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Ever since my mum and I came back from our trip to Europe, she has been saying the same thing over and over again:

“You should move abroad if you can.”

Every time she said it, I found myself wondering why.

She had never said that to me before.

And then it struck me.

I’ve travelled to Europe multiple times in the past, but this trip wasn’t really about me.

It was about my mum.

She’s 60, has mobility issues, and despite all her years of hard work, had never travelled outside India. In fact, she hadn’t even explored many parts of the country. After almost three years of convincing her, planning, and coordinating everything, we finally did it.

We travelled through Zurich, Amsterdam, and Paris.

But this time, I wasn’t travelling like a tourist.

I was experiencing life like a local.

We cooked our meals, did our laundry, took trams and trains, shopped for groceries, and navigated everyday life one day at a time. Doing all of this with my mum added another layer to the experience—one that I don’t think I fully appreciated while it was happening.

None of these things were new to me.

But this time, I was paying attention.

And that changed everything.

For the first time, European life truly called out to me.

It wasn’t the landmarks.

It wasn’t the museums.

It wasn’t even the beauty.

It was the simplicity of everyday living.

The clean air.

The walkable streets that allowed my mum to walk despite her leg pain.

The quality of the produce at the local grocery store.

The parks full of people simply existing.

And most of all, the freedom I felt as a woman.

The freedom to walk.

To sit alone.

To take public transport.

To wander without constantly calculating risk.

It felt effortless.

I found myself imagining a different version of life.

Working from a café one day and a park the next.

Spending weekends by a lake.

Having picnics with a book, some fruit, and nowhere important to be.

Not because life there is perfect.

But because life there seemed designed to be lived.

I’ve always been happy in India.

I am grateful for the life and opportunities I’ve had here.

But this trip made me realise something I hadn’t been able to put into words before.

What I was missing wasn’t luxury.

It was ease.

The ease of walking for hours.

The ease of feeling safe on quiet streets.

The ease of spending an afternoon by a river without needing to spend money.

The ease of finding joy in ordinary moments.

Back home, socialising often revolves around spending—cafés, restaurants, malls.

But there, I watched people gather in parks with sandwiches, fruit, cheese, and a bottle of wine.

Children played freely.

People read books under trees.

Friends sat by the water for hours doing absolutely nothing.

And somehow, it felt like enough.

Maybe that’s what stayed with me.

The feeling that a good life doesn’t always need to be bought.

Sometimes it can simply be lived.

And now that I’m back, I find myself missing it.

Not just the cities.

But the way of life.

Every bit of it.

And my mum felt it strongly too.

Maybe that’s why, ever since we’ve come back, she keeps saying:

“You should move abroad if you can.”