I've moved all over the world for love. I struck out a few times until I finally met the man I'd marry.

• I've fallen in love abroad and moved to different countries for a partner.
• I had my heart broken a few times — then, I met the love of my life on vacation in Nicaragua.
• We're now married. I'm glad I kept my heart open and kept traveling.

I love love. I love the full experience of it, from falling hard for someone you want to glue yourself to 24/7 to maturely navigating the ups and downs of a relationship.

I love the give-and-take, the blending of safety and passion, and the idea of growing old with someone.

As with many things in life, though, love isn't always meant to be. It can dry up or end in flames, sometimes leaving you to pick up the pieces. The heartbreak that follows a breakup is my (and perhaps most people's) least favorite part about falling in love.

However, I'm thankful that never stopped me from looking for love again, again … and again.

I'm familiar with falling in love abroad and having it not work out

When I was 21, I left my home in Austria to spend a year in Madrid studying a different language and culture. Not long into my year abroad, I met a handsome Spaniard and fell madly in love with him.

Our relationship was filled with passion, from declaring our love to each other every chance we got to smashing plates in the kitchen of my shared apartment in the middle of the night.

However, the semester ended, and our love didn't last. I still remember two air hostesses trying to comfort me as I uncontrollably cried into my orange juice during the flight home.

At 24, I spent a summer in Barcelona with a friend and fell for a Dutch guy I met there. We soon became inseparable. After the summer, he moved back to the Netherlands while I had to finish my studies in Copenhagen, Denmark.

We navigated a long-distance relationship for over a year, then moved in together in Amsterdam. We were so proud we'd been able to keep our love alive.

In our seven years together, we matured as a couple and as individuals. However, as we both approached the age of 30, we realized we'd morphed into roommates — not lovers.

It was incredibly sad when we split and went our separate ways.

Eventually, falling in love in a new country worked out for me

It took me a while to pick myself up from that last breakup — but when I did, I decided it was time for a change of scenery.

By then, I was 33. I'd been working as a freelance writer for a few years, which meant I could work from anywhere.

To escape the dreary winter months in my compact studio apartment in Amsterdam, I picked a warm destination in Central America: Nicaragua.

Unbeknownst to me, my future husband was heading toward the same hostel as I was. After we bumped into each other one night, I knew I had to postpone my bus to Panama. Leaving the next day was suddenly out of the question.

We stayed put in our love bubble for six weeks and watched the sunset together every night. When he left Nicaragua, I followed him to Australia to meet his family. From there, we flew to Europe.

After introducing him to my friends and family in Austria, we decided to move to Portugal.

We got married in 2018 at the very hostel where we'd met and purchased our home on the Portuguese Algarve coast two years ago. We still live there with our two rescue cats.

Although falling in love abroad didn't always work in my favor, I'm glad I didn't let the heartbreak close off my heart. And, reader, if you have the chance to go on a getaway after a breakup, do it.

Healing feels way more pleasant lying in a hammock on a sunny beach while sipping a cocktail — and you never know who you might meet.