Lea Micic, the NYU Prague Wellness Counselor, went home to Belgrade for a funeral in March; since then, she hasn’t been able to come back. Serbia has had one of the strictest regimes in terms of quarantine: residents were not allowed to leave their homes from 5 pm – 5 am, and all public transport was halted and public spaces were closed.
By Lea Micic
After getting ‘stuck’ in Serbia, with borders closed and not being able to return to Prague, we decided to move to the countryside. After three weeks of living in a 25 square meter studio, we realized there was no point with an empty house in the village. The only problem was the internet. Once we managed to work that out, it was the easiest decision I ever made.
Now my morning coffee and emails look like : I hear the birds and crickets chirping, smell the spring air, and feel sunshine on my face while writing this. My body clock reset itself in two days. I wake up with the sun instead of an alarm (even though it’s set just in case). In all honesty, I hardly feel any of the restrictions the Serbian government has imposed on us (such as the 84-hour complete country lockdown over long weekends). I cannot explain how grateful I am to have all of this.
I guess my question is this… is it really better to live in a city? Yes, we have our friends and favorite spots, many more opportunities for work and life, but maybe it’s actually possible to have the best of both worlds? Being surrounded by nature I noticed much of my stress has diminished. I still face the same problems, but the moment I step outside and take a deep breath, I am easily reminded of the good things in life.