Nowadays people are moving abroad for several reasons:

  • in hope of a better future,
  • to earn more money,
  • to find a better environment for living e.g. avoid wars,
  • to move together with a significant other, or
  • to relocate because of family.

I moved to Leuven, Belgium on the 22nd of March, 2016. I didn’t choose this country because I wanted to live close to the Belgian beers, chocolates or fries; I moved to be near my boyfriend, so basically I had no choice on deciding where to move. He’s Flemish and we met in 2010 during a Rubik’s Cube competition in Pardubice, Czech Republic.

After I finished university in January 2016, I started to dig up every little detail about what I have to do when I want to move to another country. Since Hungary is a member of the European Union, I knew I didn’t need a work permit. Okay, that saved me a lot of time. After hours of phone calls and in city councils I got the following information:

  • I don’t have to send anything to the city council;
  • after getting health insurance abroad I have 15 days to send the official papers to the National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary, which I can do online;
  • I didn’t work in 2015 so I don’t have to send anything to the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary.

My life was packed in only eight boxes and dispatched with a logistics company one day prior to my departure. Such a small number after 24 years. I didn’t bring any furniture though, the biggest package was my bike.

During the last two weeks lots of people wanted to say goodbye and it felt really good! I even had coffee dates at 7 in the morning! My boyfriend came to Budapest to pick me up, so I wouldn’t have to move alone. I spent the last weekend with my family and him. My parents and my sister gave us a lift to the airport, where we had our last coffee together. A friend of mine randomly showed up at the airport just before I went through security; such a nice surprise! Just remembering and writing about it makes me cry. I really miss them, but I try to stay strong. The letter that my mom gave me at the airport is always in my pocket.

Our flight was scheduled for the afternoon of the 22nd of March, the day of the terrorist attack in Brussels Airport. Arriving in Charleroi and getting to Leuven wasn’t that bad. We took a taxi, as the bus service had been canceled. Because of the events at the Brussels airport that day, we didn’t take the usual train via Brussels, and that made our trip a half an hour longer. The train was almost empty, which was a bit scary — it felt like a zombie apocalypse. In the meantime, Telenet made all the Wi-Fi hot spots free, so I could send instant messages to my mom. My sister was kind enough to update all my closest friends, so I only had to write to my mother.

And at 22:00 on the 22nd of March, 2016, I arrived in the apartment to start my new life 1110 km away from my family, my friends and my home.

Read Part II — Arriving in Belgium!

Read Part III — Landing a Job @ Dacota One: Direct Route from Budapest to Leuven!