Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.
Today, I’m excited to share an update from Cheryl Magyar—we last heard from her in 2014, when she and her family moved to Hungary. They’ve relocated a few times since then, and it’s fascinating to hear about their adventures. Visit their blog to learn more.
Cheryl writes:
As time and technology soar by, we are getting both older and wiser – distancing ourselves from excessive time spent in the digital realm, in favor of a life lived well, offline.
When we moved from Seattle to a small homestead in Hungary more than a good dozen years ago, we had no idea where we would end up, or how far we were willing to go to make our dreams come true. We did know, however, that all we needed was what fit into our backpacks, our love for each other and trust that everything would work out in the end.
See, as fast as a modern-busy-hectic life moves, it isn’t always in our favor; or so it can seem as life is unfurling around us.
When we took the chance to sell our farm and move to Scotland (for a better life experience, we thought) with one backpack and our daughter in a mei tai on the other’s back, we ended up with a handful of pounds and no real “where” to go.
Our first morning in Edinburgh we walked to the local farmers market in the pouring rain and introduced ourselves to a few sellers to see if anyone was in need of some reliable hands. As fate would have it, a large organic farm was willing to take a chance as they were ready to plant some 14,000 trees. A section of the tree planted area would later be called Magyars Woods, in dedication to our work there in the Scottish Borders.
Some call it luck, others may say it was a bit of determination and trust – we’d like to think that our honest kindness, and the rain, had something to do with it.
It turned out that our first adventure of moving abroad, as a family, with all that we owned in our backpacks was a success! And then we relocated to England when our job there was done. We moved by train this time around, as we had collected a larger object in the meantime – a spinning wheel.
But our series of minimalist moves did not stop there.
In 2016, we came to the conclusion that the lack of access to nature, combined with less than ideal air quality and relentless trips to the shops (to have something to do) was reflecting negatively on our health, as well as our souls.
Selling the spinning wheel, we flew to Romania with our two trusty backpacks – again, with little direction, no job, no home – only to find the truest place we were meant to be.
Here in Breb, Romania, we are free to live closer to nature, we are able to get back to the land: to touch, feel, smell, harvest, taste and forage for all that grows wild. And we are also creating beautiful memories with our daughter, Csermely, too.
At the age of 6 she could hike the 20 km, from the village and back, to the Creasta Cocoșului; at 7 years of age she is completely bilingual in Hungarian and English, currently learning Romanian. She is not tied to the constraints and expectations of “modern” life, and yes, digital detoxes occur weekly in our household, but there is always plenty to do outside!
Embracing a minimalist life has allowed us the freedom to travel, as much as it has made us extremely conscious about how much we consume and how little we need to truly live.
In some ways we are back to where we started – no running water in the house, firewood for cooking and staying warm throughout the long, cold winters. Our garden provides essential nutrients, our foraging skills have only blossomed over the years, but now we have chickens…
I guess that settles it. Here we are, and here we plan to stay.
Follow our journey for all the twists, turns and inspirations of living a simple life closer to nature at ForestCreekMeadows.
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or joining my email list.}
I know you are building wonderful memories for your family in Romania. I looked at your blog. The images are beautiful, such a lovely landscape.
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, the northern part of Romania here is incredibly beautiful and the people are just as delightful. We’ve lived in many places, but this village has a certain kind of charm, plus it is very easy to live simply here – suits us perfectly!
I am impressed that you have been able to travel with so little. I still visit friends who have walls of stuff. My daughter is moving in to our spare bedroom and so far I’ve found space for most of her stuff. I told her to get rid of 60-80% of her books, cosmetics, and clothes.She has cartons of keepsakes and old pictures.
Perhaps even harder than getting rid of excess stuff, it is more difficult to remove “the want” to acquire it in the first place, but I am convinced that in the end – life with less stuff is much more fulfilling. I am so happy to hear that you are supporting your daughter, everyone will come around when they are ready :)