Having spent large chunks of time living and traveling in Europe over the last few years, I’ve learned a whole lot of lessons. The US is so different from Europe, and there’s lots of basic information Americans should know before traveling to make their experience less stressful. Some of these may be natural for Europeans,… Read More 12 Things Every American NEEDS to Know About Europe
April was a really busy month. A Yorkshire daytrip, a long weekend trip to Bulgaria, and a weekend away in England. All of that and the fact that I work full-time—wow. It was a very busy month! Here’s what I got up to in April. Where I Went York, Scarborough, Windermere, Coniston, Ambleside, Bowness-on-Windermere (United… Read More April 2017 Recap
York is one of the most popular places to visit in England (outside of London, of course). The city’s history goes back millennia: Romans, Vikings, medieval times—you can see remnants of them all! York is also a beautiful city, and one that I’m lucky enough to call home. I haven’t written much on the blog… Read More 15 Photos to Convince You to Visit York in Spring
It’s about that time again! I can’t believe how fast time is going now that it’s spring. I still feel like I just moved to England, like I just went on my big Christmas trip, and like my trip to Lithuania was yesterday. March has been a really busy month, both with work and travel… Read More March 2017 Recap
Welcome back to another monthly recap! February was a fairly busy month, with lots of fun adventures, but also with lots of work (as always). Here’s what I got up to last month! Where I Went York, Malham, Skipton (United Kingdom) Vilnius, Grutas, Siauliai (Lithuania) Best Moments Lithuania! This was my first trip to Lithuania… Read More February 2017 Recap
Today is a big day: one year ago today, I bought my website domain name and hosting, and Away With Maja was created! My one-year “blog-a-versary” has crept up much faster than I thought it would, and I still can’t believe how far I’ve come on this journey. I have learned so much since I… Read More My One-Year Blog-A-Versary!
Welcome to my first monthly recap! After writing weekly recap posts right after my move to the UK, I realized two things: I really enjoy recap posts, and they will start getting very boring if I continue writing them every week. So instead, I decided to switch to monthly recaps and get the best of… Read More January 2017 Recap
Another annual round-up post! I recently wrote a post about my top experiences of 2016. To contrast with that post, I wanted to write about the best places that I visited in 2016—not the coolest experiences, but the places that I went and loved, and recommend visiting to others. I have seen some incredible places… Read More The Best Places I Visited In 2016
2016 has been a huge year for me. Looking back on it, I think 2016 is always going to be the year that I prioritized travel, got married, and moved to England. Big life events! It was monumental and huge in the scheme of my life for so many reasons. Looking back on the year,… Read More My Top 20 Experiences Of 2016
I’ve spent the last 10 weeks starting a life in another country. It hasn’t always been easy, but the last two and a half months have been amazing a million ways over. This week has been really busy, finishing up work for the holidays and preparing for my first big trip in months! This is… Read More Living In England: Week 10
Happy Friday! This week has flown by, with a busy weekend and busy days at work. All of York seems to be gearing up for the holidays, and I’ve been finishing off plans and making new plans for after Christmas. Here’s what I’ve gotten up to this week! PAYDAY What is the British pound equivalent… Read More Living In England: Week 9
Yesterday I passed the 8-week mark: I’ve officially been living in England for two months! Sometimes I still can’t believe that this is my life now, and that I’m finally living here. I’m still making the adjustment to a full-time job and settling into routines. This is what I’ve been up to this week! I… Read More Living In England: Week 8
Has it really been 7 weeks?! I feel like I moved to England literally yesterday, time has been going so fast. And I know that time will absolutely fly between now and when I leave for my Christmas trip. Here’s what I’ve been thinking about this week! My life actually feels real here Between last… Read More Living In England: Week 7
As an American living abroad in England, there are lots of things here that are different for me: tea, a monarchy, warm beer, not refrigerating eggs, all stores closing early on Sundays, saying “cheers” to everything as a catch-all phrase, consistent and steady rain. But this week I experienced one of the most unknown, unrecognizable,… Read More An American’s Experience With Nationalized Healthcare
This week more than any others, I feel like things are finally getting organized, and I’m actually settling in to life here in England. It’s been a fairly busy past few days, so here’s what I’ve been up to this week! Last weekend in the Peak District was amazing In case you don’t follow along… Read More Living In England: Week 6
Welcome back to the weekly series! This has been a pretty quiet week travel-wise, but I’ve finally gotten around to publishing lots of blog posts that have been on the back burner for a while. And I stepped up my job hunting, so to be honest a whole lot of this week has been spent… Read More Living In England: Week 5
Living in England has always been a dream of mine. But when I started looking into it seriously after my study abroad in Nottingham, I realized just how difficult it is to move permanently to another country. If you’re generally thinking of going abroad long-term, check out my post on 10 Ways to Actually Leave… Read More UK Visas For US Citizens
Applying for my UK visa this summer was probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. The paperwork, the rules, the giant price tag… all of it made for so many sleepless nights and so many tears shed over UK Visas & Immigration. But I thought I’d write out this guide for an insight into… Read More How To Get A UK Partner Visa
What a week this has been. I feel like I’m living in an entire different world from last week’s post. I’m emotionally exhausted from the horrible past few days, but I want to keep this weekly series going so here we go. This is what I’ve been up to and what I’ve been thinking over… Read More Living In England: Week 4
The election results are in, and the world sits in shock. I’m sitting here in shock too. It wasn’t long before the common phrase started popping up everywhere: “I’m moving to Canada now.” America’s northern neighbor has always been the fallback plan if an election doesn’t go your way. I’m pretty sure I still have… Read More 10 Ways To Actually Leave the Country (And Travel)