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“Over the year, I don’t think I’ve reinvented myself, but more so, I’ve become more of who I’ve wanted to be,” Dr. Chania Whitaker tells PEOPLE
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- Dr. Chania Whitaker moved to Amsterdam in 2025, seeking personal growth and a better work-life balance
- She faced challenges like navigating public transportation, learning Dutch and adjusting to cultural differences
- Living in the Netherlands taught her the value of community and asking for help, which transformed her mindset
At the start of 2025, Dr. Chania Whitaker decided she was ready for a change and began looking for the next place to call home.
“People usually assume I moved for travel or adventure, but honestly, I moved to grow,” the 30-year-old tells PEOPLE. “I had become a chiropractor to help people live healthier lives, but I realized I wasn’t thriving myself. I wanted to experience life in a place that valued work-life balance, community and slowing down.”
“I didn’t move to escape my life in Texas,” she emphasizes. “I moved to see who I could become in a different environment.”
So, in May 2025, Dr. Whitaker packed up her things and moved to Amsterdam “without ever visiting.”
While she admits it’s not something that she would “personally recommend,” she “did a lot of research on the Netherlands and its culture” beforehand and figured she’d “give it a shot.”
“It was pretty bold of me, but I’m happy I leaped,” Dr. Whitaker shares.
Still, moving around the world inevitably meant she experienced a few culture shocks. When it came to grocery shopping, Dr. Whitaker did a lot of research so she would feel prepared.
“Grocery shopping when everything is in another language, and the stores are so much smaller... it took a bit of time for me to get used to it,” she admits. “Going from HEB to Albert Hijn is really funny when you think about it. They don’t have as many options for brands here; it’s very straightforward.”
Another big shock for her was “learning to navigate the public transportation systems.”
“I have gotten on the wrong train, bus, tram, metro and ferry before getting it right,” the chiropractor shares, noting that there are “certain conveniences I traded for being here, such as a car for an e-bike, but there’s so much in my life that makes up for it.”
While she began learning Dutch right after moving and hopes to be fluent soon, she’s admittedly a “bit impatient!”
“Learning a new language is so humbling,” she shares. “I can’t wait for the moment when I can have an easy conversation in Dutch and be able to express myself as well as I can in English.”
Despite these initial challenges, she says that she finally started feeling “settled not too long ago.”
“It’s been a little over a year for me, and I finally don’t panic when speaking Dutch; I can go through public transportation with ease; I have a bike and a good group of friends that I can call on,” she says. “I think feeling settled in a place depends on what makes a home for you. For me, it’s peace and community. I won’t say my life is completely peaceful, but I feel like I can navigate things much better these days.”
One of the biggest things she misses about Texas is “the food.”
“There are great options here if you know where to look, but in Texas, you can find something yummy pretty easily,” Dr. Whitaker says. “There are some funny quirks about Texas, such as going to the two-stepping bar in Dallas called Red River. Here, they are more into raving, so there’s nothing really like that here.”
She adds that “of course” she also misses her “family and friends.”
However, the one thing she doesn’t miss about Texas is “the traffic.”
“I can proudly say I have not had to sit in traffic in the Netherlands. Bike traffic isn’t really a thing here,” she shares.
Overall, Dr. Whitaker emphasizes that she aligns more with “the lifestyle” in the Netherlands than she did in Texas.
“There’s a reason why the Netherlands is on the happiest country list. People make time for hobbies, walks, sitting in the park and spending time with friends,” she says. “I have both a museum and movie pass, so I keep myself busy. I’ve been able to build great relationships with myself and others here pretty easily.”
Dr. Whitaker has been sharing snippets of her experience on her TikTok account, sharing what it’s been like to move abroad alone.
In the end, Dr. Whitaker tells PEOPLE that moving has “taught me how beautiful shared experiences can be. I used to carry my biggest challenges on my own.”
However, living in a city that emphasizes the importance of community has taught her how to ask for help.
“Living here has taught me to do exactly that. Whether it was friends helping me move, asking for directions, or simply inviting someone to work alongside me at a café, I’ve learned that people are often genuinely happy to show up for one another,” Dr. Whitaker shares. “I realized that by never asking for help, I was also taking away someone else’s opportunity to support me in a meaningful way.”
That mindset change, she says, has “been a really powerful shift.”
“I’m incredibly grateful for the friendships I’ve built here, as well as the love and support I’ve continued to receive from family and friends back home,” she shares. “More than anything, this experience has reminded me just how kind people can be when you let them in.”
“Moving abroad is much, much harder than I could have imagined,” she continues. “Over the year, I don’t think I’ve reinvented myself, but more so, I’ve become more of who I’ve wanted to be. It’s been the greatest gift I’ve given myself.”
Read the original article on People
