I uprooted my entire life and moved to a new country to be with a man I met on vacation… but the transition wasn’t easy

A woman who moved to a new country to be with a man she met on vacation has opened up about the difficult transition.

Claire Drinkwater, originally from London, had just gone through a rough breakup and was feeling burnt out from her ‘demanding’ media job when she decided to take a year off to travel the world in 2014.

She backpacked across nine countries in Asia, Oceania and South America. 

And while Drinkwater had a feeling it would be a life-changing trip, she never expected that she would meet her soulmate during it and decide to uproot her entire life so that they could be together. 

During an exclusive chat with the Daily Mail, she explained that she met her partner, Steeve, when they were both on the same bus tour of New Zealand’s South Island months into her travels.

‘He was French but living in Belgium and had just started his own solo travels,’ she recalled. 

‘We ended up sitting together on the bus and kept chatting. That evening, after a group barbecue, he suggested we walk down to the beach to watch the sunset together. 

‘We talked for hours about our lives and what had brought us there. It felt like we’d known each other for a long time, even though we had just met.’

Drinkwater admitted that despite their immediate connection, she didn’t think it would turn into anything serious.

‘When you’re traveling, you get used to people moving on often, so you don’t want to get attached too quickly,’ she added. ‘When the tour ended we said goodbye.’

But the two stayed in touch and, a couple of weeks later, Drinkwater invited him to come to Bali with her on a whim.

To her surprise, he said yes and they ended up traveling ‘on and off’ together for a few months, visiting Bali, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. 

Soon, they couldn’t bear to be apart. And when Steeve wrapped up his travels and returned home to Brussels, Belgium, Drinkwater made the wild decision to move in with him. 

But adjusting to life in a different country while also navigating a new relationship was certainly not a walk in the park. 

‘Our relationship had grown out of all these amazing experiences in different places, so I was curious what it would feel like once we settled into a routine,’ Drinkwater admitted. 

‘And adjusting to life in Belgium wasn’t always easy, especially rebuilding my career and navigating daily life in a new language. 

‘But in the end having a stable base together felt really nice. And his family and friends were really welcoming.

‘Gradually things fell into place. After only a few months I found a permanent communications role with a great team in Brussels, and over time the city started to feel like home.’

She said having open communication and establishing her own life in Belgium separately from his was what ultimately made it work.

Flash forward to 12 years later, and Drinkwater and Steeve are still going strong.

‘This year we’re celebrating 12 years since meeting on that trip through New Zealand, which feels surreal,’ she gushed.

‘Moving to Belgium was something I never imagined, but it turned out to be a great decision.’

Her advice to others? ‘Be open to where life takes you,’ she dished.