Have you ever thought about moving to a tropical island? In November 2020 we moved to Réunion Island. It’s a French department in the Indian Ocean. Why Réunion you might ask.
When we told our friends and family then only about 1-2% of them knew about this island. To be honest, we didn’t know it existed either until 3 years ago.
It’s a small island located 800km East of Madagascar with an area of 2,512 km². And it has over 850k people.
But moving here wasn’t easy. As the borders are usually open I’d have never thought that I’d have to present 6 different documents to move to another EU country as an EU citizen.
We had been thinking and planning this for 1.5 years. All this time we were facing different obstacles. When we finally had the chance, the world was turned upside down, and traveling was made 10 times harder than it had been for years.
Why Réunion?
First of all, we knew we wanted to move somewhere warm. I wanted it to be Hawaii (I really don’t know what’s up with me and this place – I guess I was a Hawaiian in my previous life..) Anyway, as Hawaii is in the US it’s really difficult to get a visa. So we started to look for other places.
Asia is really popular among nomads but we didn’t want to move there. It’s cheap but ideally, we wanted to move somewhere without the visa.
The last time we were there we both had Bali belly which means you have a parasite or some dirty little bacteria in your gut which is not fun at all. Then we had an idea that lots of EU countries have departments all over the world.
And there it was, Réunion Island. At first, it seemed too good to be true and guess what, it wasn’t.
The Pros of Living in Réunion Island:
1. It’s amazingly similar to Hawaii. Both are volcanic islands, that’s why they even look alike. The climate is hot sub-tropical, in Hawaii it’s tropical. The average temperature throughout the year is 25°C (77°F). In summer (December-February) it can be really hot during the day but the evenings are still really chill and tolerable. You might even need a jacket when it’s windy. That means the climate is perfect at any time of the year. I also love to call it The European Hawaii.
2. It’s in the European Union which means we as EU citizens don’t need a visa to move here. This makes the whole process so much easier.
3. As Réunion island is in the EU, the currency is Euro. This is again a really good bonus for us. No need for currency exchange and getting used to foreign currency. Actually, Réunion was the first place ever where the Euro was valid and the very first purchase made with it was a kilogram of lychees. (To be honest, I’m not surprised because this fruit is the real deal here.)
4. There are no dangerous animals, bugs, or snakes. The most dangerous species are mosquitos as they spread the Dengue virus. And sharks attacks have been increasing since 2011. But there are special places where you can swim safely. Whatever you have seen on cartoons, sharks are actually not interested in humans, they are just curious and when they see someone bathing or playing in the water they’re not sure if it’s their food or not.
5. There are lots of hiking trails and tons of waterfalls. We love outdoor activities, a healthy lifestyle, and mountain trekking so that’s just perfect. There are over 40 hiking treks to discover which means over 850km (600 miles) full of adventures.
6. In Réunion there’s no need to worry about medicine or a belly bug. Also, parks and towns are clean and taken care of.
Motivation & Thoughts
I have definitely had doubts about moving to the tropical island because sometimes it has felt like it’s too hard. When I say it out loud it sounds ridiculous because it has always been my dream. The easiest way is to find a 9 to 5 job, buy an apartment, and live like that until we have kids, grandchildren, and so on. I don’t say I don’t want some of that.
I just want to experience something different first. Something that people don’t expect you to do or have. Something that will take your breath away and make you think that this really is the life you have always wanted and that you won’t have to regret anything you didn’t do for yourself.
So I’ll finish this blog post with encouraging words which is also my motto: Don’t ever let anyone tell you what to do. If you feel like you want to do something, then DO IT and don’t think about what if. If you’ve already had that idea more than once, it means it needs to be done!
Fascinated by the Réunion Island? Read about our first super sweaty hike in Réunion.
If you need some more motivation, here’s a story about how I made my biggest dream come true 3 years ago.
