Hi there everyone,
it's been a year since I moved back home, back to my beautiful Zagreb... ♡
Wasn't as hard as many thought it would be! I heard so many opinions about everything, how I won't be able to find a job, how I should forget about traveling once I get back, how crazy I am to even consider going back to Croatia, how I haven't thought it through or how I'll miss my old life for sure. What to say, I proved them all wrong! 😜
People who never left Croatia told me not to come back, but they couldn't have known how it felt to want to come back, the ones who left told me to think it through carefully but they supported me, the ones who left and came back understood me best. At the end it's all personal, subjective decision that varies from one person to another...
My decision to return to Croatia wasn't impulsive, hasn't been based only on emotions and it wasn't stupid (yeah, I heard that as well), not at all. I knew what I was doing, I thought it through so many times, gave myself time to process, I put everything on the paper, all the pros and cons, talked about it with family and friends a lot, calculated my financials and did all the homework before making this decision. The one that was best for me, knowing I can always move again, change my plans along the way, cause I am capable and not afraid of doing it.
Coming back is not a final, it's not my last stop and I never said it was forever. On the contrary, I still feel restless, I still have this wish to discover, explore and challenge myself, but for now is what I need. If the opportunity falls in my lap to go somewhere new again I'd take it, I'm open to everything, but I'm not desperately looking for one, not yet at least.
Summer of 2016 was my summer off, after which I applied for A job, and got that one, after a few months I applied for another ONE, and got that one too... Maybe I was just lucky but it wasn't hard to find one, like everyone predicted it'd be. It's a 9-5 office job and I like it! The job itself and the fact it's a 'steady, boring, same-people-every-day, office job'. 😃
I like the fact I have a schedule, to know when it's time to eat, sleep, work, work out, and I haven't been sick all the time! Plus plus plus. 😁
Who knows what will happen when my feet become itchy again...but I do enjoy this for now. 😊
Yes, I do miss certain things from my expat life. I miss the food, oh halloumi cheese, hummus, tabbouleh, dumplings, tropical fruits... I miss my friends and our days off, nights out, driving around on a scooter, my little students, living with my best friend. I miss Mc'Donalds delivery and sunny warm weather all year long. 😋 But do I miss the job? Would I go back to it? No. Not for one second I considered that option. I had a great time working as cabin crew, then it stopped being so great and that's why I left. As simple as that. Also Tainan, moving there I accomplished what I needed and wanted and when I felt it was time, I left. And it all felt sooo good! So no, I wouldn't go back to cabin crew life in Dubai if I had a chance to do so once again. 😉
The last thing that was pissing me off (pardon my French) was everyone telling me how I can forget about my far away travels, maybe once a year they said, maybe.
But once again - everyone is different. My priorities are not same as yours, my way of handling my salary is not the same as yours, what's important to me doesn't have to be important to you...so YES, I STILL TRAVEL! ☝✈
Not on daily basis, not with a discounted standby tickets, and not with a salary I used to have, but I do travel every few months, on my terms, the way I like to, with the people I choose to.
In the last year I've visited Dubai in November (yes, again, I know), Czech republic in January, Bali in March and now it's time for summer in Croatia! Don't think that's bad, not at all, considering plans for the rest of the year and for the year 2018 are all in place already. 😄😎💪
I'm not saying and I wasn't going to say it was easy to come back, but it wasn't so hard either. Of course there are moments when I still feel like I don't belong here completely, I'm still finding myself lost in a way, Things have changed, little stuff you don't fully see while you're away, relationships changed, not for worse or better, they just did, some people left your life and some new came along.
I changed and only now and here I see how and in what ways. Other things stayed the same. Certain expectations got higher, there's a lot of explaining and adjusting, realizing all of the above and accepting it because YOU are the one who left, YOU are the one who came back and most definitely YOU are the one who has to adopt to everything, once again...
Moving back was as challenging as it was moving away, however I wouldn't change one thing, not one decision, not a day in my life, if I could. 💗
it's been a year since I moved back home, back to my beautiful Zagreb... ♡
Wasn't as hard as many thought it would be! I heard so many opinions about everything, how I won't be able to find a job, how I should forget about traveling once I get back, how crazy I am to even consider going back to Croatia, how I haven't thought it through or how I'll miss my old life for sure. What to say, I proved them all wrong! 😜
People who never left Croatia told me not to come back, but they couldn't have known how it felt to want to come back, the ones who left told me to think it through carefully but they supported me, the ones who left and came back understood me best. At the end it's all personal, subjective decision that varies from one person to another...
My decision to return to Croatia wasn't impulsive, hasn't been based only on emotions and it wasn't stupid (yeah, I heard that as well), not at all. I knew what I was doing, I thought it through so many times, gave myself time to process, I put everything on the paper, all the pros and cons, talked about it with family and friends a lot, calculated my financials and did all the homework before making this decision. The one that was best for me, knowing I can always move again, change my plans along the way, cause I am capable and not afraid of doing it.
Coming back is not a final, it's not my last stop and I never said it was forever. On the contrary, I still feel restless, I still have this wish to discover, explore and challenge myself, but for now is what I need. If the opportunity falls in my lap to go somewhere new again I'd take it, I'm open to everything, but I'm not desperately looking for one, not yet at least.
Summer of 2016 was my summer off, after which I applied for A job, and got that one, after a few months I applied for another ONE, and got that one too... Maybe I was just lucky but it wasn't hard to find one, like everyone predicted it'd be. It's a 9-5 office job and I like it! The job itself and the fact it's a 'steady, boring, same-people-every-day, office job'. 😃
I like the fact I have a schedule, to know when it's time to eat, sleep, work, work out, and I haven't been sick all the time! Plus plus plus. 😁
Who knows what will happen when my feet become itchy again...but I do enjoy this for now. 😊
Yes, I do miss certain things from my expat life. I miss the food, oh halloumi cheese, hummus, tabbouleh, dumplings, tropical fruits... I miss my friends and our days off, nights out, driving around on a scooter, my little students, living with my best friend. I miss Mc'Donalds delivery and sunny warm weather all year long. 😋 But do I miss the job? Would I go back to it? No. Not for one second I considered that option. I had a great time working as cabin crew, then it stopped being so great and that's why I left. As simple as that. Also Tainan, moving there I accomplished what I needed and wanted and when I felt it was time, I left. And it all felt sooo good! So no, I wouldn't go back to cabin crew life in Dubai if I had a chance to do so once again. 😉
The last thing that was pissing me off (pardon my French) was everyone telling me how I can forget about my far away travels, maybe once a year they said, maybe.
But once again - everyone is different. My priorities are not same as yours, my way of handling my salary is not the same as yours, what's important to me doesn't have to be important to you...so YES, I STILL TRAVEL! ☝✈
Not on daily basis, not with a discounted standby tickets, and not with a salary I used to have, but I do travel every few months, on my terms, the way I like to, with the people I choose to.
In the last year I've visited Dubai in November (yes, again, I know), Czech republic in January, Bali in March and now it's time for summer in Croatia! Don't think that's bad, not at all, considering plans for the rest of the year and for the year 2018 are all in place already. 😄😎💪
I'm not saying and I wasn't going to say it was easy to come back, but it wasn't so hard either. Of course there are moments when I still feel like I don't belong here completely, I'm still finding myself lost in a way, Things have changed, little stuff you don't fully see while you're away, relationships changed, not for worse or better, they just did, some people left your life and some new came along.
I changed and only now and here I see how and in what ways. Other things stayed the same. Certain expectations got higher, there's a lot of explaining and adjusting, realizing all of the above and accepting it because YOU are the one who left, YOU are the one who came back and most definitely YOU are the one who has to adopt to everything, once again...
Moving back was as challenging as it was moving away, however I wouldn't change one thing, not one decision, not a day in my life, if I could. 💗
XOXO! 😘
such a lovely blog... i like it
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you wrote this. Firstly, well done on achieving what most expats fear: returning home! You seem to be handling it in a sensible way and that's great. I was in that position before and maybe because I was young, I didn't have the right perspective; everything was hard after returning home. Job-hunting was the most difficult and I felt like a failure.
ReplyDeleteThe itch to travel has never left me, though, so I'm considering leaving my country again and the only thing "holding me back" is that fear of the return.
But as you've mentioned, everyone's experience is different and one CAN handle whatever comes your way. It's all about perspective.
Thank you and good luck with the future and please keep on writing :)
Dear Gem, first of all thank you for your lovely supportive comments. Second of all I apologize for not answering them, for some reasons real comments were lost and I was never notified of them and ‘junk’ comments took over my blog :(
DeleteHopefully this won’t happen again and I also hope you managed to start your own website. :)
All the best!!