Hello my loves,
Since moving to Poland a year and half ago, I have learned so much. If you are feeling lost in life and want a change, I strongly recommend moving to Europe. It will open your eyes and challenge you in the most beautiful and wonderful way. I want to start sharing my journey, from my favorite places in Warsaw to some helpful tips I have learned along the way. So for the first post in my series I thought I would tell the story of why I moved and my life now.
So to truly understand why I moved to one of the more underrated European countries, we have to go back in time about 10 years. This was the moment when a shy teenage girl met an equally shy teenage boy from Poland. After years of ups and downs we stayed together and were starting to decide things about the future. I always knew that Paul wanted to move back to Poland at some point (his whole family lives in Poland) but I didn’t know exactly when he wanted to move. So when he found a job that he really wanted in Warsaw, I knew that the decision to move would be sooner than I thought. I was of course excited for him at the possibility of getting this job but also had mixed feelings when it came to me making that move. I had no job lined up, couldn’t speak the language and was scared of the thought of it only being me and him. Even though I was scared I knew in my heart that I needed and wanted to go. I tried my best to make the decision for myself instead of solely based on my relationship and I am glad I did. By choosing for myself to move, I could confidently tell Paul that I was willing to move my life to Poland.
I can still remember the day he told me that he got the job, making the move official. It was Valentine’s Day, honestly good timing, and he took me out to one of our favorite restaurants. After dinner he handed me a card and inside there was a piece of paper that outlined his job offer. I screamed out of joy, you would have thought he proposed. I was shaking and was flooded with emotions, it was one the best gifts I ever received because it is that one piece of paper that completely changed my life.
Paul moved to Warsaw in March 2017 and we agreed that I needed more time so I would come about 6 months later. I also decided the best option for me in order to stay there legally was to go back to school to get my Master’s degree. It would be a good way for me to meet new people in an environment that is set up for foreigners. I spent the months before the move soaking up time with my family, getting all the proper documents, missing Paul, and helping him try to find us an apartment (he was living with a family friend). In a later post I can go into the whole moving process when it involves an ocean, because honestly it is not easy.
Finally the day came, September 19th, 2017. That was the day I boarded a plane with a one-way ticket to Warsaw, Poland. It was the craziest feeling knowing that I was starting a whole new life somewhere so far away. Once I landed in Poland I was so happy to see Paul and excited to see my apartment. For the first couple days, Paul took off work so we could buy things for our apartment and just to help me settle in. It was once he went back to work that the real anxiety set in. I didn’t know where anything was and not knowing the language made it worse. To be honest I still don’t know how to speak Polish and I still get anxiety over some situations. But after forcing myself to venture places I got a little bit more comfortable and was able to go shopping and start “living”.
I think this is a good place to stop and may break my story into a few parts otherwise this post will read more like a book. Thank you so much for reading and if you have any questions please please do ask them!
“Fifty years from now, when you’re looking back at your life, don’t you want to be able to say you had the guts to get into the car.” – Transformers
