This is US Halloween, 2015 in our beloved small town of Waynesville, NC
What does it take to act on the dream of living abroad with your family? It takes Vision. Commitment.
Partnership. Resilience. Planning. Flexibility. Resolve. Patience. Support. Certainty.
I might be missing a trait or two. But these are the key elements that are currently at play in our life.
As this is my first official blog post, allow me to briefly introduce myself and my family. I’m Natalie Malis, a self-described creative, dreamer/manifester, daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, small business owner, empath, philanthropist, Gemini, and worldly ADHDer. I’m married to Adam, also a dreamer/manifester (my words – not his) and coincidentally also a Gemini, who for the majority of his adult life managed to solo travel to over half the World while running a successful small business, on his own terms, for 10+ of those years (and around the time we met – I was fascinated, to say the least :)) ! Together we have lived in the small Appalachian town of Waynesville, nestled in the magical mountains of Western North Carolina for 16 years, where we birthed and raised our two children, Beka and Alden (now aged 12 and 11).
Since as early as 2015 possibly earlier, living in Europe for an extended period of time has been a goal of mine. Between the years of 2012 and 2015, we spent quite a bit of time living and touring Europe from our second home in Amsterdam. The kids were not yet in school so even into their preschool ages, we traveled abroad to experience Europe’s “off-season” before being bound by a 180-day traditional grade school calendar. As Beka and Alden grew to elementary age, Summer Break awarded us with 6 whole weeks, so we’d milk it for all we could. And each Summer, without fail, Adam and I would find ourselves not ready to leave, and wishing we could stay a bit longer. We’d fantasize and dream that maybe one of us could enroll as a University Student and pursue an advanced degree, or I could go back to a sales or management job in Corporate America that wanted candidates willing to relocate abroad…or maybe one of us could attain dual citizenship with another EU country since we have a somewhat clear path through family history that may qualify us.
My children, Beka at age 2 in the foreground and Alden at 12 months in our tiny flat in Amsterdam
These are hollyhocks! You will come across them in the Summertime shooting out of the sidewalks in the cities of Holland.
By the time 2020 rolled around, our dreams of temporary residency faded and ahead of the first trip in 3 years we were to make as a family last Summer in June of 2022, we believed we’d missed our opportunity – that COVID had robbed us of the moment to realize this goal. That was until we actually set foot in Amsterdam again. Rather quickly it became clear that the seeds we’d planted since 2012 had taken root, just like the glorious hollyhocks that miraculously grow to be 6 ft tall out of a tiny crack in the brick-laid sidewalks. The dream was still alive, and with our renewed presence, it began to take shape, strengthen its roots, and climb upward.
