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This May will mark two years living in the Netherlands for me, which beats my record for staying in one place since I moved out of my parents' house for college. Unsurprisingly, I guess, my partner and I are already talking about moving again.

We came here knowing our stay would be temporary. I had assumed that we'd be heading back to the US once my master's program was finished. As it turns out, putting down roots here took longer than planned. We started the move in May 2023, but I don't think either of us felt fully settled until last spring, just in time for me to finish my program. No point in uprooting ourselves just when we got comfortable.

And now that we are comfortable, there's actually plenty of good reasons to stay put. Our jobs aren't perfect, but they're bearable, and they pay us enough to live a comfortable life. We're getting better at Dutch. This historic, bizzare, fascinating little city is finally starting to almost feel like home. And the thought of another international move -- all of the planning, packing, logistics, stress -- feels me with even more dread now than it did the first time around.

But it's still hard to envision settling down here. As great as this place is, as much as it's better than the United States in so many ways, it still isn't "home" to me. I don't know if it ever will be. Do we want to raise a kid here? Have them grow up more deeply rooted in the language and culture of this place than we could ever be? I don't know. The United States isn't exactly a great place to raise a kid either, these days. Still, I think we will end up going back. The US is a shitshow, but it's our shitshow, and we both want to play some part in trying to make it better.

We'll give it some time though. We deserve a break from reassembling our IKEA bedframe.