-Vienna in a Nutshell-

I’ve wanted to write about my time in Vienna since before I even left the US. Well, even though I haven’t been posting, I have become rather consistent with my writing practices. For a while, I was even posting about my experiences on Instagram only to find that it was getting to my head. Many things about the content machine distracted me from the reason I wanted to post to begin with, namely, to share my experience of the world with the world.

Simple goal, right?

But with the content machine, it became about views, likes, about being seen. So for most of 2025 I wrote only for myself. I deleted Instagram as an app on New Years 2025 and only access it on my laptop now to respond to DMs. I find this to be about all I can stomach of social media. Well, this and YouTube shorts… but we don’t need to unpack my addictive behaviors right now. I want to focus on just one thing with this post. 

Where have I been for the last 16 months? 

I know it’s been longer than that since I posted on this blog, and plenty of life happened between Utah and Vienna, namely the Kansas City Saga (more on that eventually… I hope…), but I wish to focus on Vienna. Not because it’s more exciting, but because I only have one chance to capture this experience in words, and I want to do it whilst the feelings are fresh and ripe for harvesting. And boy! Is it a good crop this year!

Leaving the country and everything you know behind is one thing. But the hardest struggle for me has been accepting and loving all of myself, who I am, who I’ve been, and who I want to become. I’ve faced my buried shame head on with new therapy methods (Internal Family Systems) all while moving apartments 4 times in my first year.

It’s safe to say there’s plenty to write about, but I’ll do my best to keep this post limited to an 8 minute read with the hopes of more to come soon. 

Now… I could tell you chronologically everything that has happened to me, but I feel that would get old quick… Instead! Please join me in a regular conversation I have just about everyday as a foreigner in Austria. I feel like it’ll answer a lot of baseline questions. Instead of naming this person, let’s just call them… “The World”… this is a talk between me and my friend… “The World”

The World:

“You’ve got an accent, can I ask where you’re from?”

Me:

“What’s your best guess?”

World:

“Oh, that’s tricky. It sounds like you’ve got an English background… maybe the Netherlands?”

Me: 

“How about a bit farther to the West?”

World:

“British?

Me:

“I’m from the US, but don’t tell anyone okay? I’m actually a spy”

World:

“The US! Where in the US?

Me:

“Kansas City! Everyone knows New York and LA, right?

**Draws air map with hands**

Right in the middle!

World:

“Cool! And how come you speak German?”

Me: 

“A good friend of mine and I started on Duolingo in Middle school and after 4 years of Highschool German with an amazing teacher, we both liked it enough to travel to Europe on an exchange year. After that, I knew I wanted to attend University in the EU.”

World:

“Ah, so you’re a student! What do you study?”

Me: 

“Forrest Economics at the BOKU” 

**BOKU = University of Natural Life Sciences in Vienna**

World:

“How come BOKU? Aren’t the best Universities in the US?”

Me:

“Amongst other things, it’s insanely cheap to live and study here versus in the States. One semester in Kansas City would have been between 4000-6000$ compared to the 800$ semester price here in Vienna. Living costs and studying costs for 4 years in Vienna is cheaper than my Bachelors degree would have been in the US, and here I can do it without debt and in VIENNA!”

Okay, quick break:

Here’s where the conversation often goes in one of many directions, either US Politics, further explanations as to why Forest Economics, or me asking the questions to end the interrogation.

Here are some examples of how the conversation continues (One of these questions came to me from a group of German Guys yesterday at work)

The World: 

“Who did you vote for in the last election? Can you even vote internationally??”

“Are you a political Refugee??”

“Is gun violence as bad as it looks in the media?”

“How does your healthcare system work?”

“If it’s so expensive, how do people pay for college?”

“Is US college really like the movies?”

“Austria is a great place to study the forest!”

“Do you have any family connections to forestry?”

“Do you want to stay in Austria???”

Oh Snap

That last one really messes me up. After all, I myself have no idea what’s in store for my future. Last year I wasn’t even sure if my university was going to accept me. I moved across the world with a single suitcase and backpack fully ready to “change the world” without having more than my first month planned. Now I’m supposed to know if I’m ready to call this place my future home? Does this sound like the guy who knows what he’s doing 10 years from now?

I’ve been told it’s brave, but I’ve learned many times here that the difference between an action being brave and stupid depends primarily on the outcome. I mean, I gave up a good job, a promising relationship, my friends and family, and… an apartment… (can’t really call it a good one but it was mine!). If I failed and came home after 3 months, it would have been a stupid move on my part to give up all that.

But here I am, a year and some change later and my decision to leave is one of the “Bravest” things I’ve done to date… Fascinating…

As much as I’d love to write for days about the Balance between being Brave and Stupid, I want to return my focus to the changes that have occurred in the last year or so. In an attempt to cover a lot of ground rather quickly, here is an edited entry from yesterday’s Midnight Brain Dump:

“ What have I been up to over the last 16 Months?

• I visited my former host family in Germany not once, not twice, but five times, and they’re still not sick of me… Nice!
• I helped out multiple times with my former youth group in Germany and I was even blessed with the chance of being the Grinch and running around the village for the kiddos!
• I even got to spend Christmas and Easter with them as well as seeing my former host sister graduate Highschool!!

• I got accepted for my first year’s visa in Austria, and recently, my Second too!
• I became a part of 4 different friend groups that came together and fell apart due to exchange semesters and the changing seasons of life.
• And I found many of my people through a winter Ice Bathing Club which I now help organize!

• I took 4 Intensive German courses, sometimes two at a time, and received my German C1 Fluency thanks to some of the best professors I’ve ever had.
• During which, I developed an unhealthy relationship to drinking and cigarettes which lead to very unhealthy part of my life.
• But I have been 10 months sober and have no desire to drink or smoke ever again.

• I got a job at a Japanese restaurant and started learning Japanese for fun. Einfach so!
• I became a regular at my local farmer’s market and made friends with some Authors who are Motivating me to write more.
• I was accepted into my dream University and had my first semester. 
• I failed my first semester at my dream University.

• I had a summer of coping with my failure by doing way too much all the time…
• I received a job offer with one of my new good friends to cook in the woods for a group of 15+ people on two separate occasions. #ChefLeone 😉
• I went Sailing for 10 days with an international group of former strangers in the Northeast of Germany!
• Some of these former strangers I’ve come to call my dear friends.

• I visited one of my childhood friends at 3 different important points of our lives.
• I had friends and family visit me from the US, with my mom and Aunt also coming to see me for 10 days!! 
• I even had a month in my new apartment before University started, with the best roommates I’ve ever had, to accept my failure, and plan on how to tackle the upcoming semester. 
• And now, I’ve begun my second semester at my dream University with more motivation than ever before. “

So yeah…

That’s just a few things off the thousands of new experiences and small changes I’ve had here in the last 16 months… I’ve had my highs, and some of my lowest lows, but I’ve learned more about the world and myself than I ever could have dreamed of in such a short time. I would love to tell you more, but I like to hold myself to word counts and time limits, so I will bring this post to an end. I hope you enjoyed my update and feel at least a bit more informed about where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to.

It means a lot that you took the time to join me and read my story. I’ll make sure to keep writing and I’ll keep you posted about my next step 🙂

With love and light,

Your goofy wanderer,

Josh // Written on 25.10.25 while listening to Coulou’s Café Trumpet Meditations no. 40 //

P.S. For those who have been apart of my journey in the last 16 months and are reading this, I am deeply grateful for all of you. No matter how simple or brief our time together may have been, I have struggled to handle my own mind and having a space to feel safe and seen is something I will never stop being grateful for. Thank you for seeing me. Thank you for being kind to me. Thank you for everything. -J ❤