Magic Habitat is a Substack documenting our gloriously overthought and occasionally unhinged journey to find a house to buy in Spain. A compendium of all the bizarre places we have viewed across the country in our pursuit of Something Different™️. Written by me, a Creative Strategist who naively thought that it wouldn’t be this complicated.

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September 2024
Girona

It’s September 2024, and we still call Mallorca home, but curiosity got the better of us. So, onto the ferry we go to see if Girona’s hype is real - apparently the beaches are great, the city’s got a more youthful energy, and real estate that might not cost a kidney. Throw in the possibility of skiing a couple hours away, and we wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Catalonia stretches across Spain’s northeastern corner, brushing up against the French border and rolls down to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the region’s ancient villages and tucked-away coves, it’s surprisingly well-connected: you’ve got Barcelona-El Prat, Girona-Costa Brava, Reus, and even Lleida-Alguaire airports, which means multiple ways in—and out—whenever the travel bug bites (the real estate agent nearly convinced me to move there immediately when she casually mentioned that she frequently jumps on the AVE (fast train) to Perpignan for oysters and wine - I’m an easy sell)

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Property-wise, Catalonia spans centuries-old stone masías tucked among olive groves to sleek, modern builds along the coast. It also claims one of the world’s most iconic surrealists—Salvador Dalí, born in Figueres and inspired by the coastal village of Port Lligat. His legacy still hums through this creative hub, from La Bisbal (Spain’s antiques epicenter - yes please) to a culinary scene that might be the most inventive and delicious in the country (more on that later).

We narrowed our first house-hunting mission to two spots, aiming for that sweet spot between Costa Brava beaches and the Baix Empordà countryside: Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Palamós.

Sant Feliu de Guíxols

• Population: ~22,000

• Beach Proximity: Right on the coast

• Distance to Girona: ~30 minutes by car

Though it’s perched on a lovely stretch of the Costa Brava, Sant Feliu de Guíxols still feels like a proper working town—part of its charm is having a solid amenities, a great food market, alongside a beautiful beach. Property options run the gamut: you’ll find central townhouses (some just steps from the sand) and pricier villas in the hills. We toured 4 bedroom townhouse for sale two minutes from the water, a tempting blend of local life and beachy convenience. In the end, we ruled it out because, shocker, you can’t have acres of rolling countryside and a bustling town center right next door—who knew?

Here are some photos of said town house (which is still for sale).

Palamós

• Population: ~18,000

• Beach Proximity: Right on the coast

• Distance to Girona: ~45 minutes by car

Palamós has a solid port-town vibe especially if you’re into fresh seafood (hello, famous prawns) and a bit more year-round energy. While it’s no postcard like Sant Feliu, it’s right next to some of the Costa Brava’s best beaches and makes a perfect jumping-off point for the wider region. We even toured a villa with actual land (shocking!), but the place looked as tired as its urbanization. Sure, it’s not as pretty as Begur or Cadaqués, but it feels infinitely more liveable.

Wildcard

On our last evening, drinking vermouth in Girona, we spotted a house just ten minutes away. Our flight was the next day, so obviously we texted the agent at midnight and, shockingly, she replied. By morning, we were touring a Belgian antiques dealer’s old masia: French countryside on the outside, Architectural Digest on the inside (it literally made their pages). I was practically having heart palpitations, and two weeks later, we returned for a second viewing. So, did we pull the trigger? Stay tuned. Meanwhile, feast your eyes on these photos.

Food Recs
We had some of the best meals of our lives in Catalonia. Highlights include:

• Matsu Izakaya
  Carrer Indústria, 4, 17230 Palamós, Girona
  Hands-down the best Japanese food we’ve had outside Japan. Easily one of our top three restaurants in Spain and SUCH great value.

• Thai Palamós
  Carrer Pagès Ortiz, 23, 17230 Palamós, Girona
  Fresh, authentic Thai flavors—possibly the best we’ve had outside Bangkok.

• Monki Restaurant (Monells)
  Carrer Vilanova, 17121 Monells, Girona
  Delicious sushi in a sleek modern setting, nestled in one of Catalonia’s most beautiful medieval towns.

• Mola! Botiga de Pastas
  Carrer Bonaventura Carreras I Peralta, 13, 17004 Girona
  Cheap, tasty homemade pasta—more bar than restaurant, but well worth a stop.
  
  Next week, we’re back in Catalonia for that elusive second viewing. Will the heart palpitations return? Will we sign on the dotted line—or will something else pop up before the ink is even dry?
  
  

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December 2023
Mallorca, Spain

Our three-month lease at the beach house came to an end, and we found ourselves scrambling, again - for somewhere to live. Why? A combination of poor planning (on our part) and the never-ending circus that is the visa process.

We didn’t want to commit to a long-term rental without ‘official’ approval, which seemed sensible at the time. Spoiler: it wasn’t. But unpacking that particular trauma would require a newsletter the length of War and Peace, and I lack the emotional bandwidth.

We found a short-term rental in Puigpunyent -a mountain town about 20 minutes from Palma and far more low-key than Sòller or Valldemossa. The house itself was okay but the town itself had a great energy™️ and a lovely community.

It also happens to be home to Hotel Son Net -imagine if Wes Anderson had a Mallorcan cousin with a thing for velvet and fabric wallpaper. We booked in for their Christmas Eve feast to celebrate our first Spanish Christmas. Feliz Navidad and all that.

While we were living there, Mercat Tramuntana opened -a stylish café-slash-wine-bar that quickly became a destination spot. Proof that even sleepy mountain towns are one cool playlist and a smash burger away from becoming the next big thing.

Son Net Vibes

House Viewings: Chapter Two

Now, let’s talk houses.

Having just spent three years in the UK renovating an old stable, we weren’t exactly enticed by the idea of another gut job -let alone one in a language we didn’t speak fluently. Dealing with tradespeople in English was traumatic enough.

That said, I cannot. help. myself. when it comes to old houses. The worse the condition, the more unliveable, the more likely I’m going to say, “This could be incredible.” No roof? No problem. Just adds to the charm if you ask me.

One day, we arrived early in Felanitx, a southeastern town with exactly the kind of faded grandeur that gets me irrationally excited. Mallorca has been heavily gentrified, especially near the coast, but Felanitx still feels like a proper town -one with history, grit, and (relatively) realistic prices.

It’s full of once-glorious townhouses crying out for restoration and has quietly become abit of a hub for artists and creative exiles priced out of Palma. If you don’t have generational wealth or an IPO under your belt, it’s one of the few places on the island that still feels almost affordable.

Just be warned: renovation costs here run from €1,500 to €2,000 per square metre. A figure we either didn’t know, chose to ignore, or wilfully forgot.

Which brings us to: The Cinema.

A 1,000m² building in the centre of town. Total gut job. Absolutely stunning. Double-height spaces, huge rooms, and it still had the original cinema room.

The energy, though? A bit off. Turns out it was once a pro-Franco radio station HQ. Nothing like house hunting in a potential fascist shrine to give you the heebie jeebies. The graffiti, which can best be described as ‘historically loaded’ didn’t help either.

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But if you had the money (or a few investors), it could be something spectacular. A gallery. A cultural space. Apartments. All of the above. The property allowed one room to scheme - a term we coined on that viewing and have since kept as a central requirement for every house we visit (which might be why it’s taking so long). A space to plot, plan, build the empire. Or just avoid other people.

For us though? It was too big. Too expensive. Too complicated. Too haunted (politically, if not literally). But if for someone else - it’s amazing (and still for sale).

So, all things considered -no bueno. But if you’re a masochist with vision and very deep pockets, the cinema’s still on the market.

Felanitx, or more specifically the outskirts, also happened to be home to my all-time favourite property listing in Mallorca. I screen-grabbed the photos like I was saving evidence.

Here are a few of them. And for the especially nosey among you, a few more.

A snip at €3.9 million, wouldn’t you say? It’s sold now anyway *to someone incredibly, incredibly lucky.

Next Time…

I’ll fast forward a few months and take you on two whistle-stop tours of Catalonia, where we very nearly bought a Belgian antique dealer’s house that, minor detail, had no windows. Oh and if you’re enjoying this, feel free to hit ‘like’ or drop me a message. Otherwise, hitting send feels a bit like lobbing a pebble into the ocean and waiting for an echo. Is anyonnnnne really there? Either way, I am finding this quite fun/cathartic.

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July 2023
London

A few months earlier, we were in London visiting my best friend. It was Sunday morning, we were nursing hangovers and I was mindlessly scrolling Idealista, the Spanish version of Zillow (US) or Rightmove (UK) and my personal real estate deity.

We didn’t have long before the big move to find somewhere to live and then suddenly like a divine intervention from the Idealista gods - a new listing appeared: a modest beach house in the southeast of Mallorca, an area we’d visited only once. And yes, I’m fully aware of the irony in calling a beach house modest if you’re used to cramped city living. But when Idealista speaks, who am I to argue?

Eight weeks later, we were on a flight via Paris with a cat, a lost suitcase, and a lease.

Autumn 2023
Mallorca

Chairs, Chairs Everywhere

The house was, let’s say, compact. One actual bedroom, two single rooms better suited for storage one of which became my office, a kitchen that made NYC galley kitchens look palatial, and a two-seater sofa seemingly designed as a test of endurance.

It wasn’t until we started viewing other houses that I realized Mallorquins have an almost philosophical relationship with seating. Chairs—often stiff, upright, and aggressively uninviting—were everywhere. Lining hallways, stacked in corners, filling rooms like a surreal furniture cult. A surplus of seats, but never anywhere you’d actually want to sit.

It was furnished simply (read sparsely) like most places on the island, with the kind of reverent devotion to IKEA that seems woven into the island’s DNA. I soon discovered why when I ventured into a supposedly “mid-range” furniture store, only to be slapped with a price tag so astronomical for a single bookcase, I found myself double-checking it wasn’t hand-carved by mythical Mallorcan elves.

When Paradise Becomes a Hashtag

But the location? ICONIC. A five-minute walk down a sandy path led to a tiny chiringuito and, just beyond that, Cala Llombards—one of Mallorca’s most photographed coves. Once upon a time, this stretch of coastline belonged to locals. Now, it belonged to Instagram. Over the months that we lived there, it became clear that the world’s most beautiful places have now become their own superstar marketing departments, transforming every photo taken into #nofilter gold.

From around 5 p.m, when the sun eased off, most of the people who snapped their three identical shots had left and the cove was returned to those who weren’t there to document it. It was a magical place to spend our first three months.

But back to the reality of buying a house. During that time (and well before) we were searching listings almost daily to find Something Different. We wanted Something Different—anything that didn’t look like it was ripped straight from a “Balearic villa with pool” Pinterest board.

Instead, we explored palatial ruins with enough structural drama to obliterate anyone’s budget. We fell in love with photographer’s place complete with a beautiful studio that was close to perfection. We even stumbled upon an abandoned cinema, still bearing relics from a questionable past—1930s fascist iconography included—as well as hundreds of dead pigeons and a colony of bats.

Next Time…

Our lease runs out and we make a spectacular about-face and end up in a tiny mountain village on the exact opposite side of the island—just in time for our inaugural Spanish Christmas. Wondering if we actually purchased any of those Something Different houses? Spoiler alert: we did not. But that won’t stop me from dissecting exactly why in excruciating detail. Tune in if that’s your jam.

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It’s been four years since we last arrived into your inbox, back when all we did was interview people who’d successfully made the jump to living abroad. We loved sharing those stories—so much, in fact, that we decided to write a new chapter: our own.

In this fresh (and frankly, more unhinged) incarnation of Magic Habitat, we’re taking you along on our real estate rollercoaster in Spain.

If you’re ready to trade interviews for first-hand chaos—and maybe get inspired (or warned) along the way - stick around. We promise it’ll be more entertaining than any property listing you’ve scrolled in the last year.

England
Spring 2023

Work from home. Work from anywhere. Kitchen table doubling as a desk. Sofa doubling as a conference room. Google Meet stuttering. Laptop overheating. Farrow & Ball walls closing in—Setting Plaster, obviously.

Wishing for a window. Wishing for a view. An orchard? The ocean? A pool? A point?

Let’s move abroad. Okay. Where? Spain. Why not. Two hours from home. Where’s home? Doesn’t matter. Sell it. Sell everything.

Get the visas. Pack the cat. Touch down.

Buy a house.

But where?

Barcelona? Too loud. Valencia? Too TikTok. Marbella? Too obvious.

Too many choices. Too much scrolling. Too much dreaming. The Paradox of Choice.

What’s the budget? What’s the vibe? What’s the feeling?

A farmhouse. But near a city. Still clinging to the idea we are thirty-something urbanites. By the beach? Sure. With land? Maybe. But not too much. Quiet luxury? Definitely not.

Creatively chaotic. That’s the brief.

Welcome to the Magic Habitat 2.0.

Hundreds of houses. Thousands of miles. Our gloriously overthought and occasionally irrational journey to find a house to buy in Spain.

Coming up in a few days: How we landed in a beach house on Mallorca, discovered an entire island’s worth of stiff chairs, an IKEA devotion, and stumbled upon an abandoned cinema for sale with far more than we bargained for. Until next time…

‘Magic Habitat’ is on a mission to inspire remote workers who are curious about relocating. From Ibiza to Lisbon and Marseille to Tbilisi, every other Tuesday we deliver interviews with tastemakers, adventurers and the wild-at-hearts who have chosen to live (and work) in some of the most interesting and colourful places in the world.

The Interview:

“Amidst the pandemic, in June 2020 we’d been working from home around our kitchen table for around three months and were growing restless of the same four walls; our work life and home life had become one. 

We’d spoken previously about living abroad but never had the motivation to work through the complications of leaving the UK. Now we were both able to perform our work without being limited to our offices. 

One afternoon, after a particularly challenging work day, I  said “Shall we just go?”. Andy agreed immediately, despite not knowing any details! We spent the following weekends mind mapping pros and cons of moving, potential locations and researching the complexities of becoming residents elsewhere. It was 4 months to the day that we began planning that we flew out to Spain.”

What attracted you to Madrid?

We were really torn between Barcelona and Madrid - the beach called us to Barcelona but broader plans for the future, especially in terms of work beckoned us to Madrid (who knew how long this pandemic/ remote working situation would last). 

After trawling endless Facebook groups, speaking to others who had visited or lived in Madrid, we settled on the bustling city. Winters can be cold (we witnessed the heaviest snowfall in 40 years!) and Summers scorching hot - both reflections of the region's high altitude and being surrounded by the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range. 

Madrid is a very walkable city, we’re enjoying letting hours pass as we explore new neighbourhoods; getting lost on a Sunday afternoon at a flea market or watching the world go by at a local taberna.

Socially, Madrid is well known for knowing how to party as well as having plenty of arts and culture events to attend - so far this has been a little difficult to enjoy due to the ongoing pandemic situation; so we are hoping to explore this more in the coming months.

How did you make the transition to working remotely?

We quickly had to adapt to working from home due to our office locations temporarily closing due to the pandemic. When we relocated we used our holiday allowances to give us time to get established - find an apartment, a good coffee shop etc! We made sure to incorporate an office space into our apartment search criteria, by this time we’d realised that we did not need to be limited to spending 5 days a week in a fixed office space.

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre relocation life?

We had a lot of outgoings in the UK, attached to that generic UK city centre lifestyle; from a brand new car lease through to all the TV and entertainment subscriptions. A big part of our planning was understanding what we needed vs what we had currently had. 

Once we had this, we realised we could increase our rented property budget in Spain so we could get something we’d feel comfortable in and gave us the space we needed for working from home. 

In the three months we’ve been here, we’re living much simpler - our outgoings have not reduced significantly but are redirected (i.e we don’t pay council tax as this is our landlords responsibility, we have annual private healthcare/ dental, we use public transport for travel, we’ve streamlined our subscription services).

What are your insider tips for Madrid?

In no particular order:

Círculo de Bellas Artes; A fantastic cultural organisation which exhibits big names such as Banksy with a rooftop terrace providing views of the entire city and beyond.

If you see something in a bakery or patisserie window that catches your eye, go inside and order it. We’ve tried the most delicious bread, cake and pastries since being here - no specifics as we try one in every neighbourhood we visit! It’s also a great excuse to practice the language.

There’s always mañana - Madrilenos enjoy leisurely sitting out, drinking and/or eating with friends and family in local tabernas. It’s okay to ‘live’ here and it’s not all just work work work!

Embrace new traditions; we spent Christmas here and got involved in some of the traditions including the Spanish Christmas lottery, Nochebuena (Christmas Eve), Dia de los Reyes (6th January - Three Kings Day)

We can’t talk about Madrid and not mention the wonderful Parque de El Retiro. We’ve wondered our way around the Palacio de Cristal and the lake and can’t wait to explore it more and see how it changes throughout the seasons.

What do you miss the most?

Our family and friends. Andy mostly misses his video games! We moved here with a single suitcase each and whilst we have had some things shipped from the UK a lot of our possessions are still in storage. 

We’re embracing finding Spanish equivalents of grocery items but have made a few trips to the international aisle in the supermarket for tea bags and Dairy Milk.

If you had to pick another place in the world to relocate to, where would you go and why?

New York City - we adore it. The hot summers and the magic of Christmas. It would be impossible to run out of things to do and explore there. We love all of the different pockets of the city especially when it comes to finding food from all over the world. We can’t wait to visit our friends there again soon.

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering relocating what would it be?

Plan! And plan again. 

Also be flexible with it. We flew from the UK to Valencia due to restricted flights from the UK and then ended up staying in Valencia for 5 days more than we had planned due to internal restrictions in Spain. We had to think quickly on our feet to reorganise accommodation and travel.If you have a plan, believe in it. Don’t be overwhelmed by complicating things or thinking of the worst outcome.

To manage your stress levels, if you can afford to, hire local people who know how things work. Our relocation specialist and legal advisor helped us navigate so much that was alien to us and made the process a lot less painful (does not get rid of the sleepless nights!)

What do you have planned in the future? What are your plans for 2021?

Hopefully to travel around Spain - we want to visit the Sierra de Guadarrama and plan to head to the Basque and Catalan regions. 

We’re also really focused on improving our Spanish language skills, so perhaps we will take in person classes when possible to do so. One of our main reasons for relocating was to spend more time outside in the sunshine, away from screens enjoying more of the world around us, so we hope to be able to do this.

You can follow Natisha and Andy’s journey on Instagram here

The Top Three: For sale in Madrid

💰Mi casa es tu casa. What $4million looks like in Madrid

🍷An architect designed apartment ft roof terrace

⭐Great location and views for 150k Euro

The Interview:

“Before we moved to Mallorca our base was in Notting Hill, London. We lived there for around 8 years and loved the community feeling on Golborne Road and Portobello Road and had many local cafes and delis that we visited frequently. Due to our business, we travelled for about 4 months of the year visiting the farmers that we work with across the world. 

Whenever I was back in London, despite loving its vibrancy, I craved nature so much. We lived in a flat and worked from home mostly. We would plan all our meetings from Soho House though, so it would give us a nice reason to have a bit of a commute and spend time in other parts of town.

Three years ago, my friend took me to Mallorca and showed me her favourite childhood place, and that’s when I visited the Tramuntana for the first time and fully fell in love. I actually had butterflies in my belly! It’s then that I decided I wanted to live there….and now 3 years later here I am!”

What attracted you to Mallorca?

It was a purely physical reaction, something I had never felt before about a place. It felt like being in love and coming home. The climate is perfect and the landscape is beautiful. I always thought I am more of a tropical rainforest person, but somehow the golden earth and light here just did it for me! Besides that I kept meeting inspiring people who all had a link to Mallorca as well, so it was a full coming together of reasons to be here.

How did you make the transition to working remotely?

The first 4 years of our business I had to make all the products myself, so I worked from a commercial kitchen together with my boyfriend. All the orders would be shipped from our flat and this all added up to a lot of work. We got to a turning point where we had to make the decision to either have a full manufacturing and distribution operation or outsource this work. We decided to go with outsourcing, which meant that for the last 2-3 years, we have been fortunate enough to be able to work from anywhere. So moving to Mallorca was luckily very easy for us in terms of our office.

Tell us more about Wunder Workshop…

Wunder Workshop creates products for the people and planet. We focus on Consumption With Purpose, by harvesting the power of regeneratively grown plants for the ultimate wellness rituals. Wunder translates to miracle, and we focus on plants that have a quality that can be classed as such. 

Wunder Workshop is inspired by intuitive herbalism and Ayurveda - in particular, the preventative and holistic approach that this ancient medical system uses to maintain optimal physical and mental health.

As conscious citizens ourselves, all the decisions we make at Wunder Workshop are based on a set of ethical and sustainable values to promote a transparent relationship between grower and consumer. 

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre relocation life?

Rental costs are definitely cheaper compared to London, you get a lot more space for your money. Living costs however are surprisingly more expensive. I never realised how lucky we were in the UK with electricity costs etc. They are at least triple out here. The same for water, it nearly costs 8-fold to what we paid in the UK. So those things need to be taken into account - it sort of evens out similar to our overall costs in London. 

What are your insider's tips for Mallorca?

My favourite cafe and brunch spot: Mama Carmen’s in Palma

Most lovely zero-waste store: Nu Market in Palma

Beautiful small deli: Colmado Sant Jaume in Palma

Best natural wine bar: Bar La Sang in Palma

Coffee spot: Cafe Social on the Wednesday market in Deia

Beautiful cafe & zero waste store: ReOrganic in Soller

What do you miss the most?

Friends! Apart from that, not so much at the moment as of course Covid has changed a lot of the usual London lifestyle. But if things were “normal”, I would definitely miss all the buzzing, innovative restaurants and bars. And my lovely local places in Notting Hill, such as Golborne Deli, Tin Shed, Albertine Wine bar, and zero-waste store Liberté Cherie. 

If you had to pick another place in the world to relocate to, where would you go and why?

My birth place - Avalon in Australia. I only lived there until I was 2 years old but my father is still out there, and so is my godmother and dear friends. I have just never dared to make the big step to move back there. It always still feels too far from Europe and I just adore Europe. One day however, I am sure I’ll make the move...

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering relocating what would it be?

If it feels right in your heart, just follow it. I truly followed my intuition and heart. It felt like such a home-coming. On the more practical side, if you are moving to Mallorca or mainland Spain, get your NIE* tax number sooner rather than later...I got it 2 years before I moved here (after I set my intention on moving here), knowing it would take a while and that you need it for nearly everything out here. (*Editor’s note: please check the latest legislation given the departure of the UK from the European Union)

What do you have planned in the future?

I really try not to plan ahead much further than one month at the time, life is so uncertain so plans don’t always work out. I do want to learn Spanish and start growing a permaculture vegetable garden, we have a lot of land around the property so I am excited to start that! 

The Top Three: For sale in Mallorca

💰A magical house overlooking the ocean in Port de Valldemossa

🍷Historic apartment in hip Santa Catalina

⭐ Renovation project in artistic Arta

‘Magic Habitat’ is on a mission to inspire people who are curious about relocating. From Barbados to Lisbon and Mexico City to Tbilisi, every other Tuesday we deliver interviews with tastemakers, adventurers and the wild-at-hearts who have chosen to live (and work) in some of the most interesting and colourful places in the world.

The Interview: Hello, world! A lesson in taking the leap

Hailing from Norway, Marte was living the typical metropolitan life with an apartment in the capital, Oslo prior to making a huge lifestyle change in 2019.

“I love to travel and the 5 weeks annual holiday we got in Norway didn’t feel enough. I started my own consulting business selling coding hours so I could have the freedom to take more time off - but I still had the same feeling, is this it?”

“Around the same time myself, my boyfriend and some of our friends had rented a boat in Croatia for 2 weeks and I just loved it. That’s where everything started! I began to think ‘what if I could do this every day’ and when I returned, I started watching videos of couples who were working remotely and living on boats. I got totally hooked and fast forward to less than 12 months later, we had sold our apartment and bought our boat! It’s a 44 ft Hanse from 2007.”

Many people reading this foster ambitions of living their life at sea but lack of experience puts them off. What would you say to them?

We didn’t have any experience - aside from my boyfriend knowing some basics like how to hoist the sails! We didn’t know how to sail and had no clue on what it would mean to own our own boat! We bought her online sight unseen as she was crossing back from the Caribbean to Norway!

Initially, we had her on the hard (on land) for 2 weeks, whilst we moved our belongings into the boat and then we left Stavanger, Norway for the Caribbean, crossing the Atlantic which took about three weeks! 

She is a very fast boat and well equipped. And she had crossed the Atlantic twice already when we got her. We raced in a regatta when crossing the Atlantic with 300 other boats. We came first in our class, 10th overall and I became the fastest female skipper! 

I realise this sounds crazy! People usually plan and dream about this for years and most people doing this have lots of experience. This was not just some cruising in Croatia - this was crossing oceans and rough seas. The idea of being out on the big sea for about 3 weeks was scary - yet very exciting!

Why Sailing?

First of all it’s something new! I needed some contrast to my urban life and sailing contrasts in every single way. You can go from being freezing cold and feeling the power of nature one minute, then suddenly you get safely into harbour, have a beer and just relax. 

Your scenery changes every day and we have seen so many countries, eaten so much good food and got to know so many cultures and people. Every part of the trip has its charm. Sailing also pushes your limits. When you’re out at sea, you have no other option than to just have to deal with what mother nature throws at you. Sometimes it can get very scary but you very quickly learn how capable you are - much more than you think.

How did you make the transition to working remotely?

Initially, the plan was actually not to work at all! We were supposed to do a one year sabbatical and enjoy island hopping in the Caribbean. Sailing and boat maintenance takes up a big chunk of time, so we didn’t want to be tied down by work. We came to the Caribbean (St Lucia) in December 2019 and then we visited all the islands up until St Martin, where we got stuck when Covid hit.

My boyfriend picked up his former role again and I did some smaller projects for clients but I was starting to feel a bit lonely. When the islands started to open again we travelled to a co-working place in Martinique that a Norwegian girl  had just opened.

She gave me tips about this awesome company called SafetyWing. So I sent them an email and it was a perfect match. I immediately loved their offering and became a customer - we had another insurance company but they didn’t want to cover any Covid related stuff, so it was an easy switch to make!  It’s great being a customer and building products for yourself and other fellow nomads! 

Tell us more about Safety Wing!

SafetyWing is your home country on the internet! The company was founded by Norwegians and you will see that DNA through our products. Norway is one of the best countries in the world to live in and the brilliant welfare system is globally recognised.

The only problem is that when you leave the country - you lose all your benefits. Coming from a place like Norway, our founders wanted to bring those benefits with them, wherever they travelled and so SafetyWing was born.

One of the biggest issues I had before leaving Norway was that no insurance company could give me insurance at a decent price,  if I was travelling for more than 90 days. We need a better system covering the citizens of the world.

Can you shared one of your favourite places you’ve visited so far?

Maybe the best place would be Barbuda. It has a very unique history and for anybody interested it’s worth listening to "The island no one owns". When you get there there are no resorts or hotels. Only some small huts. The beaches are pink, the water so blue - it is the most beautiful place on earth! And the people are so friendly! We were invited to people's homes, and nobody closed their doors because everyone knows everybody. And the only visitors were sailors like us. There are horses and donkeys running wild in the street and on the beach. It is just an amazing remote place that we were lucky to be able to visit.

What do you miss the most?

I really miss having a bigger space and the freedom of just walking out the door. Our boat is on the water with an anchor and we only have a small dinghy with a 9.8hp engine on (aka our "car") so we always need to plan everything together. I also really miss a dishwasher (luckily I have a manual one aka Håkon my boyfriend :) A life on land is actually pretty easy (in a practical way) so I remind myself to appreciate what I am missing so I can have something to look forward to, as I know this lifestyle isn’t forever. 

If you had to pick another place in the world to relocate to, where would you go?

Oh - that’s a hard question. As a sailor the whole point is to never have to choose just one place! Then you have "swallowed the hook" we say - dropped your metaphorical anchor for the last time! The day when I become a landlubber again I don’t think I want just one place. The idea of selecting "one place" scares me!

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering relocating to a boat, what would it be?

It might look and sound idyllic to live on a boat and go wherever you want but that is not all true. Living on a boat is a lot of stress and a lot of work! But it is all so worth it.  In general - I would just say "just do it!". For me boat life gave me the missing anchor in life and I have grown as a person with everything I have learned and all the people I have met.

What do you have planned in the future? 

Nothing - I don’t plan! I only plan 1 month at a time and I can very much recommend this as a rule to live by! In my pre relocation life, I had been planning and thinking too much and making myself unhappy. When you don’t plan you don’t let yourself down because you simply don’t have any plans! And how exciting is the idea of not knowing what the future brings! It could be anything and that has totally eliminated the thoughts I used to get about "is this it? Is this all it is?"

Where can we follow your journey? 

@sailinghelloworld is our instagram page where we post parts of our journey.

The boat is named “Hello World” as that is the first thing you write when you learn a new programming language. It seemed appropriate given that we didn’t know how to sail when we first started and also that we are sailing out in the world, learning something new.

‘Magic Habitat’ is on a mission to inspire remote workers who are curious about relocating. From Ibiza to Lisbon and Marseille to Tbilisi, every other Tuesday we deliver interviews with tastemakers, adventurers and the wild-at-hearts who have chosen to live (and work) in some of the most interesting and colourful places in the world.

From the Editor: 

Since launching this newsletter in September 2020, we now have thousands of location curious subscribers all over the world, so to each one of you who has signed up - thank you so much! I really hope that in a year that has seen most of us unable to travel, it’s provided you with some light relief and a large dose of inspiration.

For those of you who are new subscribers, or if you need instant access to people who’ve already done it whilst trying to sell your relocation dream over the holidays (!) - here’s our 2020 highlights reel:

🇵🇹 In Issue 1, we met Digital Strategist Kate, who left Brooklyn to relocate to Ericiera, Portugal’s surfing capital.
🇪🇸 In Issue 2, we met Coralie and Adam, who moved from Rome to magnificent Granada in Spain, in pursuit of a better work/life balance.
🇪🇸 In Issue 3, writer Sally Fox told us how she left London and her job in the fashion industry, to create a new life in Galicia on Spain’s rugged and wild northwestern coast.
🌍 In Issue 4, Ben and Emily gave us a glimpse into their life after they decided to swap terra firma for sailing the worlds oceans, working remotely from their boat.
🇫🇷 In Issue 5, we met Amy and Marc who left the Caribbean island of Montserrat to buy a stunning Château in rural France. 
🇨🇷 In Issue 6, Nataliya gave us the low down on relocating from Manhattan to Costa Rica, working remotely in one of the worlds most beautiful landscapes.
🇵🇹 In Issue 7, we met Creative Director and traveller extraordinaire Eliot, who swapped Los Angeles for Lisbon - Portugal’s startup capital.

And in today’s eighth issue we meet Michelle, who traded life in Amsterdam for the Algarve. Thanks to all of our contributors who shared their inspiring stories - we’ll be back in the New Year showcasing more remote workers who have made the leap.

Happy Holidays,

Hayley 

The Mini Interview: Getting Acquainted in the Algarve

For this issue, we caught up with Michelle the founder of The Nomad Escape, a company that helps remote workers and digital nomads to connect with each other through events, retreats and co-living. After spending almost a decade living overseas and experiencing how lonely remote work can be, Michelle designed a program to help people find a community while traveling.

What did your “pre-relocation” life look like?

Before I moved abroad I lived in Amsterdam, in a small apartment in the city.  I worked as a social worker and waitress and dreamed of moving abroad. Prior to this during my studies, I went on an internship in Suriname, South America and after I graduated I moved back there for 6 years, working in a variety of different industries.

I eventually returned to The Netherlands, but within 6 months I was done with it - so I upped sticks again and moved to Australia. After spending a year there and some time in Bali - I landed in Portugal 18 months ago and The Nomad Escape was born.

What attracted you to Portugal?

First of all, the capital Lisbon is the digital nomad hub in Europe. It’s packed full of co-working spaces, events and has a huge remote working community. Besides that, the weather is amazing, with about 300 days of sunshine a year and about 9 months of nice weather! The landscape is just stunning, with cliffs and endless beaches. You can camp, surf and do some amazing road trips across the country. 

How did you make the transition to working remotely?

I initially developed my digital skills and offered my services as a freelancer to small local businesses. It was a paid way to practice, and fun to work directly with clients.

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre relocation life?

In The Netherlands everything more expensive but people also make more money so it’s difficult to compare. Typically the rent for a room is around 400 Euros and an apartment is around 1000 Euros per month.

What are your insider's tips for the Algarve?

Praia da Amoreira is a beach in Aljezur, in the Algarve. It has it all with stunning cliffs, sand dunes and a natural park - it’s perfect for camping in a van!

What do you have planned for 2021? 

I’m working on an online platform to help people connect during the pandemic. We also have multiple remote work retreats planned, so I am super excited to bring amazing people together!

You can find The Nomad Escape on Instagram.

The Top Three in the Algarve 

💰Upscale beach house in Aljezur, in the heart of a national park
🌊Large 2 bed apartment in historic centre of Lagos (with sea views)
⭐Is this a total wreck? Yes. Is it really close to the beach though? Also yes.

‘Magic Habitat’ is on a mission to inspire people who are curious about relocating. From Ibiza to Lisbon and Marseille to Tbilisi, every other Tuesday we deliver interviews with tastemakers, adventurers and the wild-at-hearts who have chosen to live (and work) in some of the most interesting and colourful places in the world.

From the Editor:

Creative Director Eliot shares his intrepid story with us this week. After his nomadic existence travelling the world was cut short due to Covid, he relocated from Los Angeles to Lisbon in July 2020.

If his tale has inspired you to to take the leap and relocate to the Portuguese capital, then consider making a booking at Outsite. They have a beautifully curated collection of co-living spaces in urban, coastal and alpine locations around the world.  If you’re a remote worker who, like Eliot, landed in Lisbon and wanted an instant network of like minded people to live and work alongside, do check them out. You can find out more about them below.

Enjoy - Hayley

The interview: All roads lead to Lisbon

In January 2019, Eliot Raymond was working as Creative Director for an Advertising Agency in Los Angeles. After becoming disinterested in the 9-5 beat, he made the decision to leave the corporate world behind and somewhat unintentionally, spent the next year travelling over 200,000 miles around the world.

“I thought I would give freelancing a go before returning to another job somewhere in LA. I had a few months of living expenses saved up and figured I could always go get a ‘real job’ if needed.”

”The day after I quit, a friend invited me to come visit him in Australia for a few weeks. That trip to Australia evolved into a four month excursion to Indonesia, Spain, Japan, Ireland and Israel and after that, I just kept on travelling. All the while I was building out my freelance roster and developing a new business.”

“I quickly realised the freedom that being your own boss provided and began to understand how difficult it would be to go back to the corporate world. So, after spending just over a year on the move, I returned to LA where I sold everything I owned other than what would fit in my Away carry-on (I’m a millennial after all) and I headed to Lisbon full time.”

Tell us more about Outsite…

Having grown up moving many times, I was relatively confident about getting settled in a new city where I knew no one, but nonetheless was intrigued when I found out about Outsite. Their mission is to cultivate a community for remote workers around the world, through inspiring co-working and co-living spaces and events.

Back in 2019, when I inadvertently decided to embark on a year of travel, I decided to give them  a try and booked a month in their Lisbon space. That ended up being my first of many stays with the company across three different continents. Early this year when Covid hit, Outsite saved the day and I was able to rent a studio apartment in Venice, California whilst I got things sorted. 

Immediately, you are connected to a group of working professionals, a majority of whom have been working completely remote for years. Not only is this a great way to get to know a new city and build social connections, but I learned plenty of tips and tricks from remote workers on everything from how to manage time zones to the best gear for saving your back while working on a laptop all day. 

Why did you eventually choose to settle in Lisbon?  

After a few months of being back in Los Angeles because of the pandemic, I’d decided that after three trips to Lisbon in the last 18 months, it was one of my all around favourite places I had visited and, if I had to be stuck in one place permanently, that was where I wanted to be.

While I realise the city has changed massively in the last decade, from my perspective it’s managed to maintain much of its culture and lifestyle while accommodating plenty of new global perspectives, with a great international community. I’ve heard many people compare Portugal to being the California of Europe, situated on a beautiful coastline with a year-round temperate climate and most importantly, lots of great wine. 

How did you make the transition to working in Portugal?

I was already quite comfortable working remotely and settling into new environments, so there wasn’t a big learning curve there. I’m a (mostly) fluent Spanish speaker so while learning Portuguese hasn’t been a breeze, that has certainly made it easier.

For those who speak English, the Portuguese are the seventh-best speakers of English in the world (outside of English-speaking countries), according to a stat I randomly read a few weeks back so don’t quote me. Regardless, it’s quite easy to get by in the urban areas with just English. 

Let’s talk about living costs… 

Rent here can vary quite a lot and it depends on where you want to live. Similar to LA, the same one bedroom flat in Santa Monica can cost three times what it would cost to rent in Burbank, just 15 miles away.

I’ve chosen to live close to the city center which allows me access to plenty in walking distance, nearby public transit and the ability to rent a car when I need to. While I was looking, apartments of this type range from 700-1400 eur/month. 

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre relocation life?

Los Angeles is the 9th most expensive city to live in in the world, so unless I was looking to make the jump to numbers 1 through 8, Lisbon was going to be a win in terms of cost of living. Conversely, my quality of life has increased exponentially. 

What are your insider tips for Lisbon?

Leave Lisbon. No really, this country has so much to offer and whether that’s just taking a day trip to go surfing in Caparica or a weekend in Porto or the Algarve, there’s so much to see, do and explore. One of my favourite things to do is take the train from Cais do Sodre to Cascais and then ride my road bike up through the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, stopping at different beaches and towns along the way for an espresso or tosta. 

What do you miss the most about Los Angeles?

Mexican food. (Editors note- for our entrepreneurial readers, this seems to be a reoccurring theme amongst for those living in or close to Lisbon!)

If you had to pick another place in Europe to relocate to, where would you go?

Barcelona. From a weather and lifestyle perspective, I’d love to spend a few years there. Last summer I spent a long weekend with friends from Chicago exploring the Costa Brava coastline just north of Barcelona.

It has since become high on my priority list of places I’d like to retire one day. In the short term though, Barcelona is amazing. The water is much warmer than the Atlantic and the pace of life there is great. Amsterdam and The Hague intrigue me as well, but it’s definitely a different way of life from Southern Europe.

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering a move to Portugal, what would it be?

I think doing a reconnaissance trip can be really helpful in getting to know the lay of the land. As exciting as it can be to just pick up and move (I know plenty who have!) it’s great to know what neighbourhood you want to land in and have an idea of the place before making a big commitment. 

Plans for 2021?

I’ll be continuing to grow my business and growing our market outside of the US. Travel wise, there’s a big backlog from what couldn’t happen in 2020… South Africa and India are high on the list.

Elsewhere I’ll be working on my podcast ‘Hundreds of Ways’, which I host with my friend James. We talk with entrepreneurs doing everything from art to personal training, from animation to writing.

You'll hear stories from freelancers, startup founders and small business owners, as well as people who work with and have advice for aspiring, budding, and existing entrepreneurs.

If you want to talk about relocating or remote work, drop me a line on Instagram or LinkedIn! 

The Top Three: For sale in Lisbon

💰Palatial villa in Sintra for those who want to be neighbours with Madonna whilst also living in a Unesco World Heritage site. Niche.

🌊Mid Price pied-à-terre in Alfama, the oldest (and most colourful) neighbourhood in Lisbon.

⭐Yes, we know this is small.

‘Magic Habitat’ is on a mission to inspire remote workers who are curious about relocating. From Ibiza to Lisbon and Marseille to Tbilisi, every other Tuesday we deliver interviews with tastemakers, adventurers and the wild-at-hearts who have chosen to live (and work) in some of the most interesting and colourful places in the world.

From the Editor:

Welcome and thanks so much for subscribing. I hope this newsletter ignites your imagination and the stories we tell resonate with you.

If you’d like to be featured in ‘Work is Where the H​o​m​e is’- do reach out to me, I’d love to hear your story.

This w​e​e​k we feature a relocation to Costa Rica! As our regular readers know, we usually showcase three properties for sale in our featured country - but this week we have chosen to showcase an amazing property for hire (think retreats for remote first companies).

Enjoy - Hayley

The interview:  A life enhancing landscape

As anybody who has lived in Manhattan knows; if you are looking for a calmer, slower paced quality of life - this city is almost certainly not for you. It’s loud, fast paced, diverse and exciting and the perfect place to carve out a career. Nataliya and her husband had done just this. Living in the Upper East Side, working hard in Real Estate and Fintech respectively. But by the time their daughter arrived, they felt disillusioned by the Big Apple and ready for a change.

“New York City was draining all of our energy through work, leaving very little for us. The lightbulb moment happened about a week after our daughter was born, when we realised that working this hard made no sense if it didn’t provide more opportunity to spend time with each other.”

After initially relocating Austin, TX, where Nataliya’s husband had been offered a job, they found the work culture too similar to NYC, so after 11 months, decided to relocate to Costa Rica. 

“Initially, we put all of our belongings in storage and came here for six months. At the end of that six months we got our things out of storage and shipped them down for a permanent relocation.”

What attracted you to Costa Rica?

Besides the fact that the landscape of this country is beautiful and the weather is incredible, Costa Ricans are very welcoming towards expats. They were patient as we learned the language, understanding when we needed more time to learn the culture and its rules, and they LOVE kids, so our daughter was immediately well taken care of at pre-school. Before relocating we learned that our daughter has asthma, and the temperate climate here has been incredibly helpful in us being able to manage it better. Logistically, it helps that there are so many flights to the states (especially to NYC), so seeing family and friends is easy. The timezone is also very manageable, being just an hour or two behind EST. 

How did you make the transition to working in Costa Rica?

My husband had already been working remotely for several years, so the transition for him was very straightforward. He needs a good internet connection and his laptop, so as long as we have a home office - he is good to go. I am working on building a real estate development and interior design business. Costa Rica is perfect for digital nomads, the community is spread all over the country, and it seems that Costa Rica has recently started to catch on in trying to appeal to this demographic. 

Had you visited Costa Rica before the big move?

My husband had been here a couple of times. I hadn't stepped a foot in Costa Rica before we came! But I was completely fine moving to the country sight unseen because of the welcoming and helpful vibe we got from other young expats on forums and through friends of friends who had lived there before. Moving here was the biggest gift for us on every level.

Let’s talk about property - do you rent or own a place? 

We live in a rental house in the Central Valley, about 40 minutes west of San Jose. Initially we rented a house in a town called Grecia, and we loved it, but found the school options to be less than ideal for our daughter. About 6 months later we moved to La Guácima de Alajuela. We rented here first too. Our development has a community pool, playgrounds, horseback riding, and an international school on-site. We live surrounded by 100 year old mango trees and spend most days outdoors in the sun. About an hour away by car is Jaco beach, and for a longer trip it’s 3hrs or so to the West Coast of the country with the most incredible beaches, volcanos, lakes, and of course the cloud forest. 

We started looking at land in order to build a house a few months after moving here, and the one across the street from our rental came on the market. We made an offer and closed on it in about a month. My background in real estate helped with negotiation, so in this instance there was no need for a broker, although I have now met several reputable agents who specialise in expat relocation. We designed our home with an architect and filed for permits - that took about 4 months from start to finish. This process was tedious and involved a lot of personal visits to the municipality. Luckily, it only had to be done once! In November of 2019 we broke ground on the house, and we move in at the end of this month! (Stay tuned for a follow up Issue!)

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre relocation life?

We spend about ½ of what we did for housing now, and have significantly more space, both indoor and out. Our daughter is in a very highly rated international school and her tuition is ¼ of what it would have cost us in NYC. Food can be expensive, as almost everything prepackaged is imported. We really enjoy cooking, so end up spending less than we used to as we make most of our meals. One of our biggest savings has been health insurance. We have a top international plan that can (and has) covered us in the United States and costs ¼ of what we paid when we lived there. The healthcare here is incredible, personal, and will never bankrupt you. All the doctors at the hospitals expats use speak fluent English. 

What are your insider's tips for Costa Rica?

Esterillos is an absolutely gorgeous beach, only 90 minutes from the Central Valley. Imagine being surrounded by a football field of 3cm deep water, reflecting the sunrise around you. An hour later the surfers come, and it’s heavenly to watch them catch the waves. Plaza Tempo in Escazu has a fantastic co-working space called Workings. Not only is the space fantastic, it's located above a massive food hub with every kind of cuisine imaginable. A great spot to work.

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering a move to Costa Rica what would it be?

Learn the language, be flexible, leave your ego and lack of patience at the door. One of the most beautiful things about Costa Rica is that things happen in their own time. We really had to calm down when we first moved here, and that adjustment was frustrating at first. A few months later we embraced it and stopped rushing. It’s a much more pleasant life. If you need an attorney, use Outlier Legal services, the best expat attorney firm in Costa Rica, hands down. 

What do you miss the most?

The convenience of using an app to order just about anything! 

If you had to pick another place to relocate to, where would you go?

Bali. But that time difference is hard if you’ve got ties to the west. 

The Top List: Costa Rica

This week we want to showcase a very special property in Dominical, Costa Rica called Art Villas. Set in the lush Costa Rican jungle, it makes the perfect destination for a company workshop or retreat for up to 24 people. If you work for a remote first organisation - this place ticks so many boxes for an offsite. As soon as we discovered it - we knew we had to feature it!

Find Art Villas on Instagram here.

The Interview: 

British born Amy and French born Marc met on the tropical island of Montserrat, known as the ‘Pompeii of the Caribbean’ - each of them had decided to move there to pursue new ventures. After living in a tiny house in the jungle for a year, the newly married couple tentatively began looking for a ‘little place’ in Europe that they could return to.

“We began searching on the internet for properties that we could get with our savings and it became clear that France was our best bet. You could get so much for your money!

“We found one property online that we loved, and after discussions with an estate agent she suggested a two day tour of properties in Provence, Drôme and Ardèche. We had so much fun, and saw some gorgeous places, but when we saw Château de Rosiéres in Ardèche, it really felt like we’d come home.”

Amy and Marc are now the proud owners of Château de Rosiéres and adjusting to life in a 32 room abode!

How did you go from living on a tiny island in the Caribbean, to owning a Château in rural France?

When we were living in Montserrat, we gradually came to realise that it wasn’t the sort of place where we could spread our wings. The island wasn’t supportive enough of new enterprises by outsiders and it became clear that it would be difficult for us to succeed there.

We wanted to find somewhere to live that was new to us both but not desperately far from all of Marc’s family. That narrowed it down to the bottom half of France and we just started contacting estate agents who were selling unusual properties! Our criteria was very vague. We either wanted something small and we would create a business outside the home, or something large enough to support a business that we could run from the property. I had long harboured a desire to run a yoga retreat centre and I think that this was at the back of my mind. 

When we saw Château de Rosiéres it really felt like we’d come home. Marc was not at all familiar with Ardèche, and knew next to nothing about the north of the département, which is greener and more forested than the popular tourist destinations of southern Ardèche. As we wound our way up steep country roads from the Rhône Valley, we instantly fell for the feeling of the area. It was on the cusp of the true wild, but was peppered with small fields and farmhouses.

The farms are buried in the valleys, giving it a lived in feel, but the hills and mountains above them are dense forest where wild boar and even the odd wolf call home. The buildings of the area are all of square, warm-coloured granite and were unlike anything we’d seen elsewhere in the world. ‘Our’ village is a lived-in, rural community (quite rare these days) with many small shops, two schools, and even a small hospital. The big supermarkets are a 45 minute drive away and this means small local producers at markets are actually used by most people, rather than remaining the preserve of the wealthy. 

Then came the house. Marc calls it a ‘big pile of stones’. It has a slightly rough exterior, from its fortified past, but inside it’s warm and peaceful, with metre-thick walls and a wonderful history of renovations ranging from medieval times to the 19th century (the less said about the ‘70s renovations, the better!)

More than just the château however, there was around 100 acres of forest, terraced gardens, and several more houses and outbuildings in dire need of rescue. The lightbulb went on for both of us when we saw this. We both recognised a family home, and the potential for our own ambitions - Marc a farm and me a retreat centre for wellbeing and craft courses such as yoga, meditation, writing and painting.

How did you make the transition to working in France?

Our lives are now our home. We rent out our previous home, which gives us some income, and do a little consulting, but we mostly live off our savings and throw all of our time and effort into turning this into a viable business so that we can recoup our investment and sustain our life here. This is quite a precarious situation financially but we have confidence in our vision as everybody who visits is very enthusiastic about the place and our ideas.

Let’s talk about living costs - how do they compare to pre-relocation life? 

Buying in France is a matter of searching estate agencies and websites. Like many things in France, it works better to get personal connections rather than use amalgamation sites. Many agencies don’t put all of their places on their websites, let alone submit them to Zoopla or the like. So the best thing is to define the areas that you like and then get your name with as many local agencies as possible. Also just turn up and visit them. Face to face works much better here. 

Renting in the area that you’re interested in is a good idea rather than leaping into buying somewhere when you’ve not tried it out. We didn’t take that advice but then we weren’t even sure we wanted to buy anything at the time and we got carried away. 

Leboncoin is also an excellent way to find bargains. It’s a little like Gumtree but people use it for everything. You can put alerts on key words and narrow it down to departments and even smaller areas. It can cut out the middle man but even agencies advertise on it. 

The French buying process is more regulated than the British one which actually makes it less stressful on the whole. But it’s important to find yourself a good notary to dig into the nitty gritty because there can be important little issues to do with water or access rights, or other issues, particularly where there’s land involved.

The process is no longer or shorter than elsewhere on the whole - it just depends whether it’s a straightforward sale or not! A ‘hand holding’ service can be invaluable if you don’t speak the language well.

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre relocation life?

The cost of everything to do with the château is so much higher than anywhere we lived before because, well, it’s a château! But day to day life here in the countryside is more affordable because we grow our own food, we go out less, and we are just content to live a very simple and inexpensive life!

What are your insider's tips for Ardèche?

We tell our friends to grab their boots and get hiking, or hire an electric bike from the village. There are hundreds of kilometres of small roads and forest paths to explore and you’ll have them almost completely to yourself! The twice weekly markets in the village are lovely, and in summer our main activity is to go to the little brocantes - essentially village jumble sales - that happen every weekend. Not only are they great places to pick up bargains but they’re usually very festive affairs involving food and drink tents, live music, and a wonderful atmosphere!

What do you miss the most?

For me the language barrier is perhaps the most difficult. I’m a talker and whilst I can get by in French now, it’s hard to have really close friends when you can’t express the subtleties in life! I would advise anybody planning to relocate to make a big effort with the language in advance!

If you had to pick another place in Europe to relocate to, where would you go?

We both love Switzerland and it was a key contender before we settled on France.

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering a move to France what would it be?

Take your time to find the right place. The living experience varies hugely between villages, let alone different areas. But be brave - visit places you’ve never heard of. So many ex pats end up in the same part of France because it’s where they went on holiday as a child or where their friends or family have a second home. There are so many other wonderful areas! If you want to make sure that you can still buy baked beans at the supermarket then a big ex pat community can be nice. But if you want to plunge into French life, and live in some truly spectacular places, you may want to expand your horizons!

Make sure you know whether you want to be remote or near to a community. It can be tempting to opt for the middle of nowhere, but it’s lovely to be in a place where neighbours can just pop round, and you can feel part of village life. Also being able to run to the local shop quickly isn’t to be underestimated!

If a place is really cheap, there is always a reason. Some of those reasons you might be fine with, but some you may not see immediately. A lot can be to do with the location - next to something ugly or smelly or noisy. Or that there’s no local community or beautiful views. I spotted so many cheap châteaux in one particular department but Marc said that it was a flat, boring area full of industrial agriculture and terrible weather. I’m sure he was exaggerating, but I’d rather live in a little cottage somewhere wonderful and inspiring than in a huge, beautiful house that I never wanted to venture out from. 

Unseen renovation expenses are another area where you can come unstuck on big buildings, because you only need to miss one thing and it has the potential to be a huge expense Friends of ours bought a massive, near-derelict house for almost nothing, and were very excited because the money estimated to do it up would still make it a total bargain for where it was. However major structural issues emerged and having poured lots of money in, they are now faced with having to finish the job by paying more than the equivalent house would be new, because to leave it half finished would be to lose everything. I know this is the same anywhere in the world, but people often get dazzled by châteaux and don’t realise the sheer scale of any jobs related to them!

What do you have planned in the future?

We are working so hard on our retreat centre. We look forward to hopefully starting with small retreats next year. In the meantime we’re launching a YouTube channel to follow our work and hopefully support it a little! 

As a fully qualified yoga teacher and long-term practitioner, I am also working on an exciting standalone yoga and well-being project. Prêt a Yoga is a new venture which will begin with online classes and progress to online ‘retreats’. When the world has sorted itself out a little, it will also progress to holding real retreats at pop up venues such as other châteaux that are not normally open to the public. 

What’s your elevator pitch?

Château de Rosières is a haven of peace. A medieval castle steeped in history and set in the middle of a 130 acre estate. In 2021 we will be offering a small number or exclusive, luxury weekends in our recently renovated master suite. In 2022 we will begin holding wellbeing retreats on themes including fertility and sleep.  You can head to the website to sign up for our newsletter, where you’ll get advance notice of events and special offers. Or you can find us on Instagram where we showcase everyday life at the château and our massive renovation project. Often chaotic. Usually irreverent. Occasionally downright ridiculous. 

The Top Three: Châteaux for sale in France

💰A seafront renovation project in Cannes. Not for fainthearted. Or those afraid of splashing the cash.

🍷50 minutes from digital nomad favourite of Toulouse, this castle with 5 hectares is ready to go

⭐ Make your remote working co-living dreams come true. 160k for a château in the wine region.

Oh and before you go…if you’re a remote worker, our friends at Gitlab, one of the biggest remote work employers in the world, want to learn more about the realities of working from home in 2020. The survey only takes a few minutes and you’ll be helping out the whole remote working ecosystem.

The interview: All aboard The Long Summer

Expats Ben and Emily had been living in Singapore for seven years before they decided to swap terra firma for sailing the world’s oceans on their very own boat.

“Whilst Singapore gave us the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Asia and beyond, when our eldest was born we started to think about what was next, as we knew we didn’t want to stay there indefinitely. We liked the idea of taking a “gap year” as a family, but the more we spoke about it, the more the idea snowballed and soon we were looking into a permanent adventure.”

The idea of caravaning or camping and having to repack our bags every week wasn’t for us. One day we just looked at each other and, without saying a word, knew that the answer would be a boat! It ticked all the boxes for us in regards to long-term slow travel, whilst also being able to work remotely. There was just one problem….we had never sailed before!”

Let’s talk about the process of actually buying a boat. What do people need to consider?  

Buying a boat is a pretty unique experience. Budget plays a big factor in what type, and probably more specifically, the age of the most suitable boat. As slow-moving live-aboard cruisers with young kids aboard, we wanted something comfortable that we could grow into, with plenty of space and light.It needed to be something that sails, but didn’t have to be a performance boat. A catamaran seemed like the logical option for us. Additionally, we decided to opt for a new boat since we had zero experience living on a sailboat, let alone bringing a used boat up to scratch in order to be cruise-ready.

We attended a few boat shows and spent a lot of time talking to dealers, other owners and cruisers, and doing our own research. The boat you select is, of course, a highly subjective and personal experience. But there are a few things which worked for us:

◉ Buying a new boat can entail a 1-3 year waiting list, depending on the brand and number of hulls they make per year. We had initially decided on the brand with our broker, but had not committed to a specific model right away. So, when they launched a new model we jumped at the chance to get our hands on one. Our boat is an Astréa 42 built by Fountaine Pajot. It’s a production catamaran, which allows for some customisations (much like buying a car from a factory, rather than having one custom built). Selecting options a year ahead of time is pretty hard to do, but again, a lot of research on forums and speaking to others can really help.

◉ Starting from scratch can mean there are a lot of extras to add in (that would typically already be onboard a second-hand boat). So, allow extra money in your budget to kit out the boat as you need. Almost everything that you already own on land is usually unnecessary or unsuitable for a boat, so it’s like starting afresh.

◉ It is possible to finance a boat with a loan, but it usually requires a heavier down payment than a house. And unlike with a mortgage, your boat will start to depreciate immediately (much like a car).

◉ The process from laying the hull to leaving the factory took about 3-4 months. It then requires testing, commissioning, and after-market add-ons. Once we received the boat in La Rochelle, France (pictured below) we had a few days of training with a skipper before they threw us the keys!

◉ As this was our first time purchasing a boat, we don’t have much to compare it to. But overall we thoroughly enjoyed the process and have zero regrets with the decisions we made along the way. The biggest tip that we can give anyone entering this lifestyle is that you can never do too much research!

What’s your ‘plan’ as regards to where you sail to - what countries are on the hit list ?

So far we have sailed along the East Atlantic from France, through Spain and along the Portuguese coast to Morocco. We spent 8 months in Tangier during winter and lockdown before finally being able to set sail into the Mediterranean in August.

Although this summer was short and unusual, we were still able to safely explore quite a bit of southern Spain and the Balearic Islands. From here we plan to head east and spend a few years exploring Italy, the Adriatic Sea, Greece, Turkey and more. The long-term goal is to then cross the Atlantic and travel through the Americas for a few more years, then cross the Pacific to Australia and NZ. And perhaps one day we will return all the way back to Singapore!

Let’s talk about the logistics of being a ‘live aboard’...

In the Mediterranean, people tend to sail between April-September. For the rest of the year, live-aboards will then either go land-based for 6 months (storing the boat in a marina or up on a hard stand), or if they live-aboard all year round like us, will find a sheltered place to sit out the winter. Some popular live-aboard marinas for this include Cartegena in Spain, and Licata or Ragusa in Sicily. We will be in Cagliari, Sardinia (pictured below) for winter this year. For us more than others, having good local school options for our children is paramount. We worldschool the kids for most of the year and then in the winter it’s nice for them to have the social interaction and cultural immersion of a school setting, which also gives us some time to really dig into work and fill the funnel.

Living aboard a boat has a number of similar expenses to land. Groceries and essentials are fairly predictable, although some places are obviously cheaper / more expensive than others. You need to pay for fuel (usually diesel for the boat and petrol for your dinghy). Mooring is a bit like paying rent (but spending time on anchor is almost always free). As a guide, for a typical boat like ours in the Mediterranean it is very rare to find a berth for less than 80EUR per night in the summer. Some places (like in the South of France or Palma de Mallorca) can charge over 200EUR per night. Conversely, in winter you can pay less than 20EUR per night for a long-term commitment. 

We have just completed 2 months of anchoring exclusively (plus the occasional paid mooring ball), which means we have spent almost no money on “rent” this summer. Marinas are probably the biggest ongoing expense outside of boat maintenance, and a major factor in maintaining the budget you wish to stick to.

In terms of business practicalities, Ben is currently doing a lot of work for US firms targeting business expansion in Asia. So this means that most calls and work are done before midday, plus some catchup calls with the US in the evening. This leaves the afternoon for flexible family time, boat maintenance, exploring new cities, etc. The balance can be a juggle, but given that everything we own and do is all within a few metres, we are able to manage well.

Emily ran a 100% remote business for over six years whilst we were in Singapore, so we are very familiar with the tools required to make a virtual business productive. Ben has been known to take calls whilst sailing, but typically we try to move on days with low volume or on the weekend, weather permitting. Running your own schedule is key to making this work. Whilst our lifestyle could be doable for somebody in a remote 9-5 position, some elements would certainly clash. Weather and safety come first on a boat, so the rest of life has to slot in around that. 

What are your insider's tips for people sailing around the Med?

Although we still have a lot more to explore in the Med, we already have a lot of recommendations!

◉ We absolutely loved our time in Tangier (pictured below) and would whole-heartedly recommend visiting this beautiful city (and wider Morocco too). Be sure to visit Café Hafa on the clifftop above the Bay of Tangier and sip on a traditional mint tea where The Beatles and The Rolling Stones once did - this place is an institution!

◉ Summer in Formentera (pictured below) `totally captured our hearts; turquoise waters, pristine beaches, boutique shops, and amazing local restaurants.

◉ Anchor at Talamanca Beach for easy access to the magic of Ibiza Old Town, without the multimillion-dollar price tag.

◉ Take yourself to the remote island of Cabrera National Park, sit outside the lone cantina of the ancient harbour and sip on Mallorcan gin under the stars.

◉ When in northern Mallorca, ride the charming tourist tram from Port de Sóller (pictured below) up to the weekend craft markets in the village nestled amongst the mountains. A must!

◉ Wander the narrow medieval streets of Ciutadella in Menorca on a sunny day and soak up the long history of this lovely little city.

What do you miss the most?

Our friends and family, of course. But we also miss the convenience of pre-boat life. Schlepping groceries in a dinghy in the rain, cycling 6km to get gas for the oven, or making desalinated water for your tanks before being able to do a load of washing are just some of the adjustments we have had to make. And we probably miss the food from every country we have ever visited! Plus not having a permanent address can make things tricky, along with having to check the weather multiple times a day in order to find out where you will end up sleeping next… But we wouldn’t change it for the world! We love the daily variety and no longer being chained to a desk or stuck in the rat race.

If you had to pick another place in Europe to relocate to, where would you go?

Hard to say, as we have not been everywhere yet! However, for us it would have to be somewhere warm and near the coast, with a healthy dose of cafe culture and a good work/life balance. We tend to gravitate towards bigger cities with international connections and a constant theme of change. Somewhere like Barcelona seems like it would hit the right notes for us. But ask us again in a month and we will probably have a different answer! 

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering selling up and buying a boat what would it be?

Do it! Set a date and work out a detailed plan based on that date. Things start to fall into place naturally when you have a concrete goal to work towards. Whilst it may feel like a massive undertaking, breaking it down into achievable parts helps to see progress and keeps you motivated along the way. It took us 4 years of planning and saving from the day we conceptualised the idea to packing up and moving onboard. The good thing about buying a boat is that it can be done to suit nearly every budget, and is a lot more accessible than people tend to think. 

What do you have planned in the future?

We plan to stay aboard as long as it’s fun and we can afford it! It’s hard to visualise life beyond that, as it’s potentially many years away. However, having both achieved a 100% remote work life, going back to an office-based career is highly unlikely. As a concept, we really like the idea of splitting our time between at least 2 different locations on a semi-permanent basis. We definitely have itchy feet! But living this lifestyle has helped us to be more flexible and think in a far more entrepreneurial way than ever before. It gives you an enormous sense that almost anything is achievable, so we haven’t ruled anything out yet!

What’s your elevator pitch?

Ben runs a consultancy that is focussed on taking media and tech companies into Asia. Many US and Europe-based companies need a helping hand getting started with Business Development, Talent Acquisition, Business Operations etc in this region. Through his extensive network Ben helps those companies get started and make the right connections for successful business expansion. He bring 15 years of techno-commercial global expertise to every project, combined with my high energy, collaborative approach and no-nonsense work ethic.

You can follow our adventure on our website, which includes a live boat tracker and on Instagram. To learn more about Ben’s work and consulting business, visit his website here.

The Top Three

💰 We don’t know where to start. It’s 35 million euros.

🍷A 3 cabin 45ft 2014 catamaran

⭐A 2005 33ft sailing boat

The interview: Carving out a new career whilst travelling in the world 

In 2017, Sally Fox was living in London and working in fashion, when she decided that the industry and stressful lifestyle that came with it was no longer for her. After an initial solo trip to Vietnam, it wasn’t long before she packed up her bags in the city and embarked on what would become an adventure across three continents. 

“One rainy September morning, I boarded a flight from Heathrow to Yangon, Myanmar, telling friends I’d probably get homesick and be back in a week. But six months turned into eight and I still wasn’t ready to go back. “

Sally is now living in Galicia in Northern Spain with her partner, working remotely as a writer. 

What compelled you to relocate? Was there a lightbulb moment?

Our relocation to Galicia is the latest in a string of moves and changes, but maybe I should start with how I ended up leaving the UK. Back in 2017, I was living in London, renting a room in a friend’s place. I was burnt out by my job in the fashion industry, spending the weekends partying to deal with the stress from work. (Which doesn’t work, funnily enough.) I was caught in a vicious cycle where my job was awful but I relied on it to pay for the lifestyle I needed to recover from the stress. I’d taken a two-week solo trip to Vietnam at the start of the year and met so many people also in their early thirties who had quit their jobs to travel. I guess the idea percolated and I realised I could try something different.

At the time, I only planned to be away for six months. One rainy September morning, I boarded a flight from Heathrow to Yangon, Myanmar, telling friends I’d probably get homesick and be back in a week. But six months turned into eight and I still wasn’t ready to go back. Funds dwindling, I decided I’d try this remote work thing I’d seen a few other travellers doing. I remember meeting a guy who used to sell sofas for DFS who was making a tonne writing content online so I thought, ‘How hard can it be?’ 

I got a job as a virtual assistant for a life coach. I was in the east of Indonesia at the time and she was in Bali so I swung the position despite my lack of experience by promising to go and work with her in-person for a while. I rented a studio apartment overlooking the rice fields, and got to work. I’d been backpacking solidly going from place to place for months, so I was glad for some stability. This was the start of the ‘slomad’ life. 

I picked up a few more gigs with other coaches and started working online teaching Chinese children English through a platform. The money wasn’t great but my living costs were very low. 

I started writing. Travel blogging, sometimes for $5 an article. Written communication had always been something I was good at so it seemed like a natural progression from the VA work where I was doing lots of content creation anyway. Six months later I was writing full time, earning enough to quit the teaching job just as singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ten times a day was beginning to wear thin.

It was during my four month stint in Bali that I met my partner. He’s Spanish, but was living in Namibia and had come to Bali on holiday with a mate. When he flew back to Namibia two weeks later he asked me to come and visit. I had a few trips planned to see friends in Australia and visit Japan and Taiwan but when we both still felt keen for me to come, I booked a flight.

That was how I found myself in the middle of the Namibian desert. Quite the culture shock after a year in Asia. We lived in Namibia for six months before we both felt it was time to move on. My partner had always dreamt of learning to fly, so he signed up to a flight school on Gran Canaria and in June 2019 we moved there.

We upped sticks again in March 2020, just before COVID hit, when my partner was offered a temporary job in Portugal. We lived out lockdown in a town called Viana do Castelo an hour north of Porto. When that job ended and the borders reopened, it seemed logical to go back to my partner’s home region, just a couple of hours drive away from Viana. And so we made it to Galicia in July this year. 

Tell us more about Galicia!

Since my partner and I met, of course, I’ve heard wonderful stories about Galicia. The rugged landscapes, the mild climate and the food. Gallegos love their food. But to be honest, it wasn’t a place I knew much about. In my ignorance, I assumed that all of Spain was flamenco and paella. It was a real eye-opener when my partner showed me a photo of the traditional dress of his region and they looked more like Morris dancers than the sultry flamenco costumes I had in mind.

That said, some aspects of Spanish culture hold true even in this northern enclave. The warmth, friendliness and generosity of the people. The culture of sitting outside with friends over a beer at any time of day. The rush to the beach any time the sun comes out. 

What makes Galicia special? Let’s start with the landscape. It has some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen, some with water so turquoise you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re in the Philippines. It also has soaring mountains, rolling vineyards and spectacular forests. I also love Galician cities. They tend to have really picturesque, pedestrianised old towns full of little bars and shops to wander through.

The weather is hot and sunny most of the summer, (much more reliable than a British summer) and doesn’t get quite as cold in the winter. It’s true, it rains a lot here. But the reward is the beautiful green landscape, which, having lived in dry, dusty Namibia and Gran Canaria has been a welcome change.

The food is a source of great pride for Galicians. Their speciality is octopus, which comes doused in olive oil, paprika and salt, but the range of seafood and the magical things they do with it really know no bounds. A bocadillo de calamares (calamari sandwich) is all you need to soak up a few beers, whilst Sundays spent doing a churrasco (barbecued ribs) with friends are hard to beat. 

How did you make the transition to working in Spain?

I’m so lucky to be able to work wherever there’s a wifi connection. The reason I was able to join my partner in Namibia and then make all the moves we’ve made together since have been thanks to this. 

Back in the UK I was working unholy hours for a big fashion corporation achieving little in the way of job satisfaction or career progression. Now, I work for myself as a freelance copywriter. I mostly help small sustainable businesses with their website content, blog posts and email marketing. I appreciate having the freedom of working when it suits me, choosing who I work with and being able to match my work with my values.

If your company lets you work remotely or you have a job you could do freelance, it’s worth considering the benefits remote work has for your mentality and your lifestyle. 

Let’s talk about living costs - how much rent do you pay? 

Rent in Galicia is cheap compared to the UK. Anything from around €600 a month will get you a decent two-bedroom place in a city. Short term rentals on sites like Airbnb will be noticeably more expensive, so to cut costs I would recommend staying for at least three to six months and using local sites like Idealista to find a place.

Wandering around your chosen town can also be fruitful as people will advertise with a sign in the window and a phone number if a property is available. If renting through an agent, check what the fees are before you sign because they can be as much as a month’s rent in addition to a deposit. Facebook, for all its sins, is also a good place to property hunt and you’ll likely find out loads of useful information you’d otherwise have never known.  

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre relocation life?

There’s no comparison. Life in London is a constant drain on resources and I don’t think I ever made it to the end of the month with more than a few coins to my name. Even factoring in regular journeys back to the UK to visit friends and family, life here is so much more affordable. 

What are your insider's tips for Galicia?

Pontevedra has my favourite old town, it’s ideal for a morning wandering around, grabbing a coffee and some churros and taking pictures of the old buildings. 

The best beaches in my opinion are further up the ria beyond Marín but honestly I’m yet to see a bad beach here. 

Ribeira Sacra is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It’s a wine region with stunning canyons and little monasteries tucked into the hills.  

There are lots of fantastic hikes, but it’s also a very popular region with cyclists. One of my favourites is the Ruta da Pedra y da Agua which follows a river dotted with old mills up to an old monastery. 

If you’re into history, the Castro de Baroña is an ancient settlement right on the coast. There are also lots of old legends and stories. For example the reason the cathedral at Noia is unfinished, or what happened to celebrated painter Ramón Sampedro on the Playa des Furnas. There’s so much history and culture to be discovered.  

What do you miss the most?

I miss the food from home. Not only British food but the range of cuisines I always took for granted. But it does always make that first fish and chips or curry when I visit extra special. 

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering a move to Spain what would it be?

Give it a try! You lose nothing by trying, but if you don’t, you’ll never know. Home is so close by and with people coming out to visit you (believe me, you’ll have a waiting list) you’ll probably end up spending more time with loved ones than you ever did when you lived down the road from them. And you’ll be spending it on a beach or sipping a beer in the sun. 

I think we’re all shaking ourselves free from the notion that our lives have to follow a specific path or go a specific way. We’re less tied down than our parents’ generation and the world has become smaller. It’s about making the most of that freedom to design a life that actually makes you happy based on the things you value. 

Yes, there are challenges to living in Spain. Learning a language is rarely anyone’s favourite thing to do and for a while, little day to day things will feel more difficult. But the rewards of realising you can build a life anywhere, really get to know a different culture and escape the monotony are so worth it. Every day is a little adventure!

What do you have planned in the future?

Planning was always a bit of a joke for us because as soon as we made one, something would come along to change it. Especially with COVID, nothing is certain any more. I imagine we’ll stay in Galicia for another year, but by then I imagine I’ll be lusting after somewhere a little warmer. But who knows!

What’s your elevator pitch?

I write web copy and blog posts for brands and publications that give a damn. I’ve written website content for skincare startups, blog posts for sustainable fashion brands and investigative pieces for online magazines. If you’re looking for the right words for your business, I can help. 

You’ll find me at www.sallymfox.com or on Twitter @sallymfoxwrites

The Top Three: For sale in Galicia

💰A villa with its own (Caribbean style) beach.

🍷Make like the local Inditex hipsters with a reno project in A Coruña

⭐ Sea views for 40,000 euros?

The Interview: Launching a Startup Inspired by Language 

Coralie and Adam, a couple originally from France and the UK respectively - were new parents based in Rome, Italy before they decided to relocate to Granada in southern Spain. Swapping pasta for paella (and tapas) meant moving from the expensive and often frantic Italian capital to one of Spain’s most beautiful cities, in pursuit of a better work/life balance. 

“Ideally, we wanted to live in the historic centre of a vibrant city, but to be able to walk everywhere instead of taking public transport, and have all practical and cultural amenities within a short distance.”

Once they had settled in the Andalusian city, the couple wasted no time in launching their own business. Work is Where the Home is caught up with them to find out more…

What did your pre-relocation life look like?

We were both working at a language school in Rome and had just had our daughter.  Life in the big city was fun but extremely hectic and certainly not ideal for bringing up a young child. We were working long hours so we could afford an apartment in the city centre but eventually, we decided that we wanted to downsize and live in a smaller but equally historic place, that still offered lots to do in terms of culture and opportunity.

We looked at many different places in a variety of countries. We weren’t afraid of learning another language - we already spoke French and English to our daughter and Italian between the two of us. We knew that wherever we lived, we could always teach our respective languages, as long as we didn’t move to any francophone or anglophone countries.

What made you swap Italy for Spain?

We initially decided to move to Valencia, Spain’s third largest city. It was quite a step down from the hustle and bustle of Rome but it offered an incredibly good quality of life (renting an apartment was about a third of the cost of Rome). The historic centre is easily walkable with many amenities and various wonderful covered markets. One unique feature is the ‘Jardín del Turia’ a dried-out river bed right through the middle of the city which has been converted into the biggest urban park in Europe. It leads right down to the beach and It’s where everywhere goes to run, do yoga, have a picnic or see a concert. Whenever you ask someone in Valencia what they’re doing at the weekend, nine times out of ten they’ll say “Going down to the river”.

Whilst we were living in Valencia, we decided to hop in our car, roll southwards and take a road trip around Andalusia, the southernmost region of Spain. We visited Cordoba, Sevilla, Cadiz and many Pueblos Blancos”, or white-washed towns in the mountains or next to the sea. We had no intention of visiting Granada, but on the way back to Valencia, we decided to stop off and we immediately fell in love with it.

The historic centre has three main quarters, the Catholic quarter, the Jewish quarter and the Moorish quarter, all nestled below the hills leading up to the magnificent often snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains. If you fancy a dip, the sea isn’t far either, it offers a fabulous mix of cultures, cuisines and people.

How did you make the transition to working in Spain?

We decided from the get-go that we wanted to be our own bosses and we wanted to have a flexible timetable organised around our family life, rather than the other way round. We began to hire out meeting rooms in co-working spaces for group language classes and we used a spare room in our house for individual and online classes. We also scaled up and expanded our translation, transcreation and content creation activities, which is our main activity today.

Let’s talk about living costs - how much rent do you pay? 

Granada isn’t expensive. You can find an apartment with two or three bedrooms for 800-900 Euros in the city centre. The most expensive thing is the heating, as many apartments are very poorly insulated. During the winter, Granada gets pretty cold so you have to choose an apartment with a heating system. The first winter, we had no heating, so we bought a gas heater. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something and then the year after, we had an air-conditioning type heating system - one of our electricity bills was 500 Euros! It’s definitely best to find an extremely well insulated apartment, with double-glazing or a more affordable heating system such as mains gas.

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre relocation life?

Before Granada, we were in Valencia, Spain so if we compare living costs between the Granada and Valencia, they are very similar. But before that we lived in Rome and between Rome and Granada, it’s a huge difference! You can’t compare a country capital with a provincial capital. We are a lot richer in Granada than in Rome, that’s for sure!  

What are your insider's tips for Granada?

Granada is paradise for tapas. You can have a drink and something to eat for under 3 Euros. Our favourite place is Ras, a beautifully decorated bar in the city centre, along the picturesque Darro river. It’s really traditional; flamenco music, excellent cold beer and tapas and a great view of the Alhambra.

We also love to go to the Mirador San Nicola, especially during the winter. It’s a square offering a wonderful panorama of the city, the Alhambra castle and the snow-capped mountains. All viewed against the sound of live, spontaneous flamenco guitar and singing. 

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering a move to Spain, what would it be?

Go for it! Spain’s a wonderful country. It has plenty to offer culturally and a relatively affordable and good quality of life. People are friendly and easy to work with. Unemployment can be high in some places and wages fairly low, but it’s easy to set up your own business and there are lots of opportunities for growth and development. Though it’s a traditional Mediterranean country, in many respects, Spain is more forward-looking than its cousins. It has an often ultra modern national health service, a social system that supports families, and a constructive and progressive institutional and cultural approach to equality of gender, identity, ethnicity and religious belief.

There’s also more to Spain than the Mediterranean sun. Of course it’s home to many beautiful beaches, but also cosmopolitan cities, historic town centres, dramatic deserts, lush forests and towering mountains. There’s colour, there’s dance, there’s passion, there’s rhythm, and there’s a certain nonchalant savoir-faire in knowing how to live. Olé!

What do you have planned in the future?

We want to continue to grow our business in general with a focus on our creative output, developing materials for our clients that enables them to reach their target audience not only linguistically but more importantly, culturally too.  Our business is called Bored With Borders, named because we were tired of people seeing differences, whether linguistic or cultural as limiting, or as obstacles to growth or as barriers to conversation.  

We’ve also written and illustrated a book for children, so we would like to find an editor or potentially self publish. The book is a multilingual book, with pieces of text in various languages for children to experiment with reading in another language. Today, many children speak or end up studying different languages. As one of our blog posts on multilingualism and learning to read explains, we brought our first daughter up to speak and read in four languages French, English, Italian and Spanish, and we hope to do the same for our second daughter, encouraging other parents at the same time.

Eventually, we want to be able to offer the book in any mixture of chosen languages, tailored for each family. This first book is about tolerance and openness; we believe that everyone is different and in a more tolerant world, differences are collective strengths and opportunities for growth.

For more information, visit Bored With Borders or reach out to Coralie or Adam on Instagram

The Top Three: For sale in Granada

💰Design led house in the heart of Granada 

🍷Mid-price renovation project for those that like the traditional

⭐ 52k for three beds close to centro

The Interview: Where the Light Gets In

Kate Shifman was working as a Director at a large media agency in Manhattan before she relocated to Ericeira, an old fishing town 48 kilometres north of Lisbon. Her home at the time was a two bedroom apartment in a historical Brooklyn brownstone, yet despite ‘having it all’ on paper, she found herself unfulfilled and stressed - craving a life with more purpose.

“I never bought into the idea of climbing the corporate ladder, I just didn’t see how more of the same would amount to a meaningful life.”

So in 2016, Kate packed up her life in the city that never sleeps and swapped it for a slower pace on Portugal's wild Atlantic coast. It also happens to be home to some of the best surf and beaches in Europe, attracting ocean lovers from all over the world. 

Many people reading this are curious about upping sticks and moving to Europe, what compelled you to make the move?

I’d had the idea of working remotely for many years, not knowing that “digital nomadism” was even a thing. A year prior to my move, I came to Portugal on vacation and immediately fell in love with the quality of light in Lisbon. We often don’t realise how profoundly our surroundings affect us, from the oppressive lighting of the subway to the rays of light coming in through the window basking us in their warmth. I’m a highly visual person and in Lisbon I knew right away it was the right place for me. 

Back in New York, I’d spent the last 12 months caring for my grandmother and there came a time where there was nothing else I could do. This coincided with me reading ‘Yoga and The Quest For The True Self.’  Within the first 20 pages I made the decision to move to Portugal. Within 6 weeks I had emptied out and rented my apartment, quit my job and settled all my affairs in New York.

On August 31st, I was on the plane on my way to Lisbon.

What attracted you to Ericeira?

Ericeira is a unique place - it’s a former fishing village with an interesting history. The last King of Portugal fled the dictatorship on his Royal Yacht from the port here and there are a number of Portuguese political elite and celebrities who live here. It’s also the Surf Mecca of Europe and 1 of the 7 World Surfing Reserves (the only one in Europe), so this attracts surfers.

Surfers are often dynamic and entrepreneurial people, so a community formed by people like that is super interesting. Ericeira attracts people between their 20’s and 40’s from all over the world; they settle here, start businesses and build new lives. That makes it a really stimulating environment. At the same time, Lisbon is only 35 minutes by car, so when I crave city, culture and wider food variety, it’s all within reach.

How did you make the transition to working in Portugal?

I’ve been extremely fortunate to never have to look for work. Having spent over 10 years in the media industry in New York, I was able to start freelancing and consulting right away. I was and still am, approached for positions via LinkedIn and those clients stayed and recommended me to their friends, colleagues and partners. I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the biggest and most interesting brands, agencies and people in the US (East and West coast) while staying remote. 

Let’s get into the nitty gritty and talk about living costs - how much rent do you pay? 

Ericeira and the touristy parts of Portugal are completely overpriced. In Ericeira in particular, you can expect to pay 650-1200 Euro per month for an apartment (1-2 bedrooms) depending on location and amenities.  Finding a place to live can be a pain and is mostly done via Facebook Groups. Everything in Portugal is done using connections, it’s still very much an old school society in that way.

Utilities, internet and mobile phone are relatively inexpensive, especially compared to the US. Internet is fast and reliable everywhere (except maybe some super rural areas). You’ll want to have a car anywhere outside Lisbon because this country is so beautiful and the best places are only reachable by car.

How do your property and living costs per month compare with your pre-relocation life?

Everything is exponentially cheaper. The rent and health insurance in particular save me thousands every month. My private health insurance is 25 Euro per month, in New York my portion of the insurance (the amount additional to what my employer paid) was around $200 per month and co-pays here are also about 10% of what I was paying there. Healthcare is good and hospitals are clean. So far I’ve had good experiences.

If you could give any advice to somebody reading this now who might be considering a move to Portugal what would it be?

Trust in the goodness of people. Except in a very few cases, people are genuine and willing to help. Also, the concept of time here is very different from what we are used to in the US or Northern Europe. Don’t expect anyone to reply to your email within 24 hours, don’t follow up until a week’s passed and when you do, do so gently and in a friendly way (don’t be the Pushy New Yorker :). Don’t ship your stuff and don’t pay money for storage - you can get everything you need here. 

What’s your insider's tip for people reading this interested in relocating to Ericeira?

Stay around São Lourenço and Ribamar - those are the quieter up and coming villages with breathtaking views and nice communities. Less noise, more views :) 

What do you have planned in the future?

I’m building a co-living space focused on well-being through art and design. It’ll be walking distance from Ericeira in a beautiful sunlit valley, complete with co-working, sauna, pool, art studio and performance space.

The Top Three: For sale in Ericeira

💰Upscale villa for surfers who sold their stock options

🌊Mid Price pied-à-terre for those who like their desk with a view

⭐Bargain ruin for the fearless renovators