I’m Moving Back To Europe.

I’m Moving Back To Europe.

After more than a year of
being back in the United States, I’ve decided to move back to Europe. And in this video I’m gonna
tell you the five reasons why. And hopefully if you’re thinking
about making a move outside of the US to Europe or any other corner of the
world, this can help you with your decision too. This has been a lot harder decision than I thought it would be, and honestly, I didn’t
know until this week what I was going to do. I’ve kind of been going back and forth between just staying
here in this really nice and comfortable apartment that I love, or getting back on the road and going out to
different countries again. But after contemplating
it for a few months, I think it’s the right decision for me and also the right
decision for this channel. So the first reason why I
started thinking about going abroad is because coming back to the US was always
something temporary for me. I never thought that when I came back that I would stay here forever. And so it kind of got to the point that after being here for almost,
I think it’ll be a year and a half when I actually leave, I just started feeling
a little bit restless and kind of like asking myself, if I could live anywhere in the world, why would I live here? And at first, the reasons were very much related to my family. Um, I was helping my
parents with our senior dog, who sadly passed away last year. My sister was also pregnant
with her first baby, and then she suffered a very
traumatic experience at work that I made a separate video about. And then I wanted to be here for the birth of my baby nephew. They’re now doing better.
Um, he’s over a year old now. And so I kind of felt like, okay, the reasons why I came
back to the US to kind of have a break from traveling and help my family with different
things are now pretty set. Like, of course I wanna
be, you know, around to visit my family and I can
still visit them from anywhere in the world and they can visit me. But I feel like the main
reasons why I came back, those have been completed. And I’m kind of here
like, okay, so what’s next for me in my life? The second reason that I think
you could probably definitely relate to if you’re from
the United States is simply the cost of living. Now, it’s always been pretty expensive to live in the US compared
to other countries because of our economy and
it’s a developed country. But over the past few
years since the pandemic, things have gotten insanely expensive. I mean, prices have like doubled, tripled. Like when I first moved to
Miami for three months in 2020, which was right before the pandemic started,
my rent was $1,200 per month. And this apartment that I’m
in right now was $1,800 per month back in 2020. This year in 2025. Uh, my rent is $2,800 per month. And so that’s just an, an insight into how much the prices have gone up. Everywhere I’ve ever lived in
Miami over the past few years has just gone up from 1200 to 2,800 and for this rent price, like you could live really
anywhere in the country for a one bedroom apartment
or anywhere in the world. And so being able to
work remotely, you know, work from home, live
wherever I want in the world, of course, it’s really beautiful here. It’s really convenient. Everything works. It’s like the lifestyle is very easy, but it’s very difficult from
a cost of living perspective where, you know, I don’t
live a crazy lifestyle. I don’t really like go
shopping and buy lots of stuff, but like, just being alive in
this country in existing is just eye wateringly expensive. And so I’ve just found
myself thinking like, if I can live anywhere in the world and I don’t have to be here right now, then why would I stay? I mean, of course I have friends
here and things like that, but it’s like, okay, I could
have this same lifestyle for a third of the price
in most other countries, or I can have a much better
lifestyle in any country for what I pay to be here. It’s actually cheaper for
me to keep paying rent here and leave and go to
another country than it is to pay rent here and stay
and eat and buy groceries and take Ubers and things like that. So cost of living is
definitely playing a factor. I just feel like it’s a big waste of money when I can just leave and
cut my cost of living in half or buy two thirds. The third reason is because Europe just
simply feels like home. I love it there and every time I go there, I don’t wanna leave. If you saw my videos from
earlier this year in April when I did an exploratory trip
to the Netherlands, I really didn’t wanna leave
after that trip was over. But the only reason I came back is because now I have this
apartment, I have all this stuff, I have furniture, and
I’m like, okay, I need to go back to my home base. But I really miss the
amazing food that’s there. I miss the lower cost of living, even though it’s expensive now
compared to a few years ago. It’s still like a fraction
of what it is here. I miss the lifestyle. I miss
the more relaxed pace of life. You don’t get that rat race feeling there. Even in big cities like London and Paris, it still feels
like people have a really good balance in their lifestyle. And I miss the people, like
I miss the community there. I don’t know what it is
exactly about Europe. Maybe it’s because the
population is condensed into a smaller space compared to the US and there’s a lot of travelers there. It’s really easy to meet a
lot of like-minded people. And I’ve even like, like walk,
walk the streets of Lisbon, Portugal and run into people who like recognize me
from my YouTube channel or, uh, from Facebook or you
know, friends of friends. And it just feels like a
very small community feeling compared to like living
in a big city like Miami. It’s very rare that I would
like bump into somebody that I know on the sidewalk. And, uh, there’s, there’s just
a lot of like expat groups and meetups and I don’t know,
there’s something about the like conversations I have with people when I’m living in Europe and the interactions that’s
just different from the US. And, um, I just miss that. Like, I miss that community feeling. And even though I do
have good friends here and I have family that
lives in the us, I just kind of miss my lifestyle. I miss the bike culture
in the Netherlands. I miss being able to take public
transportation everywhere. Even though I don’t have a car
here, I rely heavily on Ubers and I miss just being
able to get on the metro, get on the tram, get on the
train or book like a $50 flight and to be able to go pretty
much anywhere in Europe. And from here, I just paid $400 to fly from Miami to
Jacksonville last week. I mean, uh, it’s just like
the prices here are crazy, but like for $400, I probably spend $400 a year in Europe, like taking public transportation. So I, I just really miss that and I miss all of the diversity and things there are to do,
like the history, the culture, just all of the things that I think all of us here really love about Europe. I I miss that. Another
big factor is my work. Of course, this channel is
called Traveling with Kristin. And when I’m not traveling abroad, I can’t make videos about travel. I mean, I can make videos
talking about travel, but I really like to show
you about travel like I did with the Netherlands videos, Norway and all of the other, uh,
countries that I’ve been to since I had a camera. And since I had a YouTube channel. And I really miss making travel videos. I also help people move
abroad for a living. I’ve had a relocation company since 2011. And up until the pandemic I spent all of those years living in the countries that I helped people move abroad to. So the main countries
that I helped people move to are Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Mexico,
Costa Rica, you know, the list goes on, but
those are like the top seven, uh, countries. And I haven’t been living
in those countries recently, as you saw in my channel, I went back to Costa Rica temporarily to do some, uh, – Administration, banking nightmare that I was going through. But, um, I don’t see
myself living in Costa Rica again anytime soon. I love Mexico. I’ve been
traveling there since I was 16, but the majority of my clients
are like going to those, you know, top five European countries. Of course, we have partners
in all of the countries, we have people that work with us. But, um, it, it is helpful
for, for my clients and for my business and
also for the channel to be in the countries that I’m making videos
about in the countries that I’m helping people move to. And also I talk to so
many people every day, not just my relocation
clients who I’m working with and like helping them with
researching destinations, looking for housing, reminding
myself all the time of all of the reasons why I also
like to live in Europe and help, you know, so many
US citizens move to Europe. Uh, but also the people who
inquire with my company, like hundreds of people per month. And I’m on the phone
all the time with people that are thinking of, of going abroad and listening to your
stories about why you want to leave the US or
Canada and go to Europe. And I keep thinking like, yes, I agree, why am I not there right now? So, uh, I do think it’s good
for, you know, the time zones and just, um, keeping up to
date with all of the things that are always changing
when it comes to visas. And like all of the nuances
of living in these countries, it’s, it’s, um, provides extra benefit
if I am able to be there. Of course, I’m able to
do my job from anywhere and I help people move to
upwards of 30, 40 countries. That doesn’t mean I have to be in all of those places at once, but it is really nice to, you
know, be able to be there, meet my clients in person. Uh, none of them are moving to Miami. So that’s another reason
why I would like to go back. And then the last reason is really one of the biggest reasons, and if you’ve been following
my journey on this channel for a while, you know, that
I’ve been wanting to get citizenship in Romania and be able to get a European passport. So that’s something that
I’ve been working on for this entire year. And just a couple weeks ago I received my grandfather’s
naturalization card, which I’ve been waiting on for
months, um, from the office of Genealogy in the United States. And now I have that piece of documentation that I’ve been waiting for, uh, that shows his immigration card from Romania and when he, uh, became
naturalized in the United States. And so the next step in the
process is to actually go to Romania, learn the language, and then be able to pass the language test and interview to be able to
get my Romanian passport. So I don’t know how long it will take me. Maybe I’m thinking minimum
three to six months. So I’ll be applying for
a digital nomad visa or another type of visa to stay in Romania and continue collecting
the rest of the documents and apply for my citizenship. So it’s kind of this
combination of things, but also, uh, this week my landlord asked me if I was
gonna be renewing the lease of this apartment, and that’s coming up at the end of October. And so I had to decide, you
know, what am I gonna do here? So that’s really the last piece,
is to take the next couple of months to downsize my belongings and prepare to leave this apartment and not let this comfort zone and bubble that I’ve created
really hold me back from what I feel is next for me in life. And this comes from not just the reasons that I mentioned in this video, but also this in intuitive knowing or like sense that it’s time
to do something different. That’s something that I think
you should never ignore. And I know from having
talked to thousands of people that also are moving
abroad, that idea of wanting to live abroad, it starts as
like a tiny thought like, oh, I wonder if I could live in Italy someday. And then over time it grows and grows and grows until you finally
can’t ignore it anymore and you’ve watched like 400 YouTube videos or you’ve reached out to
someone like me to get help. And then finally you
actually take action on that. And so that it’s the same
for me as it is for you. Like when I get that
inkling of like, it’s time for a change, whether it’s
in a job, a relationship where you’re living, something like that, I think it’s really important
to follow that intuition. And that’s what I’m doing in this case. So if you would like to
follow along on the journey, make sure to subscribe,
turn on your notifications. I’ll be headed back to
Europe around November 1st starting in Romania. And then we’ll see where we go from there. I’m thinking the following
year to spend either some time in all those countries,
Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, or to have a home
base in the Netherlands and then travel from there. So I’m still working that part out and hoping that everything
goes well with the citizenship and the, uh, language exam. So definitely subscribe
to join the journey and I’ll link to some other of the videos that I mentioned right here.

Five reasons behind my decision to leave the USA and move to Europe and my tips for you if you want to do the same. For help moving abroad: https://www.travelingwithkristin.com/relocation // Moving Abroad For Dummies Book: https://amzn.to/4eTs9T2

Check Out My Favorite Travel Gear: ✈️
→ World Nomads simple and flexible travel insurance: https://bit.ly/worldnomads_travelins
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Watch next: 👀

Chapters:
00:00 Leaving the USA for Europe
00:46 1-America Doesn’t Feel Like Home Anymore
2:17 2-High Cost of Living
4:51 3-I Miss the European Lifestyle
7:48 4-Helping People Move To Europe
10:49 5-Getting an EU Passport
12:23 6-My Relocation Plan
12:50 7-Leaving Your Comfort Zone
13:49 8-Where I’m Moving First

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👱🏻‍♀️ About: Kristin Wilson is the author of Digital Nomads For Dummies and Moving Abroad For Dummies. She’s the creator and host of the top-rated Traveling with Kristin Podcast and YouTube channel. She’s traveled to more than 60 countries and has been helping people move overseas since 2005.

❤️ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/travelingwithkristin
📸 Follow on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TWKinstagram
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PS: This video is for entertainment purposes only and is not consulting or advice. Video descriptions may contain affiliate or refer-a-friend links for products I use and recommend. Thanks for supporting the channel!

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#leavinghome #movingabroad #europe #expat #travelingwithkristin