Daria Ershova.
Anna Krashenina
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Daria Ershova, a 25-year-old brand communications consultant based in Belgrade, Serbia. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I was born in Russia and moved to the US on my own for school at 16, first to Northern California for two years, then to Arizona for about seven years.I had various social media and marketing internships in the Phoenix area, and, in May 2024, I was hired from my internship at the Italian Association of Arizona as the part-time marketing coordinator. On the side, I also took on a role as marketing coordinator at International Business Seminar (GLO now), a study abroad organization. I earned $42,000 annually.When I was 23, I quit my jobs, left the US, and moved to Belgrade. After the move, I launched Daria Ershova PR Soma Creative as a fully independent freelance consultancy, providing marketing, PR, and brand communications services. My current annual income is about $54,000.In Phoenix, $42,000 a year sounded reasonable until you broke it downMost of my paycheck went straight to rent, car insurance, phone, and the usual bills. I wasn't struggling exactly, but I couldn't do much with what was left.I started seriously thinking about leaving in November 2024 and quit both of my jobs by April 2025. I initially looked into Master's programs in Europe, but by February 2025, I realized I didn't have the funds.Serbia kept coming up in my research. Since I had never been, I was moving here based on what I could find online. The entrepreneur visa process was very straightforward, and Serbia has a very favorable tax structure for freelancers and small businesses, which mattered to me because I knew I wanted to properly register my own company and not have to worry about the documents.
