Follow your heart

Ever since Tigger declared he wanted to settle down somewhere and reduce the frequency and length of our travel, it’s felt like a quest to find the perfect place. It isn’t as easy as you’d think when you basically have the whole world as an option! I think there is wisdom in the counsel to “follow your heart,” and we’ve definitely experienced success with it.

Follow your heart

But sometimes I wish the solution would just present itself in some big fashion, all wrapped up nicely with a bright, shiny bow. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could just google “Where should we pick as our base?” and it gave you the perfect answer?

We came to Mexico thinking it would make a good long-term base for us. There are certainly many wonderful things about the country. We had on our eyes on Playa del Carmen but returned to Cozumel knowing that Playa wasn’t it.

As we’ve continued to spend time on the island—as well as enjoy having a home, spending time with friends and being completely unpacked for a change—we’ve also come to realize that Mexico just isn’t right for our base. We enjoy it for a visit, but not as a place to settle down.

Why not Mexico? Well, for starters getting around the country to explore just isn’t easy. I would love for Tigger to see my favorite regions of Oaxaca and Chiapas, but he is understandably resistant to the idea of a 16-hour bus ride. I’m not that thrilled with that idea either to be honest.

Follow your heart

And since it’s cheaper for us to fly to Europe than across the neck of the peninsula, we don’t have any other good options for getting there.

Part of our thinking was that with more expats there would be more English-speaking teens available for him to socialize with. Nope.

Because of the language barrier, he relies on me more and more to take care of things, deal with interactions, etc., which doesn’t help him develop more independence.

We had an honest, open conversation about how we’re both feeling being here, some of my concerns about making sure I’m preparing him for life as an adult (only 5 years away!), and decided that our long-term base options have changed, and Mexico is no longer a contender. We’re going to stay here for a while and enjoy being settled, but we have our eyes out for other possibilities after the new year now.

So where do we think we’ll end up?

  • We have a house sit in the US beginning in late December. I’ve been missing the Pacific Northwest, and he loves it there, so we’re going to see how we feel when we’re back. I highly doubt we’ll stay in the US for many reasons, but a big one is the cost of living.
  • Romania. We both loved Romania, and it felt like home to us. The cost of living is low enough that we could have a good quality of life, still have plenty of time together, and be able to take trips. Europe is fantastic since within 1-3 hours you can be in another country, and there are so many low-cost carriers. Many Romanians, especially the younger generation, speak English. And it’s not a hard language to learn. It’s also a very safe country.
  • Prague. I fell hard for this city. Tigger wasn’t as impressed. It has many of the positive attributes of Romania and is a great hub for traveling around Europe. There are many wonderful things to do there, too.

Follow your heart

What’s the next step?

We’re going to stay on Cozumel for a few more months. Around November we’ll probably head up to Mexico City and plan on spending at least a month in that area. There are a lot of places to explore that aren’t far away.

After Mexico, we return to the US for at least a few weeks for the house sit. We’re going to try to remain open minded about remaining in the States, but right now it looks like after the sit is up we’re heading back to Europe (possibly by way of Canada) with plans on returning to Bucharest and taking it from there.

Over the last year, we’ve continued to comment to each other how much we miss Romania. So back we go.

When you follow your heart, you just never know where it might take you.

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36 Comments

  1. With the cheap cost of living, ease to get around Europe and friendly people, Romania could be a fantastic option. And the fact that you both love it. Enjoy the rest of your time in Mexico 🙂

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  2. Romania, then I can go visit! I didn’t make it to Bucharest or Timisoara when I visited, nor to the Bucoveni region, so I’m itching to go back – plus, you have Wizzair and EasyJet at your fingertips in Romania. So many temptations. If you decide to go back there, check out Moldova – fantastic country, full of friendly people and the best wine I’ve ever had.

    Anyway. just listen to what your hearts tell you and you’ll end up in the right place for sure.

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    • We’ve discussed it, and we’ll be returning to Romania. Probably will give Bucharest a chance for a few months before deciding where exactly we’ll settle. So come visit, dude!

      Yep, Moldova is on my list, as is Serbia, ever since your visit there.

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  3. I like your attitude so much guys, following what your heart says is always the best solution to everything, especially when it comes to settling down, it’s such an important decision to make. It seems like you are pretty flexible and ready to keep looking until the perfect place will come up. For now enjoy your coming plans 🙂

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    • Thanks, Franca! Staying flexible is the only way to be AFAIC. Live is so much easier when you can just roll with things.

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  4. We chose Cuenca, Ecuador as our home base. More and more families with children are moving here, but getting out of the country is always time consuming. I am really looking forward to exploring Romania based on your recommendation. Enjoy Mexico!

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    • We really enjoyed Cuenca. Not so good as a base if you still want to travel, though, as you mentioned. Also the long-term visa is expensive, which is a shame since we really enjoy Ecuador.

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  5. Kudos for being open and honest with each other about Mexico. It’s great that you talked about it before you let too much time pass. Exploring around Mexico City will be great. I remember going there and loving it when I was in high school. It’ll probably be a totally different experience.

    Good luck figuring out the next move!

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    • Thank you! I’m looking forward to seeing Mexico City again. It’s been over 30 years since the last visit!

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  6. Talon-you make a very good point about there not being as many teenagers. There are a lot of retiree expats but finding English speaking children might be more of a challenge. We are planning to move to Cozumel next spring ourselves (I promised my oldest she could finish high school here first.) My two younger girls are excited to speak Spanish, they even want to know if they can go to public school there!

    I will be in Cozumel the first week of September (after Marginal Boundaries’ Blogging Bootcamp and before TBEX in Cancun.) I’d love to meet up and talk more about traveling with kids if you’re willing. Keep following your heart!

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    • It is a nice place to live. Very laidback. Relatively easy to get around.

      Always happy to meet new people!

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  7. Enjoy the travelling, and house-sit. But it certainly sounds like you’ll be back in Romania faster that you can say Bună ziua!

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  8. Back on track… it’s a good feeling I’m sure!

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  9. If you decide to make Romania your home for a while it will make me very proud. From so many countries visited you consider Romania as an option. That is fantastic!

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  10. Always good to follow your heart. If Romania really grabbed a hold of you both, it’s worth investigating. And I’ve heard it’s relatively easy to get a resident visa, if you decide to stay longer than the tourist visa allows. Good luck, and enjoy Mexico for the next few months!

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  11. Wow… I never heard somebody willing to move to Romania. It’s fantastic. We all want to leave this country because the educational and health systems are low and it is being very corrupted. It looks like my country is being seen from another perspective from outside.
    I am really glad you considered making Romania your home for a while. My only question is how do you think will this country help Tigger from an educational point of view?

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    • Foreigners always get to see a country through a different lens because we don’t have the same experiences as the locals.

      My son is homeschooled, and we will continue doing that.

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  12. I love that you guys have been so open-minded and flexible about this process; finding a long-term base is no easy thing and sometimes the only thing you can do is dive in with both feet and see whether you sink or swim. If things feel like they’re too heavy and dragging you down rather than buoying you up, there’s no fault in changing course until you find the place that really does feel like home.

    On a selfish note, I am sad to hear that Mexico isn’t in the cards any more, because we are planning to head that way in a couple of months… right around the time you’ll be heading up to the states! I suppose it’s always possible that our paths might cross somewhere on the west coast, but I was looking forward to a foodie fiesta (feastesta?) in Mexico!

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    • We’ll be in Mexico until late December most likely, so we should still be able to connect down here for a foodie fiesta! Sure hope so. We really need to meet finally!

      Being where your heart wants is important enough to keep going until you find that place. Hopefully that won’t take another 2 years, though. lol

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  13. Romania sounds like a great place! and the food… 🙂
    You made me be curious about traveling there!

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    • The food was SO good. It’s one of the few places I’ve been where the fruit and vegetables are bursting with flavor. Tigger, who is very finicky, started trying and eating more things there because of it. It’s a great country that doesn’t get nearly enough attention.

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  14. Y’all seemed to enjoy Romania a lot, a vote for there….seems like a great place to call home for a while 🙂

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  15. So envious of you having “the whole world as an option.” I want to do the same but this friggin’ Philippine passport is so restrictive. Good luck with finding the best place to live. Tigger looks cute as always, and the cat seems to be taken with him as well. Or at least tolerating him haha

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    • Even though my country drives me nuts sometimes, I am VERY grateful for its passport. It must be so frustrating for you!

      The cat was in love with him and was very disappointed when it was time for us to leave.

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    • My heart expands 10 fold when you mention a house sit in December. Our home and fur babies are truly blessed.

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