Goodbye America. It’s been a memorable few years. But now it’s time to leave. We moved to Europe this week.
Our family has been traveling and living abroad for many years now. We are all “Expert Vagabonds” if you will. Digital nomads and citizens of the world.
I’ve been to 70 countries now, my wife Anna is at 114. Our young kids Dylan & Holden have collectively seen 40 different nations.
Even our cat has been to 10 countries.
We are all very fortunate to have multiple citizenships & passports.
Travel is a bit of an obsession for us.
Moving Abroad To France
It’s probably no surprise to those that know us that we’re trying something new again. This time we’re off to France, to a beautiful town called Annecy located near the Swiss border.
Located in the picturesque French Alps, Annecy is surrounded by lakes, mountains, and has a walkable old town charm with great public transportation and a friendly vibe.
There’s also an airport 35 minutes away in Geneva, Switzerland. So we can continue our travel obsession (for both work and fun).
We sold our house in North Carolina. Sold our cars. Downsized our life for the past 6 months preparing for the big move. Packed some stuff into storage, and flew out with 8 suitcases full of what’s left.
Let the European adventure begin!
Will everything go according to plan? Probably not. But that’s life. Messy and unpredictable.
Moving to a new country is both difficult and rewarding in many ways. We know, because this isn’t our first time. In addition to the United States, we’ve also lived in Mexico and Italy in the past.
So, if you’re interested in following our journey, make sure to subscribe to my email list, and follow us on social media too.
We’re going to attempt to share the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of moving abroad and living as expats in a foreign country.
I’m sure it won’t all be butterflies and rainbows either.
What Am I Doing These Days?
This travel blog has been hit hard over the last year by Google’s continued search algorithm updates that have devastated the blogging community. It still earns money, but not nearly the amount it used to.
While I will continue to try and revive the blog a bit and post more on social media, I’ve also started a new business filming VR180 3D travel & nature videos for VR headsets like the new Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3.
If you haven’t demoed an Apple Vision Pro headset at the Apple Store yet, I highly recommend you do. It’s free, and it will blow your mind.
Virtual and Augmented Reality is coming, and it will change entertainment forever.
The headsets will get smaller, cheaper, and even more advanced as the future progresses. Eventually they will replace your TV, laptop, and maybe even cellphones one day!
My videos on Escape VR aim to immerse people in beautiful travel and nature destinations around the world from the comfort of home. As realistically as possible.
Don’t have a VR headset yet?
While it’s not nearly the same experience, you can watch my virtual reality travel videos on the YouTube App here too.
Not everyone can travel as much as we do, and experiencing famous and stunning locations in high-definition 3D VR with surround sound Spatial Audio and 180 degrees of movement to look around your environment is MUCH more realistic than watching an old-school 2D boxed video on YouTube.
With today’s newest virtual reality cameras and headsets, you feel like you’re actually there.
It’s one of those things that you have to experience for yourself to understand. I can’t really describe it accurately in writing.
Why Are We Moving To Europe?
We’ve noticed a sudden increase in people from the United States wanting to move to Europe (I can’t imagine why!) and so we’ve decided to document our journey here for you.
With looming existential threats like the rise of authoritarian politics, AI and the singularity making many jobs obsolete (including mine), population declines, environmental destruction, social media manipulation, and countless other factors — the future of the world doesn’t look so bright.
My family and I want to ride out the coming storm in a place that we will feel safe, secure, and that allows us to continue traveling and working doing what we love — while limiting costs.
France is known for its strong social system, natural beauty, and influence in the world. Traveling around Europe by train or cheap budget airline tickets will make our work much more affordable than trying to do the same based in the (pretty isolated) US.
We love Europe and the French lifestyle. We barely need a car over here. Everything is bike & walking friendly.
There’s great public transportation. The nature is spectacular. There are regular festivals, active public spaces, frequent holidays, and a generally more relaxed vibe. The food is amazing and not full of crap.
The toxic political division in the US and scary developments with its current leader threatening other independent nations with annexation and tariffs that would cripple the economy worldwide — have also just been too much.
I understand moving to Europe isn’t possible for everyone.
We are very fortunate to have dual US/EU citizenship, which makes moving to France much easier for us.
However there are other alternatives, like securing a digital nomad visa or the traditional way of finding a job overseas and getting your new employer to sponsor your European work visa.
I plan on sharing more details about these and other options as well.
But my focus moving forward will be sharing the moving abroad experience. And what life is like living as an American Expat abroad.
- Is living in Europe really better than in the US?
- How is the food?
- What does healthcare look like?
- How does school for kids work?
- What about work/life balance?
- Is it safer?
- Is it cheaper?
- Is there a language barrier?
- How do taxes work?
Tune in to find out! On social media of course.
Because that Pandora’s box will never be closed…
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– Matt