Remote In Romania
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.
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!
#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
Nonstop Networking
As an attorney, one way of drumming up business is through attorney referrals. This can often result from in-person networking events or one-on-one lunches. These don’t come easily for me. I feel awkward and dumb and never know who to talk to or what to say.
But over time I have gotten better at it and one-to-one lunches are actually super easy for me. Starting in March, I decided that I needed to start setting up lunches as I was heading out the door at the end of May. Sometimes people don’t always agree to lunch, but when your email invite advises that you are leaving the country heading to Romania, people respond faster than you can press the send button.
So I picked out about ten attorneys that I wanted to meet up with before relocating. We went out for coffee, lunch, or possible adult beverages. All of this made for an insane April on top of everything else that I needed to do. Then of course, my mom dying in the middle of April didn’t help. Nonetheless, I enjoyed catching up with people.
One bit of advice that I have for people is to reach out to people before you leave. Go and do all the things that you enjoy doing before you leave. If you do this, you will leave with fewer regrets. No - oh I wish I had done this, I wish I had done that. I wish I had spoken to this person or met up with that person. In some ways, my mom dying helped to make sure that I spoke to as many people as possible. Some people called me when she died and I was so upset with her death that I contacted people because I needed support.
Overall, I left Buffalo with no regrets. There are some people that I didn’t see but that was because of them and conflicts in their schedules. There were definitely some places that I didn’t quite get to, but they will be there when I leave.
One of the wild networking events that was mere weeks before my wheels up, was Chief Justice John Roberts speaking locally at the 125th Anniversary of Buffalo’s Federal Court House. I don’t agree with a lot of the Chief Justice’s opinions, but I am glad I went. I got a view into how he thinks and learned a couple of things. I also ran into a bunch of other attorney colleagues and we all said the same thing. We don’t agree with a lot of his decisions, but we had to be there.
I was so glad to have an opportunity to attend this event. It just reminded me that no matter where you are, if you have an opportunity to attend something or participate in something that you are interested in, remember that your couch will always be there for you. So go out and do it and then hang out with your couch when there isn’t anything else going on!!
#RemoteLife, #WorkFromAnywhere, #DigitalNomadLife, #LocationIndependent, #RemotelyWorking, #RemoteWorkLifestyle, #FreelanceFreedom, #SoloRemoteLife, #NomadLiving, #RemoteWorkAbroad
Rebecca's Romanian Runaway - Pool Party!
As I started to tell people that I was leaving the country to relocate to Romania, I was thinking that having a going away party would be a great idea. I had been good friends with a group of people that did a lot of bike riding together, so we had a get together at a brewery near my apartment. That was round one.
Round two was a pool party! Rebecca’S Romanian Runaway - as I adore alliteration! One of my good friends has this absolutely gorgeous house with an amazing pool in the backyard and the pool has a cover in case the weather doesn’t cooperate. So we were discussing and she offered to host a pool party. This was about 5 days before my flight left and I had such a great turnout of friends - recent friends and some I hadn’t seen in a while. I was actually in tears over how many people showed up. It was unbelievable to see how many people showed up.
People were really interested to hear about my journey and ask me a bunch of questions. Everyone was also very supportive of my move and thought it was really cool. Throughout the entire time I was telling people what I was going to do, no one discouraged me and everyone was very supportive. Interestingly, everyone believed me that I was going to do it.
In some ways, it was really random - oh hey - I have lived in Buffalo for all of my life with the exception of 1-2 years in Washington DC and I am going to pick up my entire life and my portable business and my portable dogs and move overseas to another country that is rather distant from USA. Also with no family or friends there.
So the support was really helpful. My friend, Christine, who owns the pool (and her husband JP) are such wonderful people. I have been coming over to their house to socialize and swim for several years. The pool is gorgeous, but the company was always so enjoyable. The great conversations I have had while eating pool side tacos and ice cream over the years have been amazing and I will truly miss this.
Christine and I decided that we can co-host reunion pool parties when I am in town - so that will be something to look forward to!!
#RemoteLife, #WorkFromAnywhere, #DigitalNomadLife, #LocationIndependent, #RemotelyWorking, #RemoteWorkLifestyle, #FreelanceFreedom, #SoloRemoteLife, #NomadLiving, #RemoteWorkAbroad
Goodbyes
My departure date from Buffalo USA was May 28, so on May 26 (Memorial Day in USA) I went to visit my brother and his wife and their dog one last time. They live right on Lake Ontario in New York State - about 50 minutes by car from Buffalo. I brought my dogs up and my friend Claire and invited my friend Shawn. While I was up there, I visited my aunt and uncle who live about a mile away. I also visited one of my mom’s friends before leaving. She had lost her husband a bit before my mom died.
I wasn’t able to spend anywhere near a much time as I would have liked with everyone, but I was so glad that I made the effort to say goodbye to as many people as I could.
Overall, I was completely overwhelmed with how many people took time to meet up in person before I left. I had a group of bike friends and before my pool party, a bunch of us got together at a local brewery. Some people came out because of interest at what I was doing and many people came out to say goodbye and send me their best wishes. Life is weird when you are an adult - often we don’t see the people that we genuinely really like and want to spend a lot of time with as often as we would like. It takes effort and planning and many times our everyday lives get in the way of meeting up with people.
After I moved, I found out that my mom’s friend used my move as inspiration to make a big change in her life. I honestly felt so honored that she did that and that I inspired her. So often, we don’t know if we have any impact on anyone’s life and when you find out that you did - it just feels really great.
Finally, a loud, American shout out to my aunt and uncle. As I may have mentioned previously, my mom died in mid-April. Both of them were there for my mom, myself, and my brother. In particular, my uncle. He is my mom’s brother and he was at the hospital sitting with us and her until the end. I thought to myself, this man is a solider. He will probably never know how much it meant to me that he was there. I am also really appreciative because, while my mom was awake in the hospital, she knew he was there and I know that meant a lot to her that he was there for her and us at the end.
Really just in awe of how strong and compassionate person he is. His wife (my aunt) as well. Much love to both of them. Always.
#RemoteLife, #WorkFromAnywhere, #DigitalNomadLife, #LocationIndependent, #RemotelyWorking, #RemoteWorkLifestyle, #FreelanceFreedom, #SoloRemoteLife, #NomadLiving, #RemoteWorkAbroad
It Takes A Village and Terminal 7
When you decide to move overseas or really anywhere, you will invariably need assistance from as many friends as you can muster up. In my case, I started planning my move about a year in advance. But as you can imagine, nothing really gets done until you're really close to leaving. I spent months trying to downsize stuff and I thought I was doing a really really great job and then a couple months before my move, I looked around and realized I still had so much to do.
So that's when I started enlisting a whole bunch of friends to help me get rid of stuff and pack some stuff up and make some hard decisions about what to get rid of. In my case, I had a little bit of a scarcity mindset because I wasn't sure of what I would need in the new location and also whether I'd be able to get it quickly. But, as I looked at the size of the absolute largest suitcase, I could find and then looked around my apartment. I realized there was no way most of the stuff was going to fit into four suitcases (ultimately four suitcases became six).
As things started getting really close a couple weeks before I was leaving, I had to make some really hard decisions about what to get rid of. I ended up dumping almost all of my furniture with the idea that this new adventure would just have to work because I wouldn't have any furniture to come back to. As people started to learn about my move many people offered their help. Towards the last few days, I had people coming and just taking stuff and donating it or putting it in storage for me.
Then I had a handful of friends that were with me down to the wire. We were packing on the very last day of my move and we finally just got it all done at about 8 PM the night before I departed. As I mentioned in other posts, my friend Claire came with me from Australia to help me move to Romania. We got to the airport through the help of my friend Lisa whose father had a giant SUV that fortunately was able to accommodate seven suitcases, six of which were mine, my friend Claire, and my two dogs along with all of my emotional baggage. We got to the airport with plenty of time and we had some coffee and then got on the flight to JFK.
JFK was one of my biggest concerns because I knew we had to switch terminals. The flight from Buffalo to JFK was on Delta but to get to Bucharest from JFK, we had to take a different airline called Hisky. They were in a different terminal from the Delta flight, which landed in terminal 4. Hisky airline is in terminal 7. The transfer between terminals was a complete disaster. I had spent a lot of time looking up how this was going to happen to see if there was any type of porter service or anything like that to help us move all of our stuff from one terminal to another. The Internet kept on telling me that there would be porters around to help us, but when we got there, we weren't able to find anyone to do that. One person that worked in terminal 4 was able to show us how to use the carts and then to take them on the AirTrain over to a different terminal. It was bananas bonkers! We loaded up the carts and made our way to the AirTrain. We weren't able to get on the first train because there were too many people. Then when we finally did get on the AirTrain, we almost weren't able to get off because there were people in the way. As we were walking through the airport, I had cleverly tied a dog leash from the wagon carrying the dogs to the cart. The wagon didn't have brakes so I was running down the declines. I am sure it was quite a sight.
Nonetheless, we made it to the terminal and we got to the counter for check-in and had to wait a little bit before we were able to check in and then we waited for the flight and finally got on the airplane. I was so tired waiting to get on the airplane. I thought I was going to fall asleep standing. Once we were on the plane, I didn't even make it through the safety announcements before passing out even before takeoff!
Once we got to Bucharest, we had a transfer and the driver was able to help us put everything in the van and drive us up to Brașov. Once we arrived, the driver and the accommodations manager helped get everything up to the second floor so that we could get settled.
This post does not even come close to demonstrating how many people helped me along the way. I am beyond appreciative for the support that I got from so many people - mental ad physical. Moving overseas and navigating every day life - it really does take a village.
I Have Friends Everywhere
Mostly, I wanted to entitle a blog post with “I Have Friends Everywhere.” Anyone that watched Andor will understand the reference. Anyone that did not watch Andor will not understand the reference and with all the explaining in the world, will still not understand the reference. But I can try.
In the TV show, the phrase is used to identify that person as a member of the Rebel Alliance. I was watching this series prior to my move and thought about it in my own context. As I ventured out on a new adventure, I realized that I will meet more and more people from Everywhere. I already have friends everywhere, but will continue to make more and more friends from different everywheres.
A lot of people asked me why I was moving to Romania. I still don’t have a great answer, but in some ways I think I became too comfortable in Buffalo after the pandemic. I didn’t push myself to go out and meet up with people. Once I had decided to leave, I did push myself to go do stuff and meet up with people - knowing it would be my last opportunity to do so for a while.
I am really glad that I approached the time before my departure as an opportunity to do things in Buffalo that I took for granted. I also made a lot of effort to meet up with people that I hadn’t seen in a while, but whose company I really enjoyed. The pic below is a group of such people - they are my cycling and hiking friends. We always did a ton of stuff prior to the pandemic, but after the pandemic, I fell out of some of my cycling and hiking routines. Prior to my departure, I was in touch with one of the people in the photo and we planned the get-together, which was as much fun as it looked!
So yeah - I Have Friends Everywhere - including Buffalo!
#RemoteLife, #WorkFromAnywhere, #DigitalNomadLife, #LocationIndependent, #RemotelyWorking, #RemoteWorkLifestyle, #FreelanceFreedom, #SoloRemoteLife, #NomadLiving, #RemoteWorkAbroad