Time to Say Goodbye?
Living the dream of leaving the USA for someplace else
I remember the night I fell in love with a country.
It was a summer evening in July 2016, during the twilight magic hour. I walked out of my rented apartment in search of a few quick photos for a social media post. I didn’t expect to find so much charm and beauty, no matter where I pointed the camera and clicked. I knew I just had to find a way to live there. And I did.
Maybe, like me, you’ve dreamed of living in a place you visited while traveling. In this edition of my FREE monthly travel newsletter:
Why the surge of interest in dual citizenship? And who’s applying?
USA vs EU: crunching the numbers.
A NEW video about the country that might have Europe’s best work/life balance.
Yes, you can live on a cruise ship.
The downside of full-time travel from a guy who has regrets.
In the News: make a date with the Pope for FREE, how to behave in airport lounges, and a personal milestone for the Terry Anzur YouTube channel.
Why the sudden interest in dual citizenship?
Having two passports as a dual citizen of the EU and the USA can cut through the amount of red tape involved with living in two countries. Thanks to my paternal grandparents, who left their tiny village in 1911 for a coal-mining town in Pennsylvania, I was eligible for something called “extraordinary citizenship” through Slovenian descent, while keeping my US passport. The rules vary depending on which country your family came from.
But I wasn’t prepared for the reaction when I started writing about how to obtain dual citizenship. I’ve had reader comments from all over the world, although the procedure that I used currently applies only to people with a direct ancestor up to the second generation (parent or grandparent) born in what is now the country of Slovenia.
For whatever reason, Americans are applying. When the Slovenian Union of America started a support group for dual citizenship applicants, the first online meeting attracted so much interest that we went over the 100-person limit for the SUA’s Zoom account. An organization founded to help women like my grandma cope with loneliness in the New World is now bringing their grandchildren and future generations back to the roots.
“That’s a news story,” said a retired journalist whose political views are the polar opposite of mine. He figures that some applicants are less-famous versions of those celebrities who threaten to leave the USA when an election outcome is not to their liking. He’s not wrong. Others may be attracted to EU citizenship because of benefits such as almost-free university education. Or, like me, they simply wish to embrace their European heritage.
It Helps to be Rich or Talented
A Slovenian website reported that former Facebook (Meta) COO Sheryl Sandberg has contacted the Ministry of Interior about citizenship that is granted to individuals who have the potential to make an extraordinary contribution to Slovenia’s national interest, typically in sports, business or science. Sandberg, with an estimated net worth of $2.4 billion, should qualify if she does, in fact, apply.
Other Long-Term Options for Leaving
Of course, you don’t need citizenship in a different country to commit to long-term expat life. By that, I mean staying longer than the 90-day limit every six months for Americans visiting the Schengen area of Europe. Some places offer so-called “golden visas,” residency or work permits in exchange for a certain level of investment in business or real estate. Permits for remote workers or retirees are also available, depending on the country. And they’re popular.
Portugal, for example, is struggling to clear a backlog of up to 50,000 applications. Although it has brought billions into the Portuguese economy, the program isn’t popular with locals who blame the well-off newcomers for raising the cost of living.
Is the Grass Really Greener in Another Country?
Maybe not. The good people at City Journal crunched the numbers and came up with hard evidence that the US is better off than Europe in terms of GDP per capita and disposable incomes. But they also bring up a couple of things I’ve observed about expat life.
First, salaries in the US are generally higher than in Europe. It’s great if you get paid at the US level with remote working or a pension, but can spend your money in Europe. EU prices might seem lower to you, but sky-high to those working for the local level of wages. Europeans also tend to pay higher taxes, but feel like they get more government services like education, clean streets and health care in return.
Where is the Best Work/Life Balance in Europe?
Second, Europe’s work-life balance is, well, different. It can be argued that Americans end up with more money because they work longer hours and take fewer vacation days than their European counterparts. The number of work-free holidays in Slovenia has become a running joke with my Slovenian friends, so I made a video about it,
In my experience, the bottom line is that Europeans put a higher value on things like farm-to-table food and quality time, while Americans prioritize speed and convenience.
Take your pick.
Why Pick a Country? Just Live on a Cruise Ship
Then there are the folks who sell everything to live on a cruise ship. This sounds like one big floating timeshare to me, although the midsized vessel in question is less likely to cause the over-tourism issues caused by mega-ships that overwhelm historic places. No thanks.
However, reaction to my newsletter on Why I Don’t Write About Cruise Ships has made me reconsider my no-cruising stance. I’ve signed up for a one-week river cruise later this year, so wish me luck and I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Caution: There is a Downside
Marc Hall of the blog “Life Went that Way” is the rare travel influencer who will admit that full time travel has a downside. It may look like a glamorous lifestyle, but you can also miss out on lasting friendships, family milestones and opportunities to build useful skills for a thriving career when you settle down.
My family was featured on HGTV’s House Hunters International, but shows about picking out an apartment rarely deal with the practical stuff like taxes, health care and even loneliness.
No matter how much I struggle to speak the language and dress like a local, I’ll always be thought of as “the American” and I’m OK with that. Falling in love with Slovenia didn’t mean I fell OUT of love with America, where I keep my primary residence more than six months per year for tax and health care reasons.
Make a Date with the Pope for FREE
As I warned you in my newsletter about visiting Italy during the Jubilee Year, Rome is super crowded these days. But one positive outcome is that the Vatican has updated its system for requesting an audience with the Pope.
Until now, you had to send a request by fax. But the new Holy See website allows you to browse all of the pontiff’s public events and reserve your spot for FREE. Don’t fall for those services that charge to “help” you get a reservation. Hat tip to the Catholic Traveler on Substack for the story. And you know how much I love travel stuff that is FREE.
Dos and Don’ts of airport lounges
Here’s some FREE advice that I wish more people would follow. The Points Guy has a few suggestions for proper behavior in airport lounges. Among them:
Do research ahead of time to figure out which lounge you have access to. People who don’t do this cause lines at the front door. Especially if they are trying to argue their way into the wrong lounge.
Arrive early enough so you can enjoy the lounge benefits, but don’t enjoy the food and drinks so much that you miss your flight because there are no announcements.
Don’t hog space or make noise. This would be a good time to teach the little ones to use their “quiet voice.” Duck into a cubicle if you have to make a phone call.
You’re welcome.
Check Out the Terry Anzur YouTube Channel
Many thanks to all of you who watched my video from Sevnica, the charming small town in Slovenia that First Lady Melania Trump left behind. More than 375,000 of you and counting. Welcome to all the new subscribers. I promise to keep delivering fun travel videos, always my personal experience an no AI, ever.
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Nice article. Still planning to come to Slovenia in April. Hope you’re still there and not in the US.