Last year, this time, I was taking a crucial decision to move abroad again and start a new life. I did it because I felt that I was already settling in a comfort zone, doing the same basic things and forgetting that life is more than a boring 9 to 5 job, dealing with rent and going out occasionally with my friends. I just needed a kick and a ticket to re-start what I already started back in 2014 when I first decided to leave Romania and study abroad with my best friend.
With a big suitcase and a flixbus ticket, I said goodbye to my friends in a random September night back in 2019. I told them that I’ll be back eventually, but deep in my heart I just knew that this trip will only be a one-way trip and I was right. So here I am, in the most livable city in the world, starting from scratch a journey that would eventually open many doors for me. It wasn’t easy, especially coming in a place where you basically don’t know anyone and the language didn’t make things easier as well, but time flew by and a few weeks later I met the most incredible human beings ever. I started living life again and it’s incredible how alive you can feel when you start experiencing new things and especially when you finally leave your comfort zone behind and push yourself to limits you never thought you had.
After settling down in Vienna, a few months later I started traveling again in Europe. I visited Ireland for the first time ever in January and then I went again to Sweden to attend Melodifestivalen, an event that I was watching since high school and it never crossed my mind that one day I will eventually be live in that arena. The experience was incredible. Sadly, after arriving back in Vienna the coronavirus pandemic started rapidly spreading all over the world and one month later, all of us were trapped in a scary lock-down that tested our mental health to the limits.
It wasn’t easy. Especially this period between March and May but funnily enough, this terrifying experience brought me even closer to my friends and we found ways to help each other and to overcome these nasty times. June came, I turned 27 (holy moly, getting old) and slowly, life came back to different normality but definitely way easier to deal with. I started traveling again but this time within Austria, since going abroad was definitely a risky option. Salzburg and Hallstatt gave me the boost that I needed to optimize my moral.
One year passed since I’ve been to Romania and I got mixed feelings about this. I miss everyone but sadly this ongoing pandemic doesn’t make it easier for me to come back soon. I just hope that at least by Spring, next year, things will improve and we will all get to at least a better normality than the one we are currently experiencing. Thankfully, this pandemic didn’t manage to put a stop to my ongoing plans regarding career development and being abroad.
So what’s next?
I will move again but this time my journey will lead me to the beautiful city of Prague located in the Czech Republic. A city that I’ve visited back in 2018 and that I always targeted as one of the cities where I would like to live, at least for a while. Now, this dream came true and for some time I’ll be living and working there. There’s still a chance that I might come back to Vienna next year, depending on how the situation improves but so far I’m excited to start this new chapter of my life and close one or if not the best one I had so far. I feel blessed and lucky to experience all these things and let’s see where life will lead me next. Until next time! 🙂
