2025-03-19T20:04:06Z Read in app The author, not pictured, found a new appreciation for the US while living abroad. Dmytro Betsenko/Getty Images This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? I moved from the US to Kosovo with my husband after years of fantasizing about living abroad.I love Eastern Europe's sense of community and culture.But I eventually realized the country I left behind has its own beauty, too, in its diversity.Three years ago, I boarded a plane and flew across the Atlantic Ocean, taking all my worldly goods in only three suitcases. I had sold or given away everything else.I had decided to move to Europe with my new husband. We settled down in Kosovo, where he was born and raised. But that meant I had to leave my birthplace, the US. I was nervous but excited.I had always dreamed of leaving the US and seeing the rest of the world. Everywhere else seemed so fascinating. But it took me leaving the US and settling in Eastern Europe to see the beauty of my home country.Moving far away was a lifelong dreamSince I was young, I have wanted to travel outside America. I remember going for a walk in the small Wisconsin village where I grew up and fantasizing about being in France, England, or even India.I dreamed of other cultures: the bright lights of Paris, the vivid colors of a Turkish bazaar, and the strong smell of spices from a street food vendor in Thailand.I had never done anything to fulfill that dream. Life got in the way: I got married, and then I was widowed. I had a life full of responsibilities that seemed so hard to change.I also never knew where to go. The world is so big, and many exciting places exist. How does one choose?Thankfully, fate brought me the answer and the opportunityWhen I met my second husband, the choice was made for me. He was an immigrant from Kosovo who opened a whole new world.When we first met, he served me tea in tiny glass cups with little spoons. It was charming. I fell in love with him and his culture. When we visited his birthplace, I fell in love with it, too. I knew in my heart that I wanted to move there.People were shocked especially immigrants to the US that we knew from the region. They couldn't imagine going back.The pandemic pushed our departure date back by over a year, but I eventually left the US to start the life I always dreamed of abroad.I have since found the beauty in the country I left behindMy experience living outside the US has been eye-opening. In my experience in Kosovo, community is more important than individuality. Families are close-knit, with multi-generational households being the norm. It is unthinkable not to know your neighbor. The pace is also slower. Life is lived and not rushed through.When I first arrived in Kosovo, I wished the US would adopt some of these values. But over time, I started to see the US in a new light.I started to miss the US's diversity. I was born in Milwaukee, where every summer, there are dozens of festivals to celebrate the city's different communities. It was always my favorite part of summer.The longer I've lived in Eastern Europe, the more I've thought about the power of the US ideals: liberty, freedom, and inclusion. They make my home country special, and I hold onto them even though I'm still an ocean away.While I didn't experience a strong sense of community in the US, there's still a power to living alongside people who are nothing like you.While I dreamed of leaving the US for most of my life, it took my leaving my birthplace to really understand the beauty of it.