The Rabbit Hole:
Where to?
By Daniel de la Cruz
Chief Learner @ Polymensa
After spending the last 19 years of my life in the UK, what I know refer to as the 2nd chapter of my life (I grew up in Germany), I wanted to turn the page to chapter 3. In March 2022 my girlfriend (Carolyn) and I decided to move to another country.
But where to?
A brief back story... when COVID hit in 2020 my ex-partner decided to move back to Egypt (her home country) with our daughter.
My daughter was always the reason I decided to stay put in the UK. Because I didn't want to be far apart from her.
Although the whole situation was a pretty fucked up experience for me, I took the most positive thing out of it. "Reframing" things or whatever people call it. It meant I could now live "anywhere" in the world.
The caveat
- Carolyn and I both run our businesses fully remote
- We don't have any children together
I think if the above weren't the case, this whole move would have been a whole lot more difficult.
Wind back March 2022.
Carolyn and I were sat in the St John's Pub in Tunbridge Wells. And over a pint and a glass of vino decided: "Let's just do it!"
The criteria
- Somewhere warm (but not a desert or savanna)
- Not too far from the UK
- Good food
- Good wine
- Not too pricey
- Beach and mountains (not too much to ask, ey?)
- We prefer nature to big city life
- MOST IMPORTANTLY GOOD INTERNET CONNECTION!
We spoke to various friends who moved abroad and shortlisted our options down to 3:
- Italy
- Spain
- Portugal
If you're curious what the pros/cons were, do feel free to reach out ([email protected]) and I'll happily share my learnings.
8 months later and we’re now soaking in the December sun in Portugal (well not quite, we were wondering why it's so green here - because it does rain a fair bit).
So far it's been a great decision, continuing to work hard during the week and surfing on the weekends...
I mean it's a beautiful country - take a look 👀
But let me stop rabbiting on and get to the actual rabbit hole:
A site that got us excited all the amazing places to live was Nomadlist. It gives you a pretty good insight into different places around the world - especially if you are working in tech and have the privilege of working remotely.
Good to see Portugal listed so frequently on the top 20 locations.
It also shows how popular the digital nomad lifestyle is becoming.
If you could start with a blank canvas and choose a place to live - where would you live?
Blindspot: Economics
I’m going to admit, that although I spend a significant amount trying to educate myself about economics, my knowledge would probably equate a tiny single atom in a pumpkin compared to a Keynes or Krugman.
It’s why I rely on people who study this everyday to give me an insight.
And although I don’t always understand what they’re on about, I thought this was one of the simplest explanations of how our economy functions and why we get this thing called inflation.
However, the BIG and far more important question to me is how much longer will this model work and exist. I look forward to a day where there is far less artificially generated demand - than truthfully necessary.
But for now, here are the basics of our current economic engine...
Watch the video