I just couldn’t settle – My travel story

I’ve been wandering for a while now. Moving from place to place, traveling, exploring and seeing as much as I can of the world. In my 20’s that meant backpacking on a tight budget, with just a well-thumbed Lonely Planet guide clutched in my hand and a huge smile on my face.

I was lucky enough to backpack in India, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Costa Rico, Belize, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, USA, Fiji, New Zealand, Cook Islands & Australia

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I just couldn’t settle

During my travels, I realised that I just couldn’t settle. I worked for a few months in between each trip. Just to get enough cash to plan the next adventure. I lived and worked in Cyprus, Greece, Holland, France, Australia & Scotland.

I didn’t spend more than 2-3 months a year at home. My friends thought I was crazy. My family thought it was just a phase. However, everyone supported me and understood that it was something that I needed to do.

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When I hit 30 I got sucked into a life living in London. It was great, I love London. It’s an exciting, vibrant city to live in. But even there my itchy feet had me moving to 3 different apartments in 4 years. I still just couldn’t settle.

I didn’t do this alone, fortunately my boyfriend Brad (you’ve probably noticed him already) has been with me every step of the way. He too had this niggling feeling that we really should find a more permanent place to live. But where? When we are always longing to get away and visit somewhere new.

We decided to focus on taking awesome holidays around Europe while living in London. Gone were the battered old backpacks and the nomadic style of traveling on a whim. We had time to organise the details of our trips and enough cash to stay in nice hotels. We visited Croatia, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Germany, Italy and Ireland.

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Seeking the Spanish sun

We found ourselves wanting to go back to Spain every holiday, to see a new city or search for a new beach. The sun, the people, the food, the culture. It was everything we had been looking for and we fell in love with Spain. Both of us had holidayed here as children. So, maybe it was because of the fond memories but honestly, this place just felt right.

An opportunity came up to move to Madrid early in 2017 and we jumped at it. It was time to leave London behind. After 13 years of traveling I’m ready to stay a while in one place but not ready to give up having fun. I feel like it’s time to grow up but why does that have to be boring?

So, we packed up our London life and flew to Madrid to start Seeking the Spanish Sun… follow our adventures to find out more!

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My travel and working overseas timeline

2004: 1 month sabbatical traveling Cyprus and Egypt (where I got the travel bug)

2005: Summer working in Cyprus and winter back home

2006: Summer working in Mykonos, Greece and winter backpacking India and South East Asia

2007: Summer working in Mykonos, Greece and winter backpacking Australia

2008: Summer back home and winter working in Morzine, France

2009: Summer working in Amsterdam and winter backpacking Cuba and Central America

2010: Summer working in Amsterdam and winter working in Melbourne, Australia

2011: Summer working in Sydney, Australia and winter back home

2012: Summer working in Scotland and winter back home

2013 – 2016: Living and working in London with trips to Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Croatia

2017 – Now: Living, working and exploring Spain

Update January 2019

So, we’ve been in Madrid for 2 years now and we really love living here. We’ve settled into work, got familiar with the city, learnt some Spanish and most importantly have taken this opportunity to explore Spain and visit some amazing places.

To see where we have travelled in Spain (so far) and read our tips and guides check out the Spain Guides section. Highlights for me have been the beaches in Fuerteventura, wandering through Salamanca, eating free tapas in Granada and going up Mount Teide.

With every place we research and explore, we are one step closer to our dream of buying a house in Spain and living here permanently.

To find out more about why I am seeking the Spanish sun check out the About page. If you have any questions or would like to get in touch all the relevant info is on the Contact page.

If you too want to travel more or maybe move to Spain take a look at our Travel Advice section.

 

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