Remote In Romania
Chronicling the shift from western New York to life in the Carpathians.
I'm a U.S.-based intellectual property attorney running my solo law practice remotely from Brașov, Romania. After years in Buffalo, New York, I traded the familiar for cobblestone streets and Carpathian views—proving that you don’t have to choose between professional purpose and personal peace. Remote in Romania is where I share the rhythms of this new life: working across time zones, exploring a new culture, and embracing the beauty of slowing down while staying fully connected.
Blowing Up My Life
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH YOUR CAR AND WILL YOU GET ONE THERE?
This is a question that keeps getting repeated to me. In the US, in most cities, you really are at a disadvantage if you don’t have a car. In other cities outside the US, walkable cities and access to public transportation are much more common. So the answer to that questions is - I am selling my car and I don’t plan on getting one there.
I have a 2019 VW Mk7.5 GTI, 6-speed manual transmission with a Fender® sound system. I named the guy Wagner, which I think fits his appearance. Out of all the cars that I have had, this is the one I love the most. It has these ridiculously comfortable bucket seats, it has a sports mode that is fun, it has a Fender® sound system that is super loud and fun to listen to. My car is also fast and really fun to drive as a stick shift. I am emotionally attached to it even though the Buddhists would tell me not to be. I also like the way he looks all unassuming, but then he has a little engine growl that lets you know he is dead serious and not to be messed with.
As it gets closer to my move, the closer it is to having to sell my car. This makes me really sad even though I am looking forward to my move. All I keep thinking about is the fact that I am completely blowing up my life with no certainty that things will work out for me in Brașov. All of my daily routines will go away. Going to my Pilates class (https://thepilateslabbuffalo.com/ ) taught by my friend Beth - who is so world class it is beyond words, taking my little dog dudes to the local doggie daycare several times a week (https://www.facebook.com/p/Pawprints-By-Penny-Co-Niagara-Street-100051574485466/ ) also another world class service provider in Buffalo. Going to meet my friends and going into my coworking space. Going swimming at another friend's house. Driving to visit my mom before she died. Driving to Toronto for concerts. Going to several different rinks or paths to skate. Going out to eat at my favorite spots. I do all of these activities by car.
So selling my car is the last bit of blowing up my life/walking away from everything. And if it doesn’t work out and I have to come back, then I may have to get a new car. Which would be super expensive and I will never be able to replace Wagner. So I end up a bit conflicted.
Another interesting thought that I keep having is that I have a fairly stable, comfortable life and I am trading that in for the great unknown. I don’t really know what I am going into and how comfortable it will be. Initially it probably won’t be comfortable because there will be so many things to work out. So it is a really weird sensation to feel like you have this comfortable, stable, life with friends and a routine and you know exactly how everything works. And then to just be all like I am going to run away to a different country and city that I don’t know much about and don’t really know what to expect. Oh I was there for a few days, but that only gives you a flavor.
I guess I am embracing the unknown and embracing the fear a bit. Here’s to adventure and the journey!!
#LifeTransition, #MovingAbroad, #FromBuffaloToBrașov, #GoodbyeComfortZone, #BigLifeChanges, #AmericanAbroad, #ExpatJourney, #RemoteInRomania, #LeavingHomeToFindHome
Who Needs Storage?
Throughout my life, I have not been a minimalist at all. I love stuff and I like to think that it loves me back! During the pandemic, like so many others, I started a collection of Ahsoka collectibles that quickly grew out of hand. I also started collecting Star Wars books, It was all fine in view of my lifestyle, which was to hang out at home and go here and there and have a place that I can store everything.
Well, when I decided to relocate to Romania, a year prior to going, I thought I had a ton of time to become a minimalist and get rid of a lot of stuff. I started with the low hanging fruit - the easy things to get rid of. I tried to find a book about letting go of your possessions - because nothing says action like reading a book about taking action. I did find a book by Joshua Becker called The Minimalist Home. It did help overall. So every week I did a little bit and tried to map out the next steps. I run my own business, so I did have a hard time finding as much time as I would like, but still couldn’t quite get it all done. As I got closer to my departure, it just got more and more difficult to get rid of stuff and figure out what I was taking.
For the longest time, I told myself that I could and would be disciplined enough to not get storage. As time went on, I thought …. Well maybe a small unit would be good. I was also trying to keep costs down as much as possible, so I was looking in the outskirts of town. Long story short, I realized that a place on the outskirts would make no sense. Driving a small load some distance away would have been ridiculous. Also, as time went on, I realized I would have to store my boxes for shipping in the unit. So whomever is going to help me later, will need easy access.
So there I am in April crawling across the street to the nearest storage unit. The guy showed me the locker - that was too small. Then I saw the 5x5 storage space and even that was too small. I looked at the 5X10 and decided on that. Even with that larger size, it is completely filled up. I really have no room for any furniture or anything larger.
I am not sure if I have a tip here. But, start way earlier than you think. Be way more ruthless than you want to be. Or bite the bullet and get storage. The guy at the storage unit mentioned that people just have a ton of stuff and that is largely how he is in business. Overall, I think we need to stop consuming so much, but it can be really hard. There are often tons of emotions with some of our things. For example, in the pic of my storage unit, it's my pinky purpley bike Violet. I have biked all over Buffalo with this bike. People knew me by my bike and I enjoyed all of that time I spent biking around. So, even though I can’t ship her, I don’t want to part with her.
Also, my mom died a few weeks before obtaining the storage unit and I had so many things that she had given me. With her death being so recent and raw, it made it really hard to get rid of anything that she had given me.
All that to say, be easy on yourself and know that this part will be hard. There is a ton of uncertainty with an international move. What if I hate it? What if immigration doesn’t work out? What if I am back in 3 weeks and need all this stuff again. And sure - all of it is just stuff, but it can be expensive to replace if you end up coming back sooner than you thought. At the end of my move, I ended up just giving away a ton of furniture because I ran out of time and room. I hope the people can use the stuff I gave them, but ultimately, I ended up giving away thousands of dollars worth of furniture. Here’s to hoping I don’t need it back any time soon!!
#RemoteInRomania, #LifeInRomania, #BrașovLife, #TransylvaniaDiaries, #DiscoverRomania, #VisitRomania, #LivingInRomania, #BrasovViews, #RomaniaThroughMyLens, #RomaniaUncovered
Thank Dog!
Moving internationally is a literally a whole thing with billion moving parts. For me, being the dog mom of two small, long-haired dachshund boys (Boba and Mando) BrasovBoys (IG Handle), means that I need to get documentation to take them abroad with me in addition to all of the other moving parts. Many people have asked - are you taking the dogs? Yes. Will they fly with you or in cargo? With me under the seat. But first! That documentation.
The first step was to go to the vet (she has to be USDA certified in order to fill out the documentation) for her to do a consultation on which country (Romania!) that I am moving to and what she would need to do. First, she needed to make sure that both boys had their chips and then she had to make sure that the rabies vaccines were administered within certain timetables. We met the timetables, so we didn’t have to worry about a rabies booster. Check! The next appointment would be a general exam and then all the paperwork. But she did give me some homework before the next appointment. So, my work was cut out for me. I had to create a FedEx account and create a mailing label from myself to myself. USDA doesn’t want their address on anything.
The FedEx website is really confusing. I was finally able to get it to work, but there were moments where I thought I would have to re-home the dogs.
Next up, we went back to the vet for the exam paperwork and a huge chunk of change, and we got everything taken care of from our end. Next was the insane part of waiting for the documentation from USDA. They can only send it to you in a 10 day window prior to traveling. This made for a lot of anxiety on my part. BUT the great news is that we received the documentation on the Thursday before the week of travel. We had a nice 5 day cushion with the documentation, so that was one less bit of stress - thank dog!
A few months prior to traveling, my boys and I started to work with a dog trainer so that the boys wouldn’t be as stressed during travel. From the time that I got them, I transported them in dog carriers so they were comfortable with that. The dog trainer suggested getting a little wagon to be able to pull them around in. So I had to work on putting them in their carriers, then in the wagon, and then taking them out through the top of the carrier to mimic what it would be like while going through security. I am so glad that I did this and cannot recommend it enough.
Also, in the lead up to my move I relied on doggie daycare A LOT! Trying to pack and move things around with two nervous dogs was not ideal but shipping them to daycare for a bunch of hours so they could have fun while I stressed out was very helpful.
^^PUPDATE^^ The dogs did magnificently throughout the security checks and in-between the flights and on the flights. They just slept the whole time and didn’t go potty in their carriers at all!
Upon arrival they had some potty accidents and were too nervous to eat for a while, but this is to be expected. The poor dudes had only ever lived in one place for their first year and now they are in a different world altogether! But dogs are adaptable, so they will be fine!
Boba (top) and Mando (bottom) swimming at Pawprints By Penny on their last day in Buffalo, NY, USA prior to leaving on an adventure overseas!
The first step was to go to the vet (she has to be USDA certified in order to fill out the documentation) for her to do a consultation on which country (Romania!) that I am moving to and what she would need to do. First, she needed to make sure that both boys had their chips and then she had to make sure that the rabies vaccines were administered within certain timetables. We met the timetables, so we didn’t have to worry about a rabies booster. Check! The next appointment would be a general exam and then all the paperwork. But she did give me some homework before the next appointment. So, my work was cut out for me. I had to create a FedEx account and create a mailing label from myself to myself. USDA doesn’t want their address on anything.
The FedEx website is really confusing. I was finally able to get it to work, but there were moments where I thought I would have to re-home the dogs.
Next up, we went back to the vet for the exam paperwork and a huge chunk of change, and we got everything taken care of from our end. Next was the insane part of waiting for the documentation from USDA. They can only send it to you in a 10 day window prior to traveling. This made for a lot of anxiety on my part. BUT the great news is that we received the documentation on the Thursday before the week of travel. We had a nice 5 day cushion with the documentation, so that was one less bit of stress - thank dog!
A few months prior to traveling, my boys and I started to work with a dog trainer so that the boys wouldn’t be as stressed during travel. From the time that I got them, I transported them in dog carriers so they were comfortable with that. The dog trainer suggested getting a little wagon to be able to pull them around in. So I had to work on putting them in their carriers, then in the wagon, and then taking them out through the top of the carrier to mimic what it would be like while going through security. I am so glad that I did this and cannot recommend it enough.
Also, in the lead up to my move I relied on doggie daycare A LOT! Trying to pack and move things around with two nervous dogs was not ideal but shipping them to daycare for a bunch of hours so they could have fun while I stressed out was very helpful.
^^PUPDATE^^ The dogs did magnificently throughout the security checks and in-between the flights and on the flights. They just slept the whole time and didn’t go potty in their carriers at all!
Upon arrival they had some potty accidents and were too nervous to eat for a while, but this is to be expected. The poor dudes had only ever lived in one place for their first year and now they are in a different world altogether! But dogs are adaptable, so they will be fine!
Boba (top) and Mando (bottom) swimming at Pawprints By Penny on their last day in Buffalo, NY, USA prior to leaving on an adventure overseas!
#ExpatLife, #SoloFemaleTraveler, #MovingAbroad, #SimpleLiving, #SlowLivingMovement, #LifeAbroad, #LivingMyStory, #NewBeginnings, #MinimalistAbroad, #IntentionalLiving
Wait. Do you even know anyone in Romania?
This is the first question I get when I tell people that I am relocating to Romania. This is several seconds after they search my face to see if I am kidding. I have a somewhat dry, hyperbolic sense of humor so sometimes people think I am kidding. Romania sounds random, so sometimes people aren’t sure.
After I explain that no I don’t know anyone in Romania, they ask why Romania. This is sort of hard to answer. I am really drawn to Eastern Europe after having several opportunities to visit many of the countries there. They all have the amazing architecture and geography that Western Europe has. And they are all underdog countries because of their recent history. Romania is one of the larger countries, uses the Latin alphabet, has a really interesting history with German, Hungarian, Roman, and Turkish influences. And the city that I picked, Braşov, is absolutely stunning with its location right in the Carpathian Mountains.
I have two small, high energy, long-haired dachshund boys that will love all of the hiking. I also own an intellectual property law firm. As a solo attorney, I don’t need to be in any specific geographic area, so I decided to go on an adventure.
I am about one week from my flight and the past several weeks and months have been absolutely insane. My moms died on April 14, which was really sad and I haven’t really had a chance to process that. Everything else has been such a whirlwind that I haven’t had a chance to be sad.
So many people seem to be fascinated and intrigued about what I am doing. Someone mentioned to start a YouTube channel on how to pick up your entire life and move someplace else. I simply don’t have the time to devote to a proper YouTube channel, but I do have time to post pics and blogs on the topic.
The first bit of advice I would give someone undertaking this endeavor is to give yourself plenty of time to make the move. I gave myself a bit over a year and I am now literally down to the wire. One thing that I have learned is how many things have to be done at later stages. You can’t completely pack up or downsize your kitchen until you are ready to move on to a take out only meal situation. You can’t get rid of your bed as you are sleeping in it.
My situation is such that I don’t have anywhere to stay for a few nights, so right after I leave, I have some friends coming in to take out my bed, my couch, and a chair.
Also, another piece of advice is to make sure to have at least one friend that is such an amazing human being that it puts the rest of humanity to shame. I am fortunate to have several such friends. One is a lady I met on a river boat cruise last year. She normally lives in Oz (this is what Aussies call Australia). She is coming to North America to help me with my final packing and then will help me transport my two dogs and luggage to Romania and will stay for about a week while I get settled. I can’t picture being able to do this without her or someone else.
So be nice to people so that they owe you favors. Or just find amazing people to help you that you will end up owing favors to, but they will never call them in because they are just that stellar.
Those are my tips so far. I will go into more detail next time!
#RemoteLife, #WorkFromAnywhere, #DigitalNomadLife, #LocationIndependent, #RemotelyWorking, #RemoteWorkLifestyle, #FreelanceFreedom, #SoloRemoteLife, #NomadLiving, #RemoteWorkAbroad