Hello, world! Phil and I have lived as expats in Utrecht, the Netherlands for almost three years now, since moving here for Phil’s job. It has been a wonderful, wild European adventure, but I have not been very good at sharing it with people, so I am working on this blog to make it more accessible.
Life in Europe has definitely been exciting and different. It is amazing to a North American that you can travel between completely different countries with their own unique languages, food and culture so quickly and easily. We have done our best to take full advantage of these opportunities (meaning we travel whenever we have a good excuse and the time/money to do so) so I will share some of these experiences when I can.
Europe is also an interesting place, because although many things about life are similar between home and here, they are also strikingly different. Since I find these distinctions interesting I also want to share some of those details, like the nuances of daily life, Dutch and European culture, the European natural world, and the overall expat experience.
In addition, I work in the field of sustainable development, so there are lots of things about the way the Netherlands and Europe operate that I find fascinating from a sustainability perspective, and I will feature those when I can.
I also want to create an open dialogue here, so if you have questions about life in the Netherlands, or Europe in general, be sure to ask them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.
At any rate, if this sounds interesting please keep an eye on this space for more. I am aiming for one post per week, to start, so follow my RSS feed or Bloglovin profile to have the posts come to you! Also, be sure to follow ALLIE in on Twitter and Instagram for more glimpses of life in Europe!
