Let’s continue. After Vienna, Bratislava was a very different experience. The weather felt colder — maybe it actually was — but still, I liked it. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but people here felt more real to me. I didn’t have the same feeling in Vienna. Maybe it’s because I’m more familiar with Eastern European or Russian-style environments. That could be why I felt closer to this city and its people. But Safiye doesn’t feel the same way. She found the weather too grey and the city a bit depressing.

Still, we rented a car and kept exploring. We have a few other countries on our list, and we plan to visit some towns, cities, and maybe even small villages along the way. But now, let’s get to the part you’re probably wondering about — have we made a decision?

Yes, we have.
After all the meetings and all the research, we’ve decided to go ahead with the very first company we met. Once we return to our home country, we will officially start the process with them. And actually — today, on November 18, 2024, we made our first payment and began the process.

In the past weeks, we didn’t stop moving. We kept traveling, but at the same time, we were thinking nonstop about our residency application, the idea of starting a business, and building a new life.

There were many reasons behind this decision. One of the biggest was related to my work. I offer digital services, and platforms like PayPal and Stripe are very important for my clients and my business. Unfortunately, those services are not available in Turkey, and that has created some serious limitations for me. I needed a base in the EU — not just for legal paperwork or smoother payments, but also to reduce tax complexity and serve my clients better.

Slovakia offered a good balance: it’s in the European Union, the process for self-employed people is more accessible than in many other countries, and the system is clear enough to follow — even though, of course, there are challenges.

So here we are. We’ve made our move. This blog will continue with our journey — not just the feelings and small moments, but also the official steps, documents, waiting times, and everything in between.

This is just the beginning.