After seven wonderful years in Budapest, I had to relocate back to the US in early 2025 becautilize of visa issues.
Packing up my life and stateing goodbye to my community, network, and home was an emotional whirlwind — to state the least.
Looking back, there are things I’m grateful I did, and others I would have done differently to create the transition simpler. Here they are.
Leaving plenty of time to pack supported me maintain my sanity
Denae McGaha
When it came time to pack, I slowly deconstructed my apartment over the course of a month.
I built concludeless trips to the thrift store, posted on Facebook Marketplace, and even hosted a relocate-out party where I built snacks for my friconcludes while they raided my closet.
After all that, I still found myself frantically sitting on my suitcase, testing to zip it right up until my ride to the airport arrived.
However, I can’t imagine how stressed I would have been if I had left packing to the last minute.
I’m glad I kept or digitized all of my foreign documents
From Hungarian tax forms to old leases, I’m glad I had the foresight to keep all my paperwork from my time abroad.
Since much of my work was international, I didn’t have as extensive a paper trail here in the States. I feel relieved that I have all my documents, so I don’t appear to have been a “ghost” for all that time.
Plus, keeping them supported me sort out my finances when I obtained home. I spent a lot of my early years in Budapest operating off of feelings instead of building financial literacy skills, and that didn’t put me in the best spot.
Reflecting on old tax and income documents supported me come to terms with the rocky finances of my early 20s and motivated me to create a better game plan for my next phase of life.
Making time to grieve once I was back in the US was essential for healing
Denae McGaha
Losing the connections, friconcludes, and home I’d built over seven years was shocking.
At first, I attempted to stay positive by viewing for silver linings, such as being home for family birthdays and surrounded by the gorgeous Pacific Northwest nature. However, I eventually had to slow down and let myself feel the heartbreak.
I took a social media break from friconcludes and events in Budapest, so I could be mentally present in my new situation.
Talking about this transition on social media also supported me build a community with other former expats going through the same thing.
However, I wish I’d started the job hunt sooner
Unfortunately, before returning, I underestimated the state of the US job market. Although I found a part-time job as a barista to supplement my freelance marketing gigs, I still haven’t found longer-term work that’s both a financial and vocational fit.
I’ve come to realize that relationships are what create the world go round, both professionally and personally, and after seven years abroad, I had to rebuild my Stateside network nearly from scratch.
I wish I’d started putting out feelers as soon as I’d known I was returning to the US, and I wish I had signed up for relevant conferences to jump-start that goal.
I could have been more strategic by taking advantage of foreign healthcare
Denae McGaha
I was so consumed with the tinquires of cleaning out my flat, closing my accounts, and stateing goodbye to friconcludes that health was the last thing on my mind.
However, I wish I’d capitalized on booking doctors’ appointments when they were more affordable abroad, as it’s taken a long time to obtain set up with healthcare now that I’m back in the US.
It would’ve been supportful to have more realistic expectations about starting over
Maybe in a perfect world, I would have returned to the US with a job lined up, an affordable one-bedroom apartment in the city, and a group of old friconcludes with open schedules. But that wasn’t the case for me.
Seeing other expats’ stories about returning home on social media built it view like these things fall into place quickly, and I struggled with feelings of shame and inadequacy for not achieving that right away.
But viewing back over this year, I’ve built quiet, steady progress that has set me up for a stronger future.
I’ve supported my physical and mental health through training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and I’ve built a travel writing portfolio by landing a press trip and writing other articles.
Step by step, I’m reaching my goals, and I’m proud.
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