Live More Fuller: ONE YEAR OF LIVING AS AN EXPAT

“One fine day, it will be your turn. You will leave homes, cities and countries to pursue grander ambitions. You will leave friends, lovers and possibilities for the chance to roam the world and make deeper connections. You will defy your fear of change, hold your head high and do what you once thought was unthinkable: walk away. And it will be scary. At first. But what I hope you’ll find in the end is that in leaving, you don’t just find love, adventure, and freedom. More than anything, you find you.” - Unknown

I can't believe I am saying [writing] this, today marks one year of living abroad!! 😱 On this day last year I was packing up our apartment, saying goodbye to family and friends, leaving everything I have ever known, and hopping on a one-way, redeye flight to Germany with my love.

Moving abroad has been the most eye-opening, challenging, rewarding, and life changing experience. I have learned SO much about myself, my relationship with Rob, my relationships with those back home, and lots more about the world outside of what I had known. As each day has gone by, I haven't felt like things were changing, but looking back everything has changed. I have changed; into a whole new person. Someone who isn't terrified of risks, who is SO MUCH more confident in themself, and someone who realizes time is so very precious aka we've got to embraces new things in life, you guys! Do not be afraid of change- I know it's so much easier said than done but take it from someone who hated change // everything will work out.

I could go on and on about how much my life has changed but what I'd rather do is reflect back on the places we've experienced. I started this blog as a way to share my journey of living abroad with family and friends back home so that way you could all experience with me! So as a year one anniversary of living abroad let's chat about my absolute favorite of this past years travel-

Switzerland- So, this past weekend we traveled to Zürich and Luzern, Switzerland to celebrate our one year abroad! I plan on writing a blog post on our recent trip later this week. I usually do trip recaps, but will 100% be writing one for Switzerland. I've never had so many people reach out about a country before! SO many of you want to go visit Switzerland and all I have to say is YOU HAVE TO GO. It is hands down the most beautiful country I've ever been to and I never wanted to leave.

Rome, Italy- Oh, Roma! One of my favorite places on earth. Prior to our trip to Italy, I had a funny little feeling that Italy was going to steal my heart and it did just that. The people are the sweetest, the food is the ah-mazing, and the views are breathtaking. My favorite part of the trip was touring the Colosseum. I loved learned about the history and thought it was so crazy to think of everything that happened there!

Amsterdam, Netherlands- One of our favorite cities in Europe! We visit Amsterdam every few months because it is so beautiful and I love seeing the canals change throughout each season. Not to mention every visitor we have wants to see Amsterdam- rightfully so. It's only 2 and 1/2 hour drive so it's a nice little weekend getaway.

Cochem, Germany- Who would've thought that a tiny town with a population of about 5,000 would be one of my favorites? Cochem is so small but has a ton of charm and character. The town sits right on the Moselle River and is surrounded by high elevations of steep forest and vineyards. As if it couldn't get any better, there is also a Castle, the Reichsburg Cochem. It was quite the hike to get up to the castle but it was well worth it.

Although I can't choose every single place we've visited in the past year as my faves, here is a list of place we've visited that are so good as well: