I own a tattered deck by author Judy Reeves. It’s a stack of writing prompts along with a guidebook on how to use its suggested exercises when away on a creative or contemplative retreat. I must’ve read the word “suggested” too literally, because I’ve never attempted a single writing exercise from this series. The cards are well worn, though. I throw them in my suitcase every time I head somewhere for solitude. I’ve read the guidebook from front to back, the deck from top to bottom. I reference the book when I’m planning to host my own private getaways. Yet, I’ve never done any of the recommended writing.
I pulled out these cards just the other day. I’m not headed anywhere during the lockdown, but the deck seemed to beg my attention. So, I obliged. When I opened them, I was faced with a prompt titled “Planting Seeds, Tending Gardens” which encouraged me to “write about being transplanted.”
It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.
Bilbo Baggins
People often ask why I moved abroad. Like a good multipod, I don’t have just one answer. There are multiple factors that went into my family’s decision to pack up our Los Angeles home of nearly a decade and make a new start in Amsterdam.
The Netherlands had never crossed my mind before a solo trip to Italy landed me at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport (with my Judy Reeves deck in tow) on a brief layover.
Inside, I found myself dwarfed by giant cardboard cutouts of Dutch Canal Houses. I really don’t know how to explain this without sounding super woo woo, so prepare yourselves. What I felt, in that moment, was a strong presence of light. Holland didn’t feel like my future, it felt like my past. I’m not a person who even believes in past lives, but underneath the cheesy cutouts, I felt called to this place—or maybe, called back.
I had grown really accustomed to life in California. So much so, I would’ve sworn Los Angeles was my forever home. I met my husband there, raised babies there, bought a house with a yard and learned to love the avocados that grew back there.
But my time alone in Italy and the layover in Amsterdam forced me to see that I had become a little too comfortable in the Golden State. My inner multipotentialite goddess needed to shake things up a bit.
Back in the States and barely unpacked, I announced my bright, new idea to my spouse. “I think we’re creatively stagnant. Everything is far too familiar here. We should leave…the continent!”
Life does not accommodate you; it shatters you. Every seed destroys its container, or else there would be no fruition.
Florida Scott-Maxwell
My partner is a Taurus. For those of you who don’t speak astrology (I just learned this myself), it means he’s one seriously grounded dude. When I spoke the words change continents, he had been with the same company for 18 years. His wife, on the other hand, could barely hold a job for 18 minutes. I think he admired this about me.
Since we’d been married for almost as long as he had held his job, he learned how to steady himself whenever I decided to turn our worlds upside down. Not every life-altering idea I throw out there materializes, so he coached himself to play along and not worry about the brand new thing actually actualizing.
We had a lot of fun during his denial stage. We watched plenty episodes of House Hunters International. We got caught up on every selling point of Dutch culture—low incarceration rate (I’m into freedom), the world’s happiest families (we deserve joy), anti-prudish (I detest fake virtue, even if I’ve been guilty of it plenty myself).
Dutch cigar wrappers kept showing up in front of our house. Either this was a sign or our neighbors wanted to encourage the move.
We even expanded our horizon, entertaining the thoughts of other cities—Stockholm, Paris, Cape Town, Barcelona. We went to visit some of these places too.
Then, I got scared. California is warm. Sweden and The Netherlands are cold. Plus I had avocados growing on a tree in my backyard!!
There is no certainty, there is only adventure.
Roberto Assagioli
People were starting to respect the work I was doing locally. I had transformed the ground floor of our home into an alternative art space, where I organized group shows. Folk seemed to appreciate this work. Would it make sense to pick up and leave when I was just gaining traction? And didn’t I say, out loud, about a decade ago, to a rapt audience of friends, that I would never live in Europe, the land of my colonizers?
I was ready to pack up this living abroad dream and all of the research that went with it, when my husband got a ring from his employer. The boss had called to say he had to lay my husband off, permanently. Yep, from that job of nearly 18 years!
That Amsterdam airport light, once warm and inviting, was now beaming, strong and aggressive, like a searchlight summoning us out of hiding.
We both knew we had to step out and show up in the world.
Transplanting, in horticulture, is the process of removing a plant from the place where it has been growing and replanting it in another. (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)
Flowers that have been started indoors may be transplanted when all danger of frost has passed. (Britannica)
We uprooted during the summer months with the frost of Holland a safe distance away. By the time the winters I feared had arrived, my family was snug and firmly grounded in our brand new, old country.
One final quote for the road…
I don’t think anyone has thought this through.
our ten-year-old, on the way to The Netherlands
Your turn
You too can follow the prompt. Tell us your multipotentialite transplant adventure in the comments section. Have you relocated to a new a job or a new town? Maybe you’ve transplanted yourself from one major field of study to its polar opposite. Share all the Putty deets below!
In 2012 and 2013 I lived in Israel, working at the Baha’i World Centre as a volunteer gardener (I am a Baha’i). Then after earning my TEFL certificate and spending over five years living near Seattle I moved abroad again to China.
That’s incredible Justin! Becoming a serious gardener is on my multipotentialite to-do list.
Hi I’m Jen, I could totally relate to this article I have uprooted and rerouted several times, UK-NL, NL to Singapore, Singapore to India, India to Liberia and Liberia to UK. With each move comes transformation and a new host of opportunities and multi pod adventures.
Wow, you’re brave and well-traveled Jen! As an African-American, I’m fascinated by the history of Liberia. One of my best friends also lived there during their civil war.
Thanks for sharing these experiences Malika! I’m moving to the UK in a few months (also not too warm or sunny…) even though I’ve only been out of the US once in my life. I’m relocating for my grad school program, so that at least gives me a reason to use when people ask why I want to move so far away. I appreciate your description of a “strong presence of light” because my reasons for going are partly logical for sure, but a part of my reasoning isn’t totally conscious or explainable.
Logic and intuition (strong presence of light) work so beautifully together. I wish you all the best with your studies and new life in the UK!!
Hi I am Luisa, I am Spanish living in Italy right now. I moved from Spain to Italy in 1995, back to Spain in 2002, back to Italy in 2012, I also been living a year in Paris in 2006 and we are thinking to move to another country within the next two years
Was the language transition easy for you since Spanish, Italian, and French are from the same root Luisa? Or was it still challenging? Or were you already fluent in all three before the moves?
Hi Malika, I studied Italian for 2 years before moving, I also studied French at same time. Yes having the same roots is easier for me ??. It took to me much more time to have a good level of English, and I am still not happy with my English
I moved to AZ from WI back in 1980. For several years I did seasonal work were I lived in AZ for the winter months and WI in the summer. I got tired of moving back and forth and ended up in AZ full time. It is defiantly a change in culture between these two states.
Arizona is beautiful Dennis. Not a bad place to land full time!
I just started a new adventure on a University in The Hague, The Netherlands. I got every tool to create my own job, because it is a non-existing job and I can choose whatever I like to do. In this way I can be of support of the lecturers, because they don’t have time for these assignments.
Look at you making power moves Hanna! I love the idea of creating a job that suits your own needs but also answers what’s missing for your clients/customers. Bravo.
Malika, I had to laugh when you mentioned being married to a Taurus. Except, I’m the Taurus and my husband is the one who wants to move across the globe ? Thanks so much for sharing your experience, and reminding me that change is OK and there is so much to experience out there 🙂
Change is beautiful Jess even for the Taureans ?
I am from Mexico City, after graduating college I got a very good job with a very good position, I moved to an apartment by myself and enjoyed a lot my new independent life. I was succeeding in many ways until I realized I was getting too comfortable and could spend my whole life going that way. Nobody, but one person (who decided to do the same with me), understood why I was willing to resign from this life, but something inside me just told me “go away and try new things, things you have never done”. I left everything, grabbed my backpack, and flew to beautiful New Zealand. This island country on the other side of the world, where they speak another language, where I didn´t know anyone or anything. Holding my working holiday visa I worked in many temporary jobs: I cleaned bathrooms, I grew tomatoes, I took a dog to the beach, picked up macadamia nuts, worked on a farm, fundraised for Greenpeace, and the list goes on and on. I suffered racism, cold, uncertainty, sadness. I enjoyed so much the nature, the Maori culture, the stories behind every person I knew, the friends I made there, but mostly I fully lived and even found out that my adventure partner was actually the lover I always dreamed of. Ten years later, we are still together, every once in a while we love to leave the comfort zone, grab our things and fly to new adventures. Thank you, loved your article, love you all multipods!
P.S. By the way, I am a Taurus and not even close to staying grounded as you can read hahaha
What an incredible love story. Are you a writer Giannina? If so, this is a book! And it’s good to know that there are Taurus who enjoy taking flight!
Hi Malika,
Man, is this article hitting home for me right now. I’m Yearning to start a new chapter in my life, and as a writer I literally mean that. The last 7yrs, as a transplant from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, have left me feeling quite unfulfilled. When I moved from my home town of Cleveland, OH to LA, it was like winning the lottery. And while it had it’s moments, I too loved living there. I would love to live abroad, and in particularly New Zealand where I took a solo trip and fell in love. Unfortunately, without an actual way to make a living or that ‘lottery’ money I’m stuck here still trying to figure a way out of this inferno called Vegas. With longing eyes on the far seas. #LongliveAdventure!
Hello fellow Clevelander! I was born and raised in the Buckeye State. I too hope that you access that new chapter you want. New Zealand seeks and attract US workers, so it’s possible, for sure. I have friends in animation and visual effects who relocated there.
Malika I love your gardening analogies! A few years ago we moved from the city to the country, almost on a whim. We had suddenly ‘had enough’ of traffic, close neighbours, and a culture of consumerism. Our house sold very quickly and we were gone in the blink of an eye much to the surprise of many. I was nearly 60, my husband in his 60s; we had an off-grid house built on acreage and I created a new garden despite 2 summers of drought. My motto for the first year was to ‘bloom where I was planted’. It has been the most brilliant move and I have found my tribe within this community. One door closes and another opens. We need to go with our intuition, get out there and embrace all the new opportunities a different locale has to offer. You and your family have done just this! Congratulations!
Jo, you’re living my country dream. I’m obsessed with getting off the grid and onto a farm in the middle of somewhere gorgeous. And you made this major move approaching 60, amazing!!
This article is so timely for me. I’ve been itching to make a move from my hometown of Toronto to a place where I can explore career options and do more diving (and possibly merge the two)…and do exactly as your title says: bloom! I love that you shared the hesitancy you experienced even after preparing yourself and doing research, it makes me feel more secure in making the decision to move and trusting that it’s what I need, despite my doubts/fears. Thanks for the wonderful article, Malika!
So glad this encouraged you. My husband and I both agree that it’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made together. The transition was rough, that first winter, I must admit. And not just the weather, but starting a new business, in a new country, also had its challenges. We’re better for it, though. Toronto will very likely still be there for you if you need to return. Happy adventuring!
Malika, this was wonderful to read. As an American who lived in Paris for ten years (and now I’ve gone off to the French countryside with my Italian husband whom I met there!), I know this feeling you describe. Uprooting was essential to my growth – and I get that reference to your Taurean husband, too! haha, what a trip, what an adventure. I’ve checked out your site and work too – so lovely – will be excited to follow you!
These love stories while abroad are so beautiful! Thank you so much Jaime for checking out my site. Sincerely appreciate your encouragement.
I loved this piece! I grew up in Colorado, then did undergrad in Chicago, grad school in the UK, and my first full-time job in India, so the wandering life has become wonderfully familiar to me. I just about laughed out loud at “Holland didn’t feel like my future, it felt like my past” — not because there’s something funny about it, but because i’ve had this exact feeling about the Netherlands! Each time i’ve visited the country, something’s simply *clicked*; it feels right, and feels like home, somehow. Time will tell whether my path continues to follow yours in that way, with the fates’ initially gentle nudge growing stronger and stronger, and harder and harder to ignore… i can only hope that i’ll be so lucky. (And have been learning Dutch in the meantime, juuuuuust in case :P)
Dan! I wonder if you’ll beat me learning Dutch??? I love that Holland is tugging on good people’s hearts. Do let me know if you land here.
Hi Malika,
I’m Australian, raised for the first 5 years in the Fijian Islands, then in the Australian tropics.
I have always felt the pull of a foreign land.
At age 15, I spent an Exchange year in Nagasaki, Japan. I lived with a Japanese family and went to a local Japanese school. At age 18 I moved to Beijing, China to study Mandarin. I spent a few years there. Both Japan & China were very different to Australia & each other. And I became so accustomed to being ‘the outsider’.
Just as I was about to move to Brazil at age 23, I fell in love with a Brazilian man I met in Australia, so didn’t make the move, but we have visited his parents & family there. I would also love to live there for at least a year to spend more time with his family & learn to speak Portuguese well.
And I dream of living in Europe too someday!
Can’t wait until the word goes back to normal & outbound travel from Australia is possible again.
Cheers, Sophia.
Wow, Sophia! You’ve already lived quite the adventurous life. And it’s so cool how you manifested a Brazilian man in your life ?
Your story resonated so deeply, Malika!
I was a newly psichology graduate when I officially inserted myself in the job market (I’ve always known how to keep myself busy and make some bucks) and I found that the comfort zone was just waaaay too comfy… I had moved to the city where I’ve always wanted to live, found a job in a big company in HR, when I started feeling that it was not my thing… I don’t mean the psichology, but the “conventional” life… 9 to 5 job, monday to friday… it was lacking the “life” component… so i dug the web and found a work visa to got to New Zealand, a place where I knew nobody, had no house, no job, no nothing, just possibility… I found myself jobs that kept me going and so far I’ve been doing all sorts of things… when the visa was over, I moved again, this time to Australia, with the same kind of visa, then again to Denmark when the previous visa was over, then to Brazil when that visa finished… then I came to know that there was this working holiday visa opening for ppl my age in France, and I always wanted to learn French, so off I went to start again a new life on unknown territory and unknown language… and then Hungary! it’s been almost 10 years that I’ve been relocating, re-inventing, re-starting again from scratch, learning new languages, building new lifes… I just didn’t have to convince anyone to follow me! 😉
Mana, what an incredible journey and life of adventure. I didn’t think about how our multipotentiality could reveal itself as reinvention in several different countries. Always learning in this space!
Hey Malika, thanks for sharing! I loved learning about your experience, and I admire you for transplanting a whole family. Do you still have family in the US? How have they taken your move?
For me, the family part has been the most complex.
I’m Mandy, originally from France but never liked it, I always found it too box-y for my multipotentialite self. After two years studying law and realizing that I maybe wanted to do something else with my life I packed my bags and went to Ireland, England, then Spain as an aupair. It satisfied my hunger for traveling and discovering, so I went back to France, got myself a BA, and decided I would get on studying for a master’s in Dublin. Life decided otherwise and I had the opportunity of taking a job in Israel, I liked the job so I went to try on the country. In the words of your ten-year-old, I didn’t think this through. I left a month after getting the offer, and I’ve been there for eight years now. I love the freedom here, it feels like there’s more life than in France, I have totally transplanted myself. My life is here and my business is here. I might still take a little three-month break on an Island sometime soon, but my life is here and the roots are growing!
Thanks for this wonderful article, Malika. When I lived overseas, I learned how many ways there are to do the simplest things, like locking and unlocking a door, getting on and off a bus, and shopping for food. I also learned to adapt to life without heat or running water. Living abroad you’ll discover an adventure around every corner. And the challenges will make you stronger.
I moved from Sydney, Australia to London in my 20s, met my husband who then followed me back to Australia were we got married. We then moved to NZ for a couple of years, then the US. Since arriving in the US about 12 years ago we have lived in NY twice, LA twice, Cincinnati, OH and now we are currently in Miami, Florida. With every move we are a better version of ourselves. I see my life in chapters with each move bringing on new and challenging goals. I still haven’t reached my goals as they are always changing to fit the new location, but it’s all about the journey, right?? And yes, I have children which makes it tricky but so far they have just as much fun as we do exploring the world. One day this may change but so far we living and breathing positive vibes into every day.
Loved the article! Thank you.
I love that last quote!
Yes, the child is so much more logical than the parents!