The Urge to Move: How I Keep Finding Myself in New Places

There’s this feeling I get. It doesn’t come from logic or careful planning. It comes from deep inside. I can’t explain it. It’s like my brain just wakes up one day and decide. Hey, let’s flip everything upside down! That’ll be fun.

The First Urge: Starting a New Life, but With Friends

The first time it happened I wanted adventure, sure, but with a group of equally clueless friends. So we made a decision: let’s move to Malta. Our plan was vibes. We were like a group project where nobody actually did the research, but we all hoped someone else did. We had no apartment, no jobs just pure, blind optimism. We had booked a hostel for a month. That was our entire plan.

A week later we landed in the Mediterranean sun. We didn’t know what we were doing, but that was the whole point. But somehow, everything worked out. I found a job in a bar by the sea, spending my nights serving drinks under the night sky, waves crashing in the distance. I had never felt so alive I knew that I had done the right thing. I was exactly where I was meant to be.

And then, when I started to get comfortable, the feeling came back.

The Second Urge: Going Full Main Character Mode

This time, my urge wasn’t satisfied with a fun trip with friends. No, no. This time, it wanted me to go alone. To prove to myself that I could do it.

So, naturally, I moved to Sweden.

And let me tell you Sweden? Absolute perfection. It wasn’t just a place I lived. It was a place I fell in love with. The landscapes, the people, the balance between nature and city life. I ended up spending two summer seasons there, and honestly? Out of all the places I’ve been, Sweden is the one I could actually imagine settling in. If I ever stop moving.

But as we know my urge isn’t satisfied with comfort.

The Third Urge: Why Not Suffer a Little?

At this point, you’d think I’d move somewhere even more comfortable. Maybe Spain? Portugal? A nice little beach town where I could sip sangria and pretend to be retired?

No. My brain had different ideas. “You know what would be fun? The Arctic.”

I swear, it was like my subconscious wanted to test me.

“How about we try the literal North Pole instead of the warm Mediterranean?”

“How about instead of beach bars, we go somewhere where the sun doesn’t show up for months?”

“How about instead of a normal human experience, we see what -40°C feels like?”

And because my own bad ideas easily influence me, I went.

So, Lapland became my next destination.

And that’s how I ended up in the Arctic. Facing the cold, the darkness, and an entirely new way of life. But honestly? I wouldn’t change a thing.

And trust me. This is only the beginning.