Rūta Žilinskė from Alytus dreamed of building a life in the United States. However, after spending several years across the Atlantic, she was forced to turn back.
When she and her husband moved to the US, they chose Seattle. Rūta admits they were shocked by the prices at first. Everything in America seemed three times more expensive, and it took them some time to find somewhere to live.Still, Rūta kept reminding herself that the US had been her dream, and she bravely embraced the challenges."At that moment, I wasn't afraid at all because I had dreamed about it for so many years. The streets were full of people, and I would go outside thinking: 'I'm in America, I did it,'" Rūta recalls.After the coronavirus pandemic, rents in Seattle almost doubled. Rūta and Tomas received a call telling them they had a month to decide whether to renew their lease – instead of $2,700, they would have to pay $4,000.At the time, Rūta was not working because she was looking after their son. She and her husband realised they could not afford the higher rent on his salary. In a desperate situation, they asked one of his colleagues for advice. He told them about Austin, Texas, its friendly people and warm weather.
