The longest home we've had

Realizing that Trieste, and even more specifically our current apartment, is the longest we've both lived anywhere in the last 13 years.

I was brushing my teeth the other night and it hit me: Trieste is the longest I’ve stayed in one place since moving abroad almost 13 years ago. Even more specifically, this apartment is the longest we’ve called any single place home as a couple.

We’ve officially been residents in Trieste since August 2023, a whomping 2 years and 3 months, and we’ve been living in this apartment almost the entire time.

The view from our balcony has made staying here easy

Prior to moving to Trieste, Da Nang, Vietnam and Arenillas, Ecuador held the title for longest places I’ve called home, both right at 2 years. Vietnam still is country we’ve both lived in longest since leaving our respective home countries, as we stayed there 3 years in total (split between 2 cities).

I realized this as I was thinking about our upcoming move, which, subconsciously, seems to be right on time for us.

If you missed it, Raf and I put an offer on a apartment in Belluno and are planning to move there spring 2026.

We’re moving for a handful of reasons, mainly to get closer to Raf’s new job, but it also does feel like time for a new adventure.

This led me to a slightly worrying thought that 2 years is the max we enjoy living somewhere. Really, that wouldn’t be so worrying had we not just spent most of our savings on a home that doesn’t have wheels.

We both love moving. We get a thrill out of being in a new environment and the task of creating new routines. We’ve lived in mega cities, on the coast, and in small towns, but this is the first time we’ll live in the mountains, something both of us are super excited about.

We both have felt the urge to nest creep in over the past few years. Not necessarily as a place we’ll never leave but more as a place where we have our own mattress. It truly can be exhausting to always be planning the next destination, with the visas, pets, and logistics entangled. And since Italy has been so easy to fall in love with and Raf truly enjoys his job here, it feels like the right choice.

But a scary one nonetheless.

Remember when you were a kid and you complained about being bored? My parents’ advice was always for me to find my own way of entertaining myself, pulling myself out the pit I felt I was in.

Raf claims this is the reason I can’t sit still (which is probably true) but on the flip side I’m very good at not feeling bored. I’ll cook, paint, knit, exercise, read, or plan an adventure.

When the boredom isn’t so easy to shake, I open a map and start planning our next move.

This might just be the most ridiculous way to fight boredom there is but without realizing it, I think that’s exactly what I’ve done. It hasn’t been conscious - this is something I’m putting together now. The drive has always been about the urge to see a new corner of this world but if I really push myself to it, I do think itchy feet have a pretty big role to play.

While I’m excited for this new chapter and to have a place we can actually decorate and call our own, I am nervous. I’m nervous I’ll have the desire to flee just 2 years in. I’m nervous I’ll regret just how easy it is for us now to pack up our bags and go.

I do think it’s the right decision and one that we truly will enjoy but since moving so often has become our norm, now staying still feels like the challenge.