The highs (and lows 😬) of living abroad... Keeping it 100!

Issue 5: ~9 minute read

🚚 Dani’s Doings: The highs (AND LOWS 😬) of living in Spain so far

💸 Money Matters: The predicted food inflation rates for 2024, new account contribution limits, and more!

✈️ Travel Tings: NINE MONTH CRUISE TOK!!!, a new luggage recommendation, and other travel news!

🫶🏽 Community Corner: A couple of new press/podcast features, and a new offering if you’re interested in moving to Spain!

My partner and I safely arrived in Spain on December 2 ✈️

Overall, it’s been a dream so far and we have 0 regrets on choosing Malaga for our new home. Things are feeling pretty official, too! We’ve got an apartment, our Spanish bank accounts, our foreigner identification cards, and I start Spanish classes on Monday.

I’m committed to keeping it as real and transparent with you as possible on this journey, so here are my thoughts after a month of being a ~Malaga girlie~:

The highs 👍🏽:

• Freedom & flexibility: My soul and spirit feels so free right now. Since I don’t have a traditional full-time job and get to make my own work schedule (as a Marketing consultant and Creator), I am LOVING the flexibility that comes with my lifestyle. I also love how affordable it is to fly to other European countries (many flights less than 50 euros!). I hope to visit at least 8 new countries this year 🤞🏽.

• The weather: I suffer from seasonal depression, and dark Toronto winters have a huge negative toll on my mental health. In Malaga, there are 300+ days of sun per year and it’s been 15-24 degrees every day since we’ve been here. Gratitude is a MUST 🙏🏽.

• Personal growth: Since I’ve moved to Malaga, I’m WAY more active (since it’s a walkable city and we have access to a low-cost gym), my Spanish language skills are improving since I’m immersed in it, and my ability to think on my feet and adapt to new environments has gotten better! I can’t wait to see the person I am at the end of this year.

• Relationship growth: Moving to another country with your significant other where neither of you speak the language can be quite the challenge. It’s only been a month, but I can already see our evolution and growth as a couple and a team!

• Work/collaboration with EST: As a non-morning person, being able to enjoy slow mornings and ease into my work today (since 9AM EST, where most of my clients are, isn’t until 3PM my time), I am enjoying my work days SO much more.

Aaaaaaand…the lows 👎🏽:

• Keyboard warriors: I’ve been doing Day in the Life in Spain blogs every day on my TikTok, and they have gained some popularity among the locals here. While 90% of the comments are kind, that last 10%? WHEW 😮‍💨. One person called me a MONKEY because I was celebrating the warm weather here and they said I’m glorifying global warming (I’m still shocked at that, but not surprised). Others have defended those participating in an anti-Islam protest I saw on one of my first days here. I was called pretentious for sharing my thoughts after one week of living here. It is very clear some people don’t want me to live here, but I’m committed to documenting this experience anyway! It’s exhausting sometimes though, if I’m being honest 😓.

• I also saw a man in a parade in blackface yesterday 🤦🏽‍♀️ in 2024!

• Being far away from family: It sucks not being able to support my family in-person when they need help. Some help can be provided remotely, but there’s only so much I can do when I live a continent and 2 flights away. There’s a lot of guilt that comes with this.

• Health stuff: Because I don’t know we’ll be back in Canada, I stocked up on my medications before I left. Insurance plans tend to only cover 3 months at a time for medications, so I spent HUNDREDS of dollars out-of-pocket to buy the meds where I need that exact version (and not the equivalent available in Europe). Also, navigating the healthcare system abroad with a potential language barrier may be challenging, so I’m just praying we don’t require immediate medical attention for anything (though we do have health insurance with ASISA!).

• Decision fatigue: First and foremost, I acknowledge how privileged I am to be able to pick up my life and move to another country for a year with my partner. However, there are many time-sensitive decisions and lots of planning that go into making a move successful (Where will we live? Where should we buy groceries? Where do we get a bank account? How do we top up our cell phones?) and the language barrier doesn’t make it any easier. I still wouldn’t change our decision to move, but it does get tiring sometimes.

• A new article dropped this week about Canada’s top CEOs, and they’ve all ALREADY made more than the average worker in 2024. Please remember that the next time you feel guilty for taking time off. Read it here.

• There are CPP (Canada Pension Plan) changes in 2024 that will result in Canadians seeing additional payroll deductions from their cheques. Budget accordingly, and read more about that here.

• Canada’s food price report predicts that food prices will rise by 2.5% to 4.5% in 2024 (equating to an increase of $701.79 for a family of four). Source. In the U.S., prices are predicted to increase by 1.6% in 2024. Source.

• New year, new contribution limits! Canadians have a TFSA contribution limit of $7000 this year, and U.S. folks have a Roth IRA contribution limit of $7000, too.

• Canada: Banks/financial institutions are offering some high interest rates. Wealthsimple currently offers 4-5%, which is one of the highest in Canada right now! Sign up and use my referral code (WHIM_W) for an extra bonus. Friends, this is basically free money for just keeping your money in these accounts. Do not sleep on these offers, and do not leave your money in accounts that are earning zero interest!

• 4 words: Nine Month Cruise Tok 🚢. In case you’re not on TikTok and your whole feed isn’t made up of this content like mine is, there’s currently a nine month Royal Caribbean cruise that is reality television GOLD. There are many creators on board the ship, so you get to see the stories (and drama) play out from different perspectives. Read about it here.

• If you’re looking to maximize your vacation days this year (and take some trips!), it’s a good idea to start booking time off from now to extend long weekends and holidays. Here’s a guide for the U.S. folks to do this 🇺🇸, and here’s one for the Canadians 🇨🇦.

• On January 2 in Tokyo, there was a truly awful plane crash that killed 5 people aboard the coast guard plane that the Japan Airlines plane collided with. R.I.P. to those lives lost. One remarkable thing that came out of this, though, was Japan Airline’s ability to evacuate all 379 passengers off of the flight. This is a good lesson and reminder to NEVER go for your bags in the event of a flight emergency. Watch the Wall Street Journal story here.

• Canada has been named as the safest place to travel in 2024 (This surprised me). Switzerland is number two, and Norway is number three. Source.

• I recently invested in some new luggage! My Away carry-on that I’ve had for 5+ years is now too big for most budget airlines (causing me to check it in), so I’ve been converted to a Monos carry-on and I’m loving it so far (not sponsored, I’m just genuinely a fan!). If you’re in the market for some new luggage, check out this YouTube channel I’m currently obsessed with as they do THE BEST luggage reviews.

• New press feature 📰! I got to chat with The Globe and Mail about why I chose to move to Spain, what my long-term plans are, and more! Read the article here (it may be behind a paywall though).

• New podcast feature 🎙️! I got to chat with Rob on the First Session podcast about my stress leave/short term disability, burnout management, how I’ve created a life for myself that I genuinely enjoy, and much more. I was very vulnerable on this one. You can listen to the episode here.

• Interested in moving to Spain and want to ask me your questions? Grab a spot in my calendar!

• I have 2 spots left in February for speaking engagements/workshops on the following topics: Personal Branding & Self Advocacy for Professionals, Managing Burnout + Mindful Productivity, and Remote Work While Travelling Abroad. If you’d like to book me at your organization for Black History Month, feel free to respond to this email! Check out my speaking portfolio here.

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