Cara West and her family moved to Greece in 2023 and never looked back

NEED TO KNOW

• Cara West and her family moved to Greece after discovering a program that supports kids learning through seeing the world

• West says the strong sense of community and support in Greece inspired her family to stay long-term
• West tells PEOPLE what she thinks are some of the biggest cultural differences

After Cara West welcomed her daughter in 2022, she knew she wanted to move abroad but didn't know where or how. 

“I was looking around in different Facebook groups, and I got connected to a world schooling Facebook group, and it was all about families who basically travel with their kids, and they teach them through traveling," West tells PEOPLE. "I've always wanted to do that, but I just never thought there was a term for it or even a movement around this."

While connecting with some of the people in the group, West learned about a program called Boundless Life in Portugal. She looked into the program and learned that it offered housing, schooling for the kids, working options for the parents and the opportunity to travel with other families.

So, West and her Texas-based family took a leap of faith in 2023 and traveled to Portugal. Soon after, they had the opportunity to go to Greece. 

“Once we got here, we immediately fell in love and then we decided that we didn't wanna leave, so we applied for our digital nomad visa,” West shares. 

The 34-year-old says that “it was really the community that pulled us here.”

“That was such a different change of pace from being in the U.S. and traveling around. In Greece, it just felt so easy," she explains. "Anything that we needed help with or we needed support with, we had a community around us at all times.”

She would mention needing daycare for her daughter, and someone would always offer to help. When she needed help with utilities, someone was there to step in.

“It was this ease of having community support like I've never experienced before from the local people," she says. "There's also a really large digital nomad and expat community that's here. It's been absolutely incredible to have so much support and community around us because I think in the States, like, I didn't even know my neighbor's names."

"Now I know my neighbors, the townspeople. When I'm sick and I haven't been there for a week, they ask me, ‘Where have you been?' They know us and it just feels so special,” West says.   

@caracelestewest

West shares that her daughter, now 4, has gotten so used to their life in Greece that she now considers it home. The toddler is “used to walking everywhere, going to the bakeries and getting fresh goods, going to the produce stand and everyone knowing her name.” 

“Our daughter feels so comfortable roaming around on the streets and we let her play out in the square with the rest of her friends and we have such a big community here of other families from Australia, Canada, the U.S., so we've really come together with all the kids and they're all such good friends," West says. "She not only has a community of the village around her, but she also has her own social life as well. I think she's more social than us, honestly."

While the community has been amazing, another big change, she says, is the “coffee culture" in Greece.

“There's coffee on every single corner. The coffee is absolutely delicious. I've never had anything like Greek coffee before," she tells PEOPLE. "Before we moved here, I really wasn't that big of a coffee drinker. I'd have a Starbucks every now and again, but now it's like I have to get up and go get my coffee."

However, she has had to adjust to life happening a little later in Greece.

“The coffee shops aren't even really crowded or really getting going until after 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.," she says. "Dinner's relatively late as well. So, 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., the kids stay out until much later at night."

Many stores also close from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., so she had to restructure her day-to-day routine when it came to running errands.

“It's just these little things that have been culture shocks, but in the best way possible because it's just been so communal and I love just how warm and welcoming the Greek people are.”

While West assumed that living in Greece would mean forgoing certain modern conveniences, she emphasizes that that isn't the case.

“Even though we live on a Greek island, we still have conveniences. I can still get my groceries delivered. I can get takeout food delivered. I don't really have as many options as I would in the States, but I still have that convenience," she shares. "We don't have Amazon, which is helpful in the sense I don't spend as much money, but we do have another brand and it works just the same way as Amazon, so I can still get things delivered."

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The family of three has settled nicely in Syros, the capital of the Cycladic Islands, where they pay around $1,400 for a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment.

“It has this unique feel that the other Greek islands don't, and it has a lot of restaurants and shops that are open year-round," she shares. "It was also one of the most affluent islands as far as ports, and because of that, it actually has a very neoclassical feel to it."

"So you have a lot of really cool mini mansions that have this neoclassical architecture to them versus when you go to Mykonos or Paros, you'll see more of the typical Greek island look,” West says. 

When she feels like her home island is too small, she simply takes the ferry to other islands. 

“We're right next to Paros and Mykonos and we're not very far from Athens," she tells PEOPLE. "The really nice thing is when we want that big city life, we're able to take the ferry, it's two hours to get back to Athens."

It's also easy for them to travel to other countries in the European Union.

West posts about her life living abroad online, giving glimpses into what a typical day in her life looks like. People often ask her how she feels as an American living abroad and if she has been treated any differently, but West insists she has "felt nothing but welcomed."

“People are really nervous to travel abroad. I have not felt that at all, especially here in Greece," she emphasizes. "People are so warm. They're so kind and welcoming. As long as you're coming and you want to learn more about the culture, immerse yourself, be respectful of the culture, then they're gonna, they wanna invite you over for the next family meal."

“Being in Greece has really restored my faith in humanity, the way they love and they treat kids, the warm hospitality. It's the culture and the people," she continues. "They really just draw you in. The beauty is so amazing."

While the family never "really intended for this to be a long-term plan," West says the "kindness that we have been shown and just the love my family gets is a big reason why we've decided to stay and call this beautiful country our home now."

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