Why I left

Why I left in the first place

The answer to that question is much longer than you might expect.

Moving abroad can sometimes sound like something you could decide to do overnight. Sit down, think, “We’re leaving.” Pack your bags. And that’s it.

Except that it’s probably never really that simple.

Everyone who moves abroad has their own story and their own reasons for leaving. And those reasons can be completely different.

Some leave because of war, persecution, violence, or circumstances in which they can no longer see a safe future for themselves. Others can’t find work or earn enough to support their families. So they go somewhere they have a chance of making more money — sometimes not to live a better life, but simply to be able to feed their children or send money home to parents who spent their whole lives helping them get on their feet.

There are also those who leave because they want something more. More opportunities. New experiences. A different life.

And I think we probably belonged to that last group.

We weren’t running from poverty or war. Our life in Warsaw wasn’t bad.

It was simply… exhausting.

We both worked all day. Then there were hours spent in the car, traffic jams, looking for somewhere to park, and trying to get everything done in a constant rush. And more and more, we felt like there was very little time left for actually living. Yet there were so many things we wanted to spend that time on.

Hiking. Travelling. Forests. Mountains. The sea. Nature. Discovering new places.

We also wanted to see what else we could do professionally. Whether the market we knew was really the only place where we could grow.

It wasn’t just about earning more. It was about finding out whether we could build our lives a little differently.

But even then, the decision wasn’t as simple as it might sound. First, there’s the idea. Then months of wondering whether you should actually do it. Then finding the courage to send out that first CV. Then finding a job. Then moving.

And then you realise that arriving in another country is only the beginning.

Because you have to find your place. Learn the language. Meet people. Figure out how a new country, a new city, a new job and a new everyday life actually work.

And suddenly, what started as one move turns into several years of different adventures, changes, new places and people you meet along the way.

For me, one of the biggest challenges was learning a new language as an adult.

It’s not easy to suddenly start functioning in a language you’ve never spoken before. Learning takes time and can be frustrating. For a long time, you simply can’t deal with the most basic things without preparation — talk to a doctor, make a phone call, explain a problem or sort something out at a government office. Suddenly, things you used to do without even thinking require preparation, translation and a fair amount of courage.

And then, at some point, without quite knowing when it happened, you start to become part of your surroundings. The language starts coming to you more naturally — still with mistakes, sometimes with strange sentence structures and words that really don’t belong there, but people understand what you’re trying to say. And often, they’re even impressed by how much you already know.

And that is a really good feeling.

You stop being just someone who “moved to another country.”

You start living here.

You have your own places. Your own routines. People you know. Your own everyday life.

And even if you’re still a little bit “from abroad,” that foreign place stops feeling temporary.

It becomes part of who you are.

Today, looking back on that decision, the answer is very simple.

Do I regret that we gave it a try?

Not even a little. Never.

It was one of the best decisions we could have made.

Will we ever go back? I don’t know.

That’s another question I don’t have a ready answer to.

Because life isn’t a project you plan once and then simply carry out.

Maybe something will change again. But for now, we’re here.

And I don’t think I’d even say anymore that we “live abroad.”

After all these years, we’re simply people who chose a different place to build our lives.