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LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

Thinking of Moving Abroad?

Make a list of all the reasons why. If current politics tops your list, delete it and proceed to the next item. Governments can and do change

Janice Macdonald
Bouncin’ and Behaving Blogs TOO
6 min readApr 25, 2025

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A short trip to Budapest, 2015 (pictures by author)

One of the great things about my 2013 move from the US to France was the opportunity to see more of Europe — easily and inexpensively. An early morning flight from my home in France, a plane change in Rome, then, that same evening, dinner in Budapest.

Which is exactly what I did in 2015 when I went with a friend on a four-day visit to Hungary. Eating a paprika-laced stew with a side of dumplings that first night, while chatting to a German guy just back from Switzerland, was a sample of what I’d hoped to experience about European life.

Kraków, Poland

I’d felt the same during a week in Krakow, Poland, the previous year. Knowing I could easily make a return visit, I skipped the more touristy things to learn a little about the culture — leisurely browsing neighbourhood markets, for example. No idea at all what the various signs said, but it was all quite interesting.

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Bouncin’ and Behaving Blogs TOO
Bouncin’ and Behaving Blogs TOO

Published in Bouncin’ and Behaving Blogs TOO

Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs’ sister publication. We love Renegade Writing. For info message Managing Editor Kelly Carmichael.

Janice Macdonald
Janice Macdonald

Written by Janice Macdonald

At 68, I started a new chapter in my life: I moved to France. Alone. It turned out to be quite the page-turner. Still is — even when age insists on a part.

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