I'm an American who signed a yearlong lease in the Netherlands, sight unseen

I moved to an apartment in another country without seeing it in person. Emily Pogue

After living as digital nomads for nearly two years, my husband and I decided to move from the US to the Netherlands.

We'd visited several times and fell in love with the walkability and bike culture. Plus, I have a connection to the country, since my great-grandparents were Dutch.

With the help of a real-estate agent, we found an apartment remotely from the US, signing a yearlong lease in the city of Utrecht before ever setting foot in the home.

We encountered some surprises while looking for an apartment

Since we couldn't physically be in the Netherlands, our real-estate agent went to walkthroughs for us. Emily Pogue

Since the process of finding an apartment abroad can often take months, we chose to search remotely from the US.…