As an avid traveler, I’ve laid my eyes on roughly one-third of the world’s countries, and two common questions I receive are, “Would you ever consider living outside of the United States? If so, where would you want to live?” Today, I’m reflecting on the nearly 70 countries I’ve visited and which ones I’d consider living in if I were to live abroad. Here are the top 7 countries I'd call home. 1. New Zealand When I get the question, this is always my first answer. If someone asked me to live in New Zealand next month, I would jump at the opportunity. This English-speaking country had some of the friendliest people I’ve encountered on my travels. The scenery was gorgeous, and the country is chock-full of activities. I think the mark of a great place to live is countless activities. When you have access to beaches and mountains, your activities are often free, and you’re never at a loss for what to do. I desperately want to return to Queenstown to ski, and as I visited in the winter, I can only imagine how beautiful it gets in the summertime. Overall, I found that I just “gelled” with this place. One of my Instagram captions even reflected this. I wrote “On principle, I hate paying for 3 things: water, bathrooms, and parking. New Zealand makes you pay for none of the above. I think I might just move here one of these days.” My one hesitation in moving there would be the time change. It’s challenging to be that far off from U.S. time zones, and it’s easy to feel disconnected from friends and family. Milford Sound (May 2019) Roy's Peak (May 2019) Queenstown (May 2019) Cathedral Cove (May 2019) 2. Singapore If I were to ever live in Southeast Asia, my clear pick of where to live would be Singapore. It’s by far the most expensive country to live in, but it’s also the most advanced. When I visited Singapore, I felt like I was living in the Year 3000 (shoutout to the Jonas Brothers), and I could definitely see myself residing there for a short period of time if I had a partner (fiancé/husband) who was working there internationally for business reasons. Like New Zealand, I’m not sure I’d want to stay there long-term because of the time zone issues. I think one year would be my maximum. Singapore (June 2019) 3. South Africa When I visited Africa shortly before the world shut down, I fell in love with Cape Town. I would visit again in a heartbeat, and of all the African countries, I think I would be the quickest to move here. There are lots of activities, and it has major international flights to Europe and the Middle East. I look forward to returning when the world is back open and seeing what else South Africa has to offer. Cape of Good Hope (January 2020) Cape of Good Hope (January 2020) Cape of Good Hope (January 2020) 4. Luxembourg I have a thing for tiny countries. For some reason, every single tiny country I’ve ever visited (Luxembourg, Lesotho, Eswatini, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Vatican City, Taiwan, Monaco) has been some of my favorite spots. They’re unique, and they always have interesting stories behind them. Why else would a tiny country exist between larger and more powerful ones? I thought Luxembourg would be a neat place to live because of where it was located. Caught between France, Germany, and Belgium, there are numerous language and culture influences from greater states with its own history as well. I also loved the fact that other European countries were so accessible by train, plane, and bus. Luxembourg City was also an adorable little spot where I could imagine waking up, heading to a coffee shop, and getting my work done for the day. Another mark of a great place to live is being able to imagine yourself there. There are so many amazing cities in this world that I cannot imagine myself living in. For example, both Los Angeles and Tokyo are cities that so many people would love to move to. Yet, they have very little interest to me because when I visited them, I couldn’t see myself there. It didn’t feel “right.” Luxembourg City, on the other hand, I could see it. Luxembourg City (November 2019) 5. Italy Ah, Italy. My answer for so many things. The language barrier would be tough, but if I were to struggle to learn any language, wouldn’t Italian be a great one? Plus, I love the idea of having delicious Italian food so accessible to me at all hours of the day. Between the pizza, the pasta, and the pastries, I truly feel like I could move just for the food and figure out all the rest later. Florence (April 2018) Rome (April 2018) Milan (April 2018) 6. The United Arab Emirates This one kind of surprised me. Yet, I like to think that there’s a country in every region that I could move to, and when I visited Dubai, I was struck with how similar it was to Phoenix. When I drove on the highways, it was eerily similar in its appearance. While Phoenix isn’t my first choice of a place to live, I think recognizing these similarities made it feel as though the UAE could be home. Like Singapore, Dubai is also
