The Beginning of a Big Adventure

Have you ever gone on vacation and just absolutely fell in love with the place? The food tasted better, the views brought you peace, you connected with the people. Something just touched your soul. Six months ago, I landed in Bali for the first time and didn’t leave the same person.

Bali was number two on my bucket list of places I wanted to visit. The pictures I had seen were always beautiful and I had heard Bali was magical. But I booked the trip because I was in full blown burnout. My health was declining before me and the doctors kept saying I was “perfectly healthy.” I had made the decision to quit my job because I knew it was the source of my stress. Quitting was hard because I loved my job, and it was scary because I didn’t have another job lined up. But I had reached a point where I knew it was time. So, after quitting my job, I did something most would classify as “crazy”, and I booked my dream vacation to Bali. When I reserved the flight and hotel, I wasn’t booking a vacation though. I was searching for healing physically, mentally, and emotionally in the country where I heard magic existed.

This was my first time in Indonesia. Actually, in Asia entirely. Once I recovered from the jetlag, I connected with the culture, the place, with the magic of Bali on such a deeply spiritual and personal level. I found a peace I had been searching for pretty much my entire life. I spent two beautiful weeks in Bali and then spent 2 days crying about leaving.

While I was in Bali, I was taking a surf class with another tourist. After our surf class we were having coffee on the beach, and we were discussing parenting and how life is short. She said, “Kim, life is indeed too short. Enjoy every moment with your kids and take the big adventures.” When she said it, honestly, I chuckled and thought I’m in Asia, I took the big adventure. However, her words continued to lay dormant on my heart as I fell in love with Bali more and more each day.

When I boarded the plane to return home, I knew I had to return to Bali. I wanted to share this magical country and culture with my husband and kids. In my heart, I knew a vacation to Bali wasn’t enough to satisfy me. As I took that long flight home my fellow surfer’s words kept playing in my head: “take the big adventure.” The idea was forming quickly. I wanted to move to Bali.

When I returned home my husband and kids could see the difference in me. My Bali glow-up was in every memory and picture as I told them about my time in Bali, learning to surf, snorkeling, attending ceremonies, cooking classes, watching geckos, connecting with the locals. 48-hours after landing back in Germany, I was starting my new job. It was time to get back into life. My soul was alive, my body felt strong, my mind was quiet. I was excited for the new opportunity. But I could still feel Bali calling me back. The logical, practical, side of me was questioning how on earth I could literally move to the other side of the world. My husband’s job, my kids’ school, visas, the job I was just starting. All the questions seemed overwhelming and made me doubt even the idea. However, the Bali call was so much louder. I pitched the idea to my husband and kids, and it wasn’t hard to convince them. I asked my boss, two days into my new job, if it was a possibility to work remotely from Bali and when she said yes, I immediately started planning.

I was home for less than a week before the planning had started. The move date was set: May 2026.