For the past few months now you might have seen a clueless, 20-something American woman wandering around town.

She's asking most people she interacts with (in the worst French accent possible) if they speak English. Sometimes she tows three to four large bags of groceries with her, knowing full well she will need to spend a solid 20 minutes playing Tetris in her small European fridge upon arrival home. Other times she is being walked by (not walking) a large black dog through the parks and forests of Luxembourg.

But mostly you'll see her taking silly videos and putting them on the internet to be laughed at and corrected by every Luxembourger in the country, but then quietly messaged by every other ex-American in the country asking where on Earth did she find microwave popcorn? Well hi, that would be me, Emma, formally of the United States, but now, Emma in Luxembourg.

Most people tend to ask why we've moved to Luxembourg from The States, but more inquisitively so when they learn we've moved here from Florida. "Why in the world would you leave sunny Florida to come to Luxembourg?" they ask. Like most expats, we've moved here for my husband's work, but also to enjoy all that Europe has to offer. We've moved quite a bit throughout the United States, from Florida to Los Angeles, to Seattle, and then back to Florida again.

When we returned to Florida during the pandemic, our intentions were to stay and start a family, and begin to "settle down". We bought a house, got married in May of 2021, and started to plan our future. When my husband's boss reached out and asked if he would be interested in taking over a team in Europe, we discussed our options, but in the end it came down to the fact that we felt like we were still young enough to have one more grand adventure before we have children.

We had many options of places in Europe we could have lived in, but when deciding where to move, it came down to wanting to be located centrally in Europe, ease of move for our dog, and taxes, while maintaining a proximity to an office for my husband's job. It boiled down to three locations; London, Luxembourg and Madrid.

After Brexit, tax rates, and reading about policies for moving a pet into the United Kingdom, my husband and I ultimately decided that London would not be the best place for us to move. Madrid had a low tax rate and was fine moving the dog, however being that the cost of living was so low, my husband would have taken a pay cut that would have been too extreme for us to head there.

So remained little Luxembourg. We had never been to Luxembourg, had barely heard of it, and didn't know much regarding the Grand Duchy in central Europe, but we did love how easy the process of moving here was, the low tax rates and the proximity to the rest of Europe that is extremely accessible by car.

My first impressions of Luxembourg were that it was like something out of a Disney movie. The old and French styled buildings in the Station district leading to the city center captured my attention immediately and are one of my favorite places to walk. I found the city center to be charming and beautiful, lively enough to be interesting, but calm and safe enough where I don't feel the need to clutch my purse.

I discovered the care of the City to be exceptionally impressive, gardens being tended daily, streets cleaned thoroughly, and the repair of even the smallest issues to be addressed quickly. I have never experienced public transportation outside of Luxembourg that is so clean, accessible and best of all, free.

Being in Luxembourg has been quite the adventure in the past six months, one I do not plan to take advantage of. I have taken every opportunity to travel around Europe, especially driving places with our dog, tried to attend as many social events that the country has to offer, and explore the culture of this country as much as possible.

I have reached out to other expats and Luxembourgers alike to make a community for us here in our new home, joined a gym with a great group of people, and have tried as many restaurants as possible in our short time frame. While I have learned so much in being here, I know that my journey here is only beginning, and I can’t wait to share all my lessons with you all.

Emma's articles will be published every second Tuesday.