This essay is based on a conversation with Tiffany Fite, a graduate student at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My family has never been one to follow a traditional path. When our two sons were in high school, we sold our house in Washington and took a two-year trip across the US.
We got an RV, “road schooled” the kids, and got part-time jobs to fund our trip. The experience taught us that exploring things outside of the typical American lifestyle was possible.
So when it came time for my sons, now 22 and 21, to think about college, we were open to different options.
After high school, both boys took a year off to decide on their paths. They looked at everything from community colleges to trade schools to the military. They eventually decided that going overseas was their best choice: tuition was much more affordable and bachelor’s programs were mostly three years.
My eldest son went to the Anglo-American University in Prague to study business administration in 2021, AND my younger son went to the University of Pécs in Hungary a year later to study archaeology.
My husband and I were inspired to do the same
In the USA I worked as a consultant for the management of organizational changes. My husband worked on a contract basis as a lawyer at an energy firm.
Both of our educational paths were non-traditional. It took me almost 30 years to finish college because right after high school I jumped into a career. Instead, I have been learning throughout my professional life. I didn’t earn my degree until 2021, when I was 48 years old.
Similarly, my husband, now 51, was 29 when he got his law degree.
Seeing our children move to Europe for university fueled the idea that we could get a university degree in a field that interests us at an affordable price. The cost of living in some countries is not very high compared to Idaho, where we live in the USA. It would also allow us to live in a foreign country for two years and travel around Europe.
Studying in Europe allowed Fite and her husband to travel easily. Tiffany Fite
Although I didn’t doubt that a graduate degree could benefit us professionally, we knew we didn’t want to invest too much as we saw it as more of an extracurricular.
We finally decided on Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, where tuition costs 3,000 Euros, or about $3,300 per year. We have not considered schools in the US.
In June 2023, my husband and I resigned from our jobs and moved to Brno.
I decided to go on to major in cultural sociology, while my the man chose to study energy policy.
I like to learn as an old student
A student parade in Brno, a student city in the Czech Republic. Tiffany Fite
Brno is a young and lively student city. We are the oldest students in our graduate programs, with the average student being 32 years old.
Yes, some people look at us a bit funny if we go to a doctor or a government meeting and say we’re here on a student visa. But once we explain, it’s not a big deal.
However, being older, I take my education more seriously than I would if I were 30 years younger. I love being able to study and sit in a classroom for the first time in my life and just dedicate my time to studying. It is a gift and a real pleasure for me at this age.
I also appreciate that we have a group of international colleagues here, whom we call colleagues. My colleagues are from all over the world. I have Nigerian, Bangladeshi, Iranian, Norwegian and Polish peers and it’s great to be able to immerse myself in a very international culture.
At the moment we live on savings
Fite enjoys the affordability of living in Brno. Tiffany Fite
Our house in the US is being rented out, so we earn a small income from that, which helps cover some of our expenses.
In Brno, we spend about $1,000 on our monthly rent and a little more on a gym membership. We walk everywhere or take public transport, which is affordable.
Moving to the Czech Republic was a bonus because we could be closer to our eldest son, who has since graduated and works full-time in Prague.
One concern we had was leaving our elderly parents. After all, if something were to happen, we would immediately get on a plane home.
It’s a risk we’ve certainly taken. Our family and friends would smile and say, “That’s what you guys do. You rebel against the way things should be done. Good luck.” With that, we have some people who are our biggest fans.
We are getting old and we know this will probably be the last time we can reveal our lives to do this.
As long as we can be self-sufficient and continue to pay our bills, we are open to staying abroad after we graduate next year. It depends on where our guys land and what they do. We keep our options open.
Do you have a story about choosing to attend college outside the US that you’d like to share? Contact reporter Erin: eliam@businessinsider.com.
September 12, 2024: This story has been updated to note that the couple sold their home in Washington.