Take it from Alex Ingrim, who's originally from Washington, but left the U.S. to study in France, where he met his now-wife, Louisa.
Over the last 17 years, Ingrim, 36, has lived in France, Canada, the UK, Malta and now Italy.
That's the minimum amount of time you'll need to start shopping and doing chores like you live there, Ingrim says.
"If you go for two weeks, you're not really fully going grocery shopping," he says.
"Try to understand the realistic budget for how you live," Ingrim says.
Persons:
Alex Ingrim, who's, Louisa, He's, Chase Buchanan, Here's, del, Ingrim, Ingram
Organizations:
Chase Buchanan USA, CNBC
Locations:
Washington, U.S, France, Canada, Malta, Italy, Florence, Europe, del Sol, Spain, Cyprus