guess who’s gonna be an ex-pat again?!

i’ve got some big big news to share with y’all! i’ve been dying to tell you, but sometimes you just have to wait to share what’s on your heart. it’s been hard to stay quiet about it, but you just gotta wait until everything falls into place. but, now the wait is over. now is the perfect time… finally! so, here goes!

lina and i are moving to uppsala, sweden!

cathedral-uppsala

ok. here’s how things went down.

my love + i began talking about our future (as we do all the time) and wondering what would come next. when we realized that it just might be possible for lina to begin working as a graphic designer way earlier than we anticipated. this happened months + months ago. suddenly, we found ourselves pursing this thought seriously, while at the same time, weighing all of the pros + cons of living in the states and living in sweden.

in any case, while we were pondering all of these pros and cons, including access to travel the world (waaaaay easier in sweden), amounst of salaries + freedom to live and grow our own business, vacation times, family rights, health care… all of the signs led us to know that, in order to live the life that we want, it is much more beneficial to live in sweden. at the same time, there is no place in sweden that feels exactly like asheville – a place where our hearts beat a little faster. still, the lifestyle in sweden – cozy, outdoorsy, simpler, intentional, and fika-filled! – is one that we love too! tough decision to know where to live? hell yeah.

but, things rolled on with lina and a potential job, and very recently she was offered a job as a graphic designer – doing exactly what she wants to do! amazing! i, of course, can write + take photos anywhere, so that’s exactly what i am going to do. once again, we have dreams + goals and we intend to do nothing less than listen to our souls and follow them.

 

it feels so amazing to know that we are moving back to sweden, and it feels so heartbreaking to know that we are leaving asheville behind. but, this is the life of an international married couple. a huge blessing + a bittersweet curse. however, with our work, we will be much more mobile (work + vacation times in sweden rock the socks off of american work + vacation times), so the opportunity for long-term travel will be a huge part of our sweden-based life. for instance, americans, we will be able to spend lots of time here + the goal is to buy a tiny place in and around asheville in the future.

this move feels very different than my last move to sweden 4 years ago. ii already have a permanent residence permit for sweden, so i am welcome to move back without any paperwork or anything, just as lina can move back. we just have to do a change of address at the government offices. how amazing is that? plus, i already have a place in society, with our family, friends, and the biggest of all… i speak swedish!

we are leaving asheville in less than two months, so there is not much time left before the big move. we are in the midst of juggling balancing life int he present moment here – enjoying every single thing and every single minute, and making all of the necessary preparations for another move across the ocean – whew. so, in the height of all of the cozy holiday season here in asheville, we are also getting moving quotes, looking for a place to live in uppsala, and terminating all of our business here. it’s freaking crazy. but, i think we thrive on this kind of stuff.

my heart is filled with excitement + sadness, joy + pain. but, i know, with all of my soul that this is right. and i cannot believe the opportunities that lay ahead for us both! be sure to follow along here… the next few months will be a big mix of holiday fun, moving preparations, and lots of reflections as we make this amazing transition.

yep. i’m gonna pack up my american things and head back out to be an ex-pat once again! let the adventures begin!

light + love

21 thoughts on “guess who’s gonna be an ex-pat again?!

  1. How exciting! Do it while you can, because life is too short to sit around dreaming forever. Now I will have more people to visit when I go to Sweden! And Uppsala! I’ll be motorcycling from Stockholm to Uppsala to visit you both. Please keep up your blog and fabulous photos for all of your readers.

    1. It feels so great (and sad!) to be going back to Sweden to live. And you are most welcome to come and visit whenever you are in Sweden! I will absolutely be keeping up with my blog… and there will definitely be posting more photos!

  2. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can´t belive my eyes!!!!!! Is it realy true???? This is so exciting. I´m so happy that we came to visit you last spring, but it´s going to be so much easier now!!! Big hugs! I´m close to tears with emotions, thinking about you coming back! <3

  3. I’m excited for this opportunity for both of you! It will be nice if your life in Sweden allows you to return to the States regularly. I know it is tough to live away from home.

  4. I just ran across the flat, jumping like crazy, to tell Christian!!! Big hug to Lina I´m so happy she found that job!!!

  5. Wow!!! Congrats! To be honest, I wondered why you ever left. If my husband and I could live outside of the US, we’d definitely do it! Well, that’s surprising and good news. 🙂

  6. Wow! That is so exciting for both of you! I wish you both all the very best and look forward to reading about your new life in Sweden. Luv Dayna xx

  7. Liz, and Lina, congrats and amazing news!! That’s awesome about the job, I had no idea you’d be looking at jobs part way through already so that’s an amazing way to get to the next stage already!!
    It’s funny reading about the pros and cons of us against Europe living…
    And yes, we really must meet up!! We travel easy 😉

  8. These are completely unexpected news! How great for Lina. Seems like some dreams have come true. It will always cause negative feelings to leave behind what you have grown to love (Asheville, family, lifestyle) but it’s great to look ahead to a country you like to be in. Europe def offers some different travel opportunities than the US. Even though I’ve become curious and open to exploring the different states and also dig the proximity to the Carribean… 😉 I’m sad to have never visited you before you left but can’t have everything.

  9. Wow, that’s awesome!!! Congrats. I’m so jealous. I’m Norwegian by ancestry, but have never been. I think I’d really like it there though. Whatever the case, my wife and I talk all the time about moving to someplace like Canada with America’s current political climate being as disgusting as it is. The Republicans are determined to turn us into a third world country and it’s depressing as hell. We just can’t afford to move to Toronto. We are lucky to live in a nice little paid off house in Chattanooga. If we were to sell and move, there’s no way we could afford something similar in most other larger cities. So I’m jealous. Remember to keep us all posted, please!

  10. Yaaay! Congratulations to Lina on finding the job! And yes, travel is much easier when you get more vacation time, and buying a second home in Asheville sounds like the perfect plan. Fabulous! 🙂

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