Introducing Relocurious - Kathy's Story
"I did the only thing I could think to do–I moved to England"
One of the main ways we learned about life in Portugal before we moved here ourselves was through the stories of others who had moved before us. We followed Youtube channels of people who had moved, and were sharing details about their lives in a new home. We listened to podcasts of people who had moved, and were sharing their experiences. Many of those personal stories glossed over the “why” of their moves, and focused on the “where” and “what” of their new lives. It was exciting to get drawn into beautiful stories of a new life, and we used other peoples’ stories to keep us excited in times when the tasks of moving became overwhelming.
Hearing other peoples’ experiences in a new country can certainly help you prepare for the day to day realities of living in a new place, they can help you “land softly”, so to speak.
The work of understanding and connecting with your own personal reason for moving, your big “why”, that is what will motivate you to keep going when faced with unavoidable surprises along the way. In those moments when the sands shift beneath you, and you need to problem-solve your way out of an unexpected obstacle, that’s when you need to draw on your intrinsic motivations for making such a big change in your life.
We have spent time reflecting on our “why” in relation to our latest move, and that led us to consider our past moves as well.
Here is Kathy’s story of the moves she has experienced in life that shaped her current perspectives:
My relationship with moving has been a bit haphazard. As a child, I had only one major move—well, it felt major to me—from a small, rural community in northern British Columbia to the town of Nelson in the southeast of the province.
I went from a school that had just 12 students in my class, to a new school with over 200 kids in my grade. To a 15-year-old farm kid, it was a huge shift. But I had no say in the matter, I was simply told we were moving, and we moved. I put my head down, made the best of it, and within a few months, I had friends and an after-school job. I was set.
Later, as a 20-something, I dated a young man who had his entire life mapped out, right down to the month and year. He knew exactly when he would get a promotion (which would fund a new car), then he would buy a house, get married, and have children. When we started dating, I think it was assumed that I would simply fit into that plan. I didn’t have a plan for my life at that time, nor did I want one like his. I knew that life wasn’t for me.
So, I did the only thing I could think to do–I moved to England.
Initially, I intended to visit relatives for a few months to clear my head. But once I arrived, I joined a local hockey team, found a job, and quickly settled in. Before I knew it, a whole year had flown by in a blur of hockey, work, and new friends. If you ask my relatives, they’ll tell you it was the longest four years of their lives—but really, it was just one!
During my time in England, I steadily felt more “at home” there. My surroundings became familiar, and I developed close friendships, some that have remained close to this day. I can’t recall ever feeling homesick—until September 11th, 2001.
I was at work when the news broke. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, and everyone in the office crowded around the TV in the reception area. As the story unfolded, flights across the UK were grounded.
I had no flights booked, no plans to go anywhere. But in that moment, the thought hit me: even if I wanted to, I couldn’t go home. That was the first time I truly felt homesick.
Airspace reopened. Flights resumed. Life went on. But the seed had been planted—maybe it was time to move back to Canada.
A month later, during a conversation with my dad about my career plans, I found myself leaning toward the idea. And the following month, when an opportunity arose to become a full-time paramedic in Vancouver, I booked my flight.
I said goodbye to my friends and family in England and returned to Canada, this time moving to Vancouver—a city I had only visited a few times before. Although I arrived alone, I knew a few people from Nelson who had already moved there, and I quickly made new friends at work. Before long, the city felt like home, and I stayed for 22 years.
In 2023, my husband Michal and I moved to Portugal—but the idea of moving abroad didn’t start there. For me, it began a decade earlier when I committed to retiring at or before age 50. A financial planner confirmed early retirement was possible, but only if I left Canada for a more affordable country. At that time, I didn’t know where I would move, but I fully committed to the idea.
When Michal and I met a few years later, we got talking about the future, so I shared my goal. Michal was self-employed and not thinking about retiring, and he was very open to the idea of moving abroad.
Initially, we focused our search on the most affordable countries, which led us to explore South and Central America, finally narrowing in on Costa Rica. We visited and loved it. We could easily imagine living there. However, it didn’t bring Michal any closer to his daughter in Slovakia, and legal uncertainties around homeownership gave us pause.
That forced us to step back and rethink our priorities. For Michal, it was moving closer to his daughter and family in Slovakia. For me, it was creating an affordable lifestyle that allowed me to pursue my creative passions and travel. Both of us are also keen on discovering new countries, cultures, and cuisines. The more we talked about Europe, realizing it was just as possible to move there as it was to relocate to Costa Rica, the more excited I became. A move to Europe would bring Michal to the continent of his roots that he had always dreamt of exploring more. And, along with easy travel to so many interesting places, Europe was promising some affordable options for living
We narrowed our options to two possibilities: Croatia and Portugal. Both ranked highly on lists of places to move. Croatia appealed to us, we had both visited before, and it’s close to Slovakia—but we were also drawn to Portugal.
COVID delayed our planned exploration trip to Portugal, yet once we finally made it there two years later, it was easy to fall in love with the country. We quickly realized we could see ourselves living in either Lisbon or Porto, the two coastal cities with international airports that we had shortlisted. Before we returned home, we decided to embark on a long list of steps to move to Portugal—specifically, to Porto.
As our moving date neared, I realized that we had to experience a series of “lasts”–our last night in our home, my last day at work, my last paycheque, the last workshop with our local photography club, our last road trip to visit my parents…so many “lasts”. Although by that time our excitement levels were high, there were moments that were emotional. In those moments, remembering why we were making the move was grounding and calming.
For both of us, this was our first major move without the built-in safety net of family, school, work – or language! – to help us integrate into a new community. It was a leap of faith, fuelled by a desire for a new lifestyle that held room for creativity and exploration.
I’m so glad we had the opportunity—and the will—to take it! It truly has changed our lives.
Reflecting on our own experience is what led us to start Relocurious. Once we started researching the process for moving, Michal and I realized the only true obstacles to realizing our dream were in our own heads. The stories we told ourselves, the “what if” questions.
But “what if” we hadn’t pursued our dream? Sure, we would probably be just “fine”; Working, dreaming, perhaps regretting, we will never know, because we took the chance and made the move!
Resources we found helpful
Beneath the Surface YT We found this channel approximately one year before our actual move, and in the first episode, Josh, the host, summed up why he and his wife, Cecilia, were moving from their dream home in the United States to Europe. We liked his analytical and frank discussion about the experiences and thoughts he and Cecilia were having as they sold their belongings, and prepared their dream home for sale.
As we were in the same stage of moving as this couple, we couldn’t “jump ahead” to see how it all turned out for them, we really felt like our own story was unfolding right alongside theirs.
We would love it if you shared resources you have found helpful in your own dreaming, planning, or relocation in the comments.
Our intention is to build a community centered around supporting each other through the emotional ups and downs of moving. We would love to hear from you.