A winter sunset in Köln
I have been keeping my move under wraps for many months – partly so as not to jinx it, and partly because I was so sure I would fail. But it has happened, and I am here.
My work situation had become unbearable, and while Bangkok was great and I loved that big city, it became quickly apparent that what both of us were looking for was a bit more stability. I never thought I’d be the one to say it, seeing as I moved countries every 2 years previously. However, it just struck me that there is more to life than being a slave to a corporate during my young and best years.
The result is this gamble.
I don’t really have a job, I’m not really a student, and I can’t really tell what the next year will look like. But, I am free from a job that affected my mental and physical health, I am closer to my partner’s family, and closer to my niece, the apple of my eye.
And while winter like this is something to get used to, I am now in a unique position to consider extraordinary what most people in the blogosphere consider normal. It’s interesting to watch people’s reactions when I call something regular “exotic”.
Like this warm reception I received when I first landed here.
For those who often look at social media feeds and wonder at the big adventure that is my life, I have this to say – it isn’t. It’s gut-wrenching and soul-crushing, you don’t really get to see the blood, sweat and tears that go behind a big move. It isn’t easy, it isn’t fairy-tale like. I have had to take big risks and giant leaps. But if there’s one piece of unsolicited advice I can give you, it is this – take those risks. You will look back on those gambles as the best times in your life.
This Labyrinth I Roam 
I lived in Bitburg for two years, not far from Koln. Loved it. Best of luck, enjoy!
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Thank you so much!
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As to the snow…stop me if you’ve heard this before…I feel your pain. I hope this move brings you some peace of mind, and an incentive to write more.
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Thank you so much. Crossing fingers
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Hello! Congratulations on the move! Here’s wishing you happy times in the new land. 🙂
Yes, you are so right when you say people don’t see the sweat and blood, the tears and heartaches, the risks and the failures behind a seemingly picture-perfect social media life. I get a lot of that too. I’m a food and travel blogger, and that doesn’t mean my life is always revolving around parties and 5-star quality food and sponsored trips – often, people forget that I’m a human too, that this involves sheer hard work plus a generous dose of luck, and that I’m a wife and mother to a super-active little human being, daughter to ageing parents and granddaughter to a grandmom who’s ailing and struggling for her life! I’m sorry to rant here – the last part of your post struck a chord within me. 😐
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Hear, hear! Here’s to keeping it real!
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More power to you, Anju! I want to be you when I grow up. And yes, we don’t get to see the hard bits, but I admire you for going for it!
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