The Author
Hey there! I’m Tom. I’m the sole author of every post on this site, most of the time – I have “guest” posts from a couple other people from time to time. Let’s get to know me.
pugly sweater @ TBOX 2014
So, here I am at a bar in Wrigleyville in Chicago. Yes, this was during a bar crawl.
Why would I use this picture? Well, I don’t look that goofy here, and because I’m happy in the photo. Sure, I had imbibed a bit by this point, sure. But more importantly, I was out having a good time with some of my closest friends, in Chicago.
My penchant for going out definitely stems from my time as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois. I certainly went out to bars and pubs and whatnot quite a bit, but I, in fact, did study too. I graduated from Illinois in 2013 with a major in civil engineering. Shortly after graduation, I began working at a civil engineering consulting firm on airport projects. In short, I designed all the parts of airports the places use. So no, not the terminals or anything, but pretty much every other part of the infrastructure. It was a great job. So I had great friends, a great job, and was having a great time in Chicago. What gives?
After about a year at my job, I quickly felt a little too pinned down to a set path. High School > college > “real world” job > family(?) didn’t seem like too good of an idea to me. I decided to make a big change.
That change was moving to Germany. In late September 2015, I boarded a one-way flight to Munich. Since then, I’ve lived here in the capital of the German state of Bavaria. In the time since moving here, I have come to know Munich as a truly wonderful city for many reasons. While I came here for my master’s degree, I appreciate the city as so much more than just a place to study.
Why Munich, and why a master’s degree? The degree was a perfect fit for the path I saw my career taking, and of course, it was in English. Here tuition is essentially nonexistent, and the cost of basic living expenses are quite low by American standards. The proximity to the Alps is a huge bonus, along with all of the other outdoor activities in the area. It’s really no wonder that Munich is constantly rated so highly on liveability indices. But most important, is that living here makes it really easy for me to travel to so many destinations on this side of the world.
Stay around for a while and you might like what I have to say.
Abroad American
Abroad American is a blog and a community focused on the lives and experiences of people living abroad. The site has multiple purposes:
- To be a resource for those looking to live abroad and those already living abroad.
- To encourage travel, both within and outside of the United States.
- To promote “a broad” perspective on the world.
- To be a platform for my thoughts and yours, to connect and share our ideas.
While the main focus of this site will always be traveling and living abroad, I also like to write about a lot of different things. So while I post often about travel experiences, tips, and trips – I also post about a broad variety of other things. Usually, I try and relate it to living abroad somehow, but not necessarily every time. I don’t solely think about travel and life abroad 24/7, ya know.
For example, I happen to quite enjoy cooking, particularly cooking for others. So, it’s only natural that I like to share the recipes I use on here. I might also sprinkle in some philosophy or social commentary, or lifestyle content into the mix. In any case, expect a somewhat eclectic mix of topics here. I invite and encourage you to comment on any and every post on the site that you want to – I try and respond to everyone! I want to have your input, I want to have discussions with you. I think that’s the first and best way for us to interact and get to know each other.