends in our new home. And it threw a big wrench in our plans to spend our 30 days of vacation traveling.

In the end, we actually did get to do a LOT of travel. We went to places I probably wouldn’t have gone if we weren’t limited to trips by car when COVID was bad. I spent more time actually living in Nuremberg than I would have otherwise. And yet, there were so many aspects that were harder than I thought they would be. I learned a little german before the move, but the language is extremely difficult and even being immersed in it every day, my chances of ever becoming fluent in our short time abroad were slim from the start. As the city has many other expats, we thought enough people would speak English to help us get by. While it always worked out, it wasn’t without issue. Besides the language barrier, there were also cultural barriers; medications have different names (birth control is literally called antibabypillen), the way you get ibuprofen is over the counter, and their number one prescription is tea (yes, tea). There are about 10 different ways to dispose of waste here, a job notice is three months, not two weeks, and for some apartments, you have to bring your own kitchen. While a lot of these I take as positives, as a foreigner and someone who doesn’t understand the language, it was all very tough to adjust to.

I say all this knowing how extremely lucky I am to have done this as a choice, and to have the option to return back to my home country. While I’ve always been pro-immigration, I have an entirely newfound understanding and respect for those who have left their home country permanently to start a new life. I also have a greater perspective on how different and wide the world is, and can only hope to bring this learning home and have a more open mind to different ways of life, living, and thinking.

And now let’s get back to my opening statement about not being thrilled to move back to Boston. My main qualm is that I wanted to move somewhere warmer and continue on with being able to start fresh. I spent almost a decade living in Boston and grew up close by. While there are so many things I love about Boston, the things that make me nervous to return are the cost of living, weather, and being a little too comfortable.

While making friends as an adult is hard, I feel I’ve connected more with people I’ve met in Germany than ever before. I’ve met people who get my desire to travel and lead a more ‘unconventional’ life. People who value experiences over things. And unfortunately in Boston, and to be honest most of America, this isn’t the mindset. Perhaps this is my chance to branch out and not only meet new people, but also inspire others with the new European mindset I’m bringing home.

While I’m sure one day I’ll look back on much of this time with rose-colored glasses, if you are thinking about moving abroad, note that it doesn’t come easy. It’s a bittersweet end to a wild adventure, and I’m excited to head back home, reset, and bring back all my weekly Boston events and tips. Stay tuned and follow along on this next adventure.

Updates from Life Abroad.

It’s been almost a year since I last wrote on here to share updates on life abroad. While I often post updates to my Instagram and new travel guides as often as I can, I haven’t taken the time to post a personal blog update in quite some time.

Since my last update in January, things have obviously changed quite a lot. I’ve been through some of the darkest and brightest days of my life in the past few months. After returning home from an odd but needed holiday season at home, we returned to Germany refreshed and hopeful for the new year. Unfortunately, the next few months would be the most difficult and isolating time of my life. For seven months, we could do nothing other than go for walks, go to the grocery store, and have visits from one person outside of our household. Add the winter weather to all of that and the fact that we never got to make many friends due to the lockdowns, and it became an extremely difficult time. I watched as the vaccine started rolling out back home and life seemed to return to normal for my family and friends. I tried to book an escape home only to find a slew of COVID restrictions on my layover that made it close to impossible to get on the flights home.

Through the help of therapy, the Headspace app, and a lot of pastries, we managed to make it through the tough times. By a very lucky circumstance, I was able to get the vaccine at the end of May, just as everything reopened in Germany. I feel extremely fortunate to have gotten it early, as the general rollout in the EU as a whole took quite some time, and most weren’t fully vaccinated until July.

By the middle of June, life was taking a serious turn for the better. Summer brought good weather, visitors, and best of all, the return to travel. Between June and September, I went to six different countries in Europe (seven if you count a brief stop in Bosnia) and got to spend two weeks at home catching up with all the friends I hadn’t seen in almost two years. With the lifting of restrictions, we were able to get out, make friends, and finally feel at home.

I went on my first ever solo trip to Vienna in June and found out how much fun traveling alone can be and how much it helps you grow as a person. I visited some of my favorite spots in the region in July and got to show my family around the place I call home. I went back home in August and felt like no time had passed while catching up with friends. I almost cried when I got to visit Boston in its summer glory again but felt oddly conflicted that it was no longer my home, and wondered if I wanted to move back when my time in Germany is over. I came home and did a lot of weekend trips until it was time for my first proper holiday in Europe.

In Germany, we get 30 days of paid vacation, and during the summer, it’s not a question of if you’re going away for 2-3 weeks, but a matter of where and when. We waited until the end of the summer when we were able to align with friends from home and go on the ultimate two-week adventure to Croatia and Greece. The first week was spent with my best friend exploring the cobblestone streets of Split and swimming in the crystal clear Blue Lagoon. After that, my partner and I headed on to the next leg of our trip for a week in Greece. I had been dreaming of visiting for years and the trip exceeded my every expectation. The two-week trip made all the hard times worth it and reminded us of why we moved - the flight home from Santorini was a mere 3 hours.

After returning from my trip, I went through a bit of a slump, likely also due to the fact that fall had crept in while I was away and the hours of endless summer daylight started to slip away. I always knew living abroad was something I wanted to do in my life, but it turned out to be a lot harder than I expected, even without COVID. Sure most people speak English and I can learn some German, but in reality, working full time, I have no time to become fluent in German, and as a non-native speaker, everything is always a little more difficult. For the most part, I’ve realized how much the day-to-day of life is just the same as being at home. Then, last week, I went to a cafe on a Sunday and had a slice of cake with an espresso and realized this was it, exactly what I had moved abroad for. I did that exact same thing on Friday and Saturday as well, and when I thought in my head about what it would be like to live abroad, it was exactly that. I couldn’t help but smile as I realized despite it all, I had fulfilled my dream and gained a much tougher exterior while doing it.

I thought moving abroad would make me never want to go back home, but I’m not quite sure Nuremberg is the place to sway me in that direction. While I love a lot of things, being in a smaller city with a less busy airport has not been exactly what I hoped for. I’m not sure where the road will take me next, but I am thankful for my time here and looking forward to many more adventures in the next few months - I’ve got Italy, Amsterdam, and Southern Spain on the docket through the end of the year and can’t wait to share all my adventures and tips with you.