I wrote this post while still in Europe:
We've been in Europe for over a month now. Matt and I planned this trip for a whole year. We couldn't wait to have access to better food, more culture, cooler climate, and cheaper way of life. We talked about buying a house and moving here permanently, one day. But after traveling through Italy and now France, we think otherwise.
I will never again take for granted free and easily available public restrooms in the U.S. I think we've literally flushed down the toilet at least 100 euros. Some public restrooms in Europe take only cash and others only the exact amount and, because we travel with no cash (it's super expensive to withdraw cash with an American debit card), we often had to find alternative ways. I'm lucky Matt has no ego and can ask anyone for toilet.
While finding a bathroom might seem like a minor concern, climate change is a much bigger one. The weather has been super hot and humid. Even when we went to the Italian Alps thinking we could finally cool off, it felt like we were in Hawaii during the raining season. When we left, our clothes were damp and smelly. Even in the French Alps, where we are currently, it's been hot. No air conditioning. Ten degrees Celsius above the average. And I don't think it'll get better in the south of France or Spain (it didn't!) where we are going to next. Unfortunately, that's the reality in the U.S. too - many places are warming too fast for the government/people to adapt.
The food. At first, we loved eating pasta and pizza in Italy. They were amazing but, after a few week, we wanted less carbs and more protein and veggies. It was difficult to get a wholesome restaurant meal without paying an obscene amount. And because we moved from place to place often, cooking wasn't always an option. Grocery stores in Italy and France are just as full of junk as the grocery stores in the U.S. Here, though, even the non-organic food tastes amazing, especially dairy and bread. We also love how desserts here are not as sweet as in the U.S. We indulge guilt free.
Another big drawback is smoking. I think I was exposed to more second hand smoking in one month here than during my 20 years in the U.S. It is so unusual and disappointing to see so many young and healthy looking people smoke. It was especially shocking to see it in a Blue Zone in Sardinia where it seemed like everyone from young to old smoked. We kept wondering by how much their life expectancy would increase if they didn't smoke.
Overall, life here isn't all that easy or glamorous. Even in France, salaries are much lower than in the U.S. but with a similar cost of living. There is immigration and homelessness issues too. I lived in Grenoble, France, for a semester back in 2009. I remember some immigrant population, no homelessness, no crime. I used to walk through the main city park alone in the middle of the night. Now, I see homeless in tents, street beggars, huge immigrant population, and trash on the streets. And I certainly wouldn't be walking alone even on a sidewalk in the evening. The only positive is that fentanyl hasn't reached here yet.
We are still looking forward to the rest of our stay but we are also looking forward to returning home. This experience showed us how privileged we are to have a life that we have in the U.S. I also acknowledge that if everyone on the planet had the same lifestyle as the average American, it would require five planets. It is a comfortable lifestyle but not sustainable.
Post travels reflection:
It felt amazing to come home. The AC. The diversity in healthy food options. The diversity in people. The daily routine. The cat. It also felt amazing to spend two months in Europe and see what we wouldn't be able to notice in short two weeks: cultural and societal differences. Italy was a lot more racist than France, for example. Drivers were the best in Spain. Northern Italy has a German speaking region and southern France has a bull fighting culture. Switzerland is so expensive that it is almost impossible to own a house there. And everyone everywhere recycled and composed!
I realized that the idyllic European life doesn’t exist. Some of the most beautiful places we visited were either too expensive, too packed with tourists, or too unbearably hot. There were also many towns on the brink of extinction, especially in Sardinia. Overall, it seemed like towns were either thriving or dying. It is possible to buy a cheap property in Europe, but you’ll probably live either in a dying town or isolated village.
While we are cooling off with our dreams of living somewhere else, we are happy to continue traveling and learning about each other. Life isn’t about getting to a destination but is all about the journey. I know many people, including us, are putting a lot of value on the location but maybe the magic is in what we do and how we live our lives. Maybe if we found joy in what we do, we would be OK doing it anywhere, including the U.S.
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