We were DC people. We lived there for 5 years and we loved the city, our friends, and life in the US. Then a work opportunity came that I couldn’t turn down – a life abroad in Germany.
Things happened quickly. Movers invaded our 600 square foot apartment and packed our lives into a rusty shipping container double-parked on the street. In August 2013 we moved into a 3rd floor walk-up apartment in Heidelberg, Germany. Life was so different. Everything was confusing at first – recycling, driving, and working, all of it took time to unravel and understand. Slowly it become second nature and despite the language barrier, Germany started to feel like home. In June 2014 we got married at a rural church in Virginia and toasted to our favorite German wine. We returned to Europe and maintained a fast-paced buzz across the continent via cheap RyanAir flights, Airbnb’s, and bright eyes. Europe won us over.
In August 2015, my project ended and like the sudden calm of a storm, we boarded a one-way flight home to the US. But what was next? We didn’t know. Heidelberg had become a moment in time that we wanted to preserve forever.
For awhile we toyed with relocating to Sydney, Honolulu, and San Francisco but instead of joining the workforce and figuring it out, we headed to Southeast Asia. Cashing in our air miles we got tickets to Bali and departed in August 2015. We spent the next 2 months on beaches, in jungles and at food stalls. Pad thai stole our heart along with the kind, humble people we met.
In October 2016 we returned to the US with a brand new perspective on travel and awareness of the importance of work-life balance, realizing that perhaps we weren’t city people after all. On January 1, 2016 we settled in Charlottesville, Virginia. We’re back to our Virginia roots and couldn’t be happier. Now our journey continues.
