24 -year -old Colby Gray grew up in a very rural and conservative community in San Luis Obispo, California. It wasn't until the move two hours to attend the University of California in Santa Cruz that he traveled so far for the first time.
It was the beginning of a new life for Gray – he just didn't know him yet.
“Few people in my city had passports. You didn't really travel and did not go to school too far,” says Gray that CNBC is. “I was one of those who went on and when I studied abroad, I was one of the first to leave the country.”
Gray lived in a campus at the beginning of the first year, but the Covid-19 pandemic completely disturbed his time. In the second semester, Gray was forced to move home for about a year. At that time, in San Luis Obispo studied his studies abroad.
Gray studied in Copenhagen for six months. When this time was over, he did not want to go back to Santa Cruz.
“(Denmark) managed a pandemia very well and had a very high vaccination rate,” he says. “I fell in love with this and decided that I wanted to do more.”
Gray finished the semester at sea before he finally returned home to California.
“When I returned to Santa Cruz, it was a real cultural shock for me,” he says. “It wasn't residential there. The city is not really built for students.”
From the first visit to Europe in 2021 and moved in 2023, Gray traveled to 20 different countries.
Colby Gray
After returning to Santa Cruz, Gray lived from a campus in an apartment with two bedrooms with three other roommates and worked as an advisor abroad. Gray's participation in the rent was USD 1340 per month, in accordance with the documents checked by CNBC.
“I paid more for living in Santa Cruz than I paid for living abroad. I told myself that I couldn't do it anymore,” says Gray. “I knew that after the end (with students) I would apply for a master's degree in Belgium.”
Gray says that his main motivation to leave the United States is that life in cities never resonated with him – and hated driving.
“It was one of the things I loved to live in Europe, I never felt that I needed a car to live,” he says.
Gray was also dissatisfied with the quality of education, which he received in UC Santa Cruz, mainly due to costs. In the school year 2024-2025, average It costs 44,160 USD for students living in a campus. Gray's classes were canceled for over half a semester and he still had to pay for everything.
“It just didn't look like I got what I paid for, even with a lot of federal and state funds,” says Gray. “I knew that there must be a better system and a better way to develop. Thanks to my work abroad, I realized that I could simply get a visa and learn as a foreign student at the sixth price.”
“I wanted to continue my education, but I wanted to use it as a path to stay.”
Gray and friends participated in the famous EDM festival, Tomorrowland.
Colby Gray
Gray decided to choose a master's degree and considered programs in Great Britain, as at Cambridge University, University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, but he could not justify the costs.
It led Gray to Leuven in Belgium, Which seemed to be the perfect choice. Leuven was built as a “15-minute city”, a concept of urban planning, in which most daily needs, such as shopping, healthcare and others, can be achieved within 15 minutes with a walk or cycling. The concept gains adhesion in other Belgian cities, such as Brussels and Mechelen, and exists in large cities such as Paris, France, Barcelona, Spain and Melbourne in Australia.
In Leuven, cars are banned in the city center and it is easy – and encouraged – to move on a bike.
“I fell in love with this and I loved that Belgium was centrally located, so I could also travel,” says “There are four different countries around me during a three -hour train, and it was very unique.”
The University of Leuven in Belgium offers a program for students looking for a degree called search permit. This permit allows students or researchers to stay for a year and unlimited work, as long as they obtain a master's degree at the University of the country. This is an annual program, and the cost of tuition fees is around 3,800 euros per year or 4,310 USD.
“However, as a student there is no better living costs. There is nothing better economical than being in Europe. There is no reason to get off here, so at this stage of my life it makes sense,” he says.
Gray's family came in Belgium and they went to Italy together.
Colby Gray
Gray came to Belgium with two bags and a backpack and moved home with four bedrooms with three other people. He paid 500 euros or USD 567 per month: “It was fantastic. I mean that I paid a third of prices for getting my own room.”
He immediately set off to build life in Leuven.
“When I came here, it was discouraging. I was aware of the fact that I didn't have any friends here and I was completely alone,” he says. “I think I felt like that in my life for the first time. I worked really hard to make friends and create a community here.”
After graduating from Leuven, Gray took a bicycle trip from Andmatt to Basel, Switzerland.
Colby Gray
Gray finished last summer and moved about 10 minutes by bike outside the city. It pays 420 euros a month, including tools. His current apartments are also provided by cosmetics and food.
Gray's additional monthly expenses include 236 euros in foodstuffs, 154 euros in food outside, 11 euros in the field of health insurance and medical visits, 48 euros in transport, 50 euros to the gym, 30 euros for well -being, 20 euros for visa fees, 20 euros in clothing and 10 euros in subscriptions. Including his rent, Gray's total monthly expenditure is around USD 998 per month or USD 1132.
Gray has lived in Belgium for almost two years and says that he loves the balance between professional and private life, which he could find there.
“The community feels so strong here and I have a really great balance between my professional life and home life,” he says. “It's such a slower pace of life and it's really beautiful.”
Gray says that he loves the balance between professional and private life, which he has been able to find since leaving the United States.
Colby Gray
From the first visit to Europe in 2021 and moved in 2023, Gray traveled to 20 different countries. His family and friends also visited.
In 2024, the Gray family came to Belgium and went in Tuscany. He returned to the USA for the first time in December.
Gray has seven months to permission to search and think about his subsequent steps, which may include the second master's degree and internship In Brussels or Portugal.
One thing that Gray knows is that he is not ready to return to America yet.
“Living in the USA. I felt that there was a ticking clock in me, in which I had to get to my working force, get a house, have a family and I think I slowed down a bit and just sniffing roses” – he says.
Conversions from euro to USD were conducted using the Oanda conversion factor from 1 euro to $ 1.13 on May 8, 2025. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
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