Why So Serious, America? This Guy Found a Way Out!

From SLO to... Whoa!

Alright alright settle down you miserable Gothamites! Let me tell you about this Colby Grey kid. Grew up in some sleepy town where passports are rarer than a sane politician. But then BAM! He goes off to college and gets a taste of the world. 'Why so serious?' his townies probably asked. Because my friends ignorance is a gas... and it's about to explode! He went to the University of California Santa Cruz. He studied abroad. He liked being abroad more.

Pandemic? More Like 'Pan' demic Opportunity!

Covid hits and what does this Grey fella do? Wallow in despair? Nope! He uses the chaos like a well placed crowbar. He heads back to his boring hometown but keeps his mind open like a freshly cut scar and starts scheming about studying abroad. Copenhagen was his playground a city so clean and organized it probably made Batman jealous. 'Introduce a little anarchy,' he thought 'Upset the established order and everything becomes chaos!'

Reverse Culture Shock: More Like 'Reverse' Robbery!

So golden boy comes back to California and what does he find? Housing crisis! Rent so high it’s practically daylight robbery. 'I was paying more to live in Santa Cruz than I had been paying to live abroad,' says Colby. Can you believe it? The Joker understands him paying more to live in an expensive city is insane! Time to apply for a master's in Belgium!

Goodbye Gas Guzzler! Hello Happy Biking!

Grey's got a bone to pick with American cities: too much driving! Can't say I blame him. I prefer a scenic route myself even if it involves a hijacked school bus. But this Leuven place in Belgium? It's a '15 minute city'! Everything's close no cars allowed! Sounds like a perfect place to cause some… I mean *find* some… uh peace and quiet. Plus it's next to four other countries. Talk about a criminal's I mean a *student's* paradise!

Visa? Tuition? Pocket Change!

Here's the kicker: this search permit thing. Get a master's and they let you work! Tuition is a measly $4,310 a year! That's less than it costs to fill my hideout with laughing gas! 'There's no reason to go into debt here,' he says. Smart kid. Debt is like gravity; all it takes is a little push to get you spiraling into madness. If he gets a second masters and traineeship that would be quite funny.

Living the Dream... or the Scheme?

Now Colby's living large... well relatively. Rent is dirt cheap travel is easy and he's finally found some work life balance. He says there was a 'ticking clock inside of me where I had to get into the workforce get a house have a family'. Is he starting to grow soft? Has he forgotten all about crime? I wonder... Time will tell. But hey at least he's 'smelling the roses' instead of stressing about bills. For now. And the chaos that this move has caused him is small and not something I would write home about. But it's a start to a life time of anarchy. Let's see how long that lasts!