When Adventure Calls

BY CLARISSA MAUER

For the past few months, we have seriously been considering moving abroad. Moving to Europe, in particular, is exciting to us, because it offers so many travel opportunities. It’s central, making it easy to travel from one country to the next. 

To test small, Korey and I are living in London for a couple of months this spring/summer to see what we think.

Having just passed the month marker, I’ve been reflecting on our experience so far, and I thought I would share. 

1. I’ve felt torn about my desire to stay in NYC and the competing desire to move on to the next adventure. Leaving NYC and testing out life somewhere else without the commitment of a lease takes the pressure off. I feel like I can truly compare and contrast and weigh the pros and cons. 

2. Living a normal day-to-day schedule is comforting and provides stability to a nomadic lifestyle. I’ve been swimming a couple of times a week which has been such a nice routine. 

3. However, living a normal day-to-day life in a foreign country has made me feel a bit of FOMO. I strongly urge to be a tourist and just treat our time here as a vacation. 

4. I packed way too much. I love having options, but I don’t like hauling them around. Closet chaos!

5. Booking a long-stay hotel is nice but maybe not the best way to test “what would life be like here.” We’ve been in a hotel for five weeks, and it’s been so relaxing. We leave our trash outside our door, and we request fresh sheets, towels, and toiletries whenever we need them. Our room doesn’t have a kitchen which gives us the excuse to eat out daily. We have to do our laundry at the local laundromat, but living in NYC trained us well. Things are changing. We’re about to transition to an Airbnb with a kitchen and a laundry machine, so we are looking forward to cooking and doing more from home.

6. Overall, it’s been a really fun experience. And I would highly recommend it. If there’s something you’ve been dying to do, go for it! You won’t regret the adventure.