Is living abroad all it’s cracked up to be?
Yes, but…
A background tune for reading this newsletter:
I’ve been living abroad for a few years now — it can be difficult to calculate when you consider months shuffling back and forth while you figure out visas, combined with a year and a half of a pandemic when you’re not seeing a whole lot of the country you haven’t gotten to truly know yet.
With the rise in remote work and digital nomads, an increasing number of people have the opportunity to test out living in new cities or countries — something I’m 100% in support of. Living abroad has an aspirational glossy sheen; I blame movies like Under the Tuscan Sun and binges of House Hunters International.
Based on my (limited and highly specific) experience, I’m here to answer the question: Is it really all that great? My answer: Yes, but there’s a lot that people don’t really talk about until you’re living it.
First off: What is my limited and highly specific experience?
I met my Brazilian boyfriend when we were both living in New York City, and after a year in the same place and a year of long-distance dating, I was able to slowly move to São Paulo. After some persuading, my job let me work remotely. I chose to move here, and the currency conversion has always been in my favor, placing me squarely in the “expat” category. That means I live with a lot of privilege compared to many people who move countries.
I could rhapsodize about all the obvious benefits like seeing new places, meeting people outside my bubble and so on, but today I’ll talk about a few practicalities I think don’t get enough attention:
A home of one’s own: After years of long-term Airbnb renting or unconventional contracts with furnished apartments, we finally moved into a proper apartment with a multi-year lease that we can make our home. The apartment hunting process is much longer than I was used to in the U.S. due to bureaucracy — everything in Brazil involves more bureaucracy. Because I’m so new to Brazil, I don’t have much credit to my name. Without my boyfriend, a Brazilian citizen, it would have been much harder for me to rent an apartment or office.
Pode repetir, por favor?: I’m now conversational in Portuguese, some may even say fluent on a good day (emphasis on the may and good day). But I still only understand 75% of what’s going on in a conversation at any given moment. Add face masks in and the average goes down. When I return to the U.S., it’s like my volume has been turned up and I can understand everything —most shockingly, clearly eavesdropping on the conversations happening around me. I have to be okay with filling in the gaps and not understanding everything or being able to get the nuances of my points across, something difficult to accept for someone who works in copywriting and communications.
In the wise words of Rihanna, “Work, work, work, work, work, work”: I’m thrilled people have more options now more than ever to live in the places they want to, even if it’s not near their office. I’ve been freelancing for 9 months now, with most of my clients in the U.S. and U.K. I was terrified of leaving my job before that, and felt like I had limited options if I did so. In some ways, you are more limited, but those limits have subsided exponentially due to the pandemic and shift to remote work.
I got 99 problems but a visa ain’t one: Yeah right. Visas are the biggest problem! Whenever I see others moving abroad, my first question is “On what visa?” To answer for myself: My boyfriend and I have a stable union, so I was able to get a familial visa. The ease of obtaining visas varies wildly by country, and might limit your movement and job options depending on the type.
Did I bum you out yet? I hope not, because I love living abroad! Anything worth experiencing is also worth the effort — and hey, apartment hunting in New York City was no picnic either.
If you have more questions about moving to a new country, my digital door is wide open.
xoxo
Brandy
Good Trip Founder
Local’s Corner
Hey y’all, we’re headed to Austin, Texas to get a glimpse of life down south with Maria Gotay, a designer and founder of art collective Art Island ATX. Art Island ATX is a full-service creative and experience agency bringing Austin together (and helping to keep it weird ✌️).
Maria is a world traveler who brings that adventurous spirit to her own local community — who better to give us her recs?
Her favorite local spot within a 15 minute walk of her apartment:
Brushy Creek Trail + Walnut Creek Trails. Amazing walking + biking trail through Austin's East Side.
Her favorite local-to-Austin snack or food she can't get enough of:
Tamales from Curra's Grill. Pair it with the salsa sampler and Avocado Margarita! 🌟
The movie people should check out to get a feel for Austin:
Dazed and Confused because obviously! You can even go visit the MoonTower Saloon, on the site made famous by that one "Party at the Moontower!"
Fun fact: If you take the bus during your visit to Austin you'll be lucky enough to hear Matthew McConaughey narrate some announcements.
An ideal day for her in Austin:
Throwing a community-powered event with my collective Art Island ATX featuring live fire arts, music, tea service, tech installations, and healthy bites. I'll DJ the afterparty!
Where she wants to travel next:
A train trip from Budapest to Bucharest!
The place she’s traveled to that she’d like to go back to:
Everywhere, sigh. There is a little beach called The Dawn of Happiness near Ao Nang, Thailand that has my heart.
The song she has on repeat:
“Pynk” by Janelle Monáe + Grimes. Boss bitch energy.
Good Trip Tip
When traveling, hit up a local fresh market if there's one nearby. You can discover unfamiliar produce and experiment with cooking local ingredients.
Jumping into the weekend like…
