The following is a cross-post from my previous blog that i do still want to retain.
The year gone past has definitely been one of interesting changes, not solely for yours truly, but it really felt like the world was getting back to some level of "normal", whatever that may be.
While it never felt like Covid went away completely, the world at large seems to have become determined to just live with it, displaying an eagerness to get all-too familiar creature comforts back, a feeling i've become far too familiar with.
With countries opening up, restrictions being largely lifted globally and international flights starting to becoming regular again, i gladly took up the challenge of making up for lost travel time by going to a few places during 2022. While my plans were somewhat generous of one or maybe two countries visited, i must admit that even i was surprised by the end of the year how much travelling i'd gotten done.
2022 for me started whiling away time doing part-time work in a dark, cold and snowy Stockholm, Sweden.
Stockholm
While my mood inevitably sank along with the temperature, there were plenty of small little joys to be found being back home, even if it was for a little while.
The ease and comfort of using public transport in Stockholm, even during heavy snow days, is streets ahead of pretty much any other city i've personally stayed in. The great public library system, and the ease of just getting books checked in, out and reserved was something i was tremendously satisfied by.
But it must be said that my greatest joys were definitely found through the medium of food. It was absolutely glorious being back and having a proper Swedish kebab pizza with well and proper pizza salad. The occasional chocolate balls, semlas, and princess cakes may have also found their way into my shopping lists.
But it did not take long for my rapidly declining mood, in hindsight clearly affected by the seasonal change, i decided i needed a change of scenery for a while. And for me, there is no better city to put your hat up for a little while than Lisbon, Portugal, so that's exactly what i did.
Stockholm > Lisbon
Now being far away from cold and dreary Stockholm, and being financially well enough off to stay around for a few months in Portugal by myself, i decided to make some long-term plans, some vacation plans, and changes in my life, starting with a new long-term job.
I came across a job listing for Automattic, a company i was familiar with as the company behind WordPress.com (where this shoddy little blog is currently hosted) and also had recently bought up Tumblr. The more i read about Automattic and the role, the more i was determined that this would be it, my unicorn; a job that would allow me to continue my travels by working remotely from anywhere in the world, with the flexibility to work your own way, and providing great opportunities to be a part of democratising publishing. The latter being a goal i had already set my eyes on, from my own undergraduate thesis titled 'Democratising Digital self-publishing' to working with digital publishing start-ups. So perhaps it's just kismet that i would end up applying at a company with the same lofty ideals.
While i won't go into the details of the entire application process, perhaps best saved for another post in the near future, i must admit that this was by far and away the most comfortable yet challenging process i've ever had. From the first initial text chat, and all subsequent conversations, taking place entirely via Slack channels, to undergoing a three week paid Trial, the Automattic approach is a fine-tuned and well-oiled machine that really challenges you to do your best.
I did eventually land the job, a no small challenge, but one that i was overjoyed by. This was made even better by the invitation to also join my new team at their first meet-up since Covid started, in New York of all places.
And such an occasion would have to be celebrated, of course. So i invited a good friend to come down to Lisbon, and it just happened to also coincide with the Festas dos Santos Populares, with festivities taking place all over the city.
While i was enjoying the spring and beginnings of summer in Lisbon, the time to start my new job and begin afresh was coming closer and closer.
I needed to make the most out of the time i had to enjoy summer before i was back working behind a desk again.
And there surely are few better places to enjoy summer in than Ireland during the few sunny summer days the gods allow each year. But it would not be a long-lasting visit, as this particular trip back to Dublin, Ireland was to visit old friends, but also pick up a new one for some aforementioned vacation plans.
Lisbon > Dublin
I was quite lucky enough that the days i was meant to be in the city to meet my friends, the Dublin Pride festival was back on again for the first time since in almost 3 years. Dublin did not disappoint.
The town was joyously covered in rainbow colours, and the parade was loud with cheers and laughter, and the LGBTQ+ community came out in force along with allies. It was a glorious time, and one that went long into the night with party goers still dancing and singing well into 3am.
With still three weeks to go before starting my new job, I picked my friend up and jettisoned unto our first of two planned vacation spots, Toronto, Canada.
Dublin > Toronto
Toronto was an absolute delight to be in, and from my experience, the stories of overly polite Canadians certainly held true, as the people i came across were really friendly and welcoming. While i was there only for 5 days, it was a memorable experience.
From visiting the Roger Center, trying some edibles from a local weed store, enjoying poutine by the waterside and drinks with a local friend, the experience of Toronto was an unforgettable one, and i can't wait to be able to go back again for a few more days next time around.
While 5 days of Toronto certainly did not feel like it was enough, i don't think 500 days spent in the next planned location would've been enough to really explore it either... New York City, U.S.A.
Toronto > New York
At long last i had returned to New York for more than the 24 hours i was able to spend there the last time i was in the U.S.
Knowing that i would return to New York in less than 2 weeks after my visit, i tried not to see and do all the things i wanted to, instead taking the time to hit up a few of the more traditional places, from Brooklyn Bridge to walking the High Line.
My favourite activity though has to have been visiting Central Park with some mangoes, good company and some strangers blasting good tunes, just watching people go past and live their lives.
While one can argue that New York definitely offers a lot of interesting characters in the city streets, there's a certain vibe and attitude that seems uniquely just... New York, and these people exuded that.
With those few days spent in New York, it was time to go back home to Lisbon, unpack for vacation and pack for a work meet-up. Since i only spent a few days in Lisbon, we'll jump back straight to New York again.
New York Part 2
As this was my first time meeting so many of my fellow Automatticians, i must admit i was quite nervous. It didn't take me long after i started to realise just how many smart, open, and dedicated colleagues i had, and i was certainly in awe of them coming into this.
But i was quickly made to feel welcome, and the usual process of getting to know people began; trading names, eventually forgetting many of them, apologising repeatedly for forgetting many names, giving up on memorising everything, and resigning myself to picking up names and hints from other people.
It was a genuine blast to be back again and explore some of the nooks and crannies i hadn't explored yet, both with colleagues on random walks or arranged walking tours. I've lived in London a number of years, and i think like a lot of people who has spent some time in both places, it feels like both have this sense of never ending places to see and things to do.
All that said, i was happy to also end a whirlwind of travelling weeks and just go back home for a few weeks, but there wasn't much to stay around back in Lisbon for. Before my vacation i had already started making plans to move on from Portugal to somewhere else for a while, both to take advantage of my newfound freedom to work remotely from anywhere, but also to find a more long-term residence to match my long-term plans.
Enter... Valencia, Spain.
Lisbon > Valencia
As someone who has lived predominantly in capital cities for a number of years, coincidentally or otherwise, Valencia was somewhere i had not expected to find myself going for, but it fulfilled a lot of the criteria for where i wanted to go next:
- Has a thriving international/expat community
- It's by the sea and has great beaches to walk or bike around
- It's great weather year-around, with mildly cold winters but nothing like the dark and freezing northern climate
- Great food culture, with a famous university attracting a young crowd (where there are students, there's always cheap food), smaller city size and not as crowded or populated as Barcelona and Madrid
- Wide area of fiber broadband connections, along with co-working spaces making working both from home and spaces equally attractive, along with cheap prices.
But predominantly i also didn't want to live in Madrid or Barcelona, which left very few places in Spain to travel to. However, it also offered the opportunity to learn Spanish, by jumping in with little to no knowledge of it beforehand. I wanted to learn Spanish but always stopped after a few weeks, but this time around if i stayed in Valencia long-term, i'd be forced to learn it just to live day-to-day.
While my initial plans were to try Valencia out for a month and come back to it if i felt it was an initial good fit, i didn't expect things to go as well as it did.
I was profoundly lucky enough to meet up with Mark, an expat from England who had been living in Valencia for a number of years and was also the one who arranged a number of local language exchange meetups and involved in many others. I was quickly introduced to many new people, got to go to a number of lovely events, won my first pub quiz in Valencia, and much more.
Between Mark and my other housemate Enea, i was made to feel extremely welcomed and fell in love with the idea of staying there for the long-term.
So i knew then i had to return after my month there was up, but i had already planned and booked myself up for my next destination, Tallinn, Estonia. A city that i had long planned to visit and explore.
Valencia > Tallinn
Similarly to my planned trip to Valencia, Tallinn was also a month-long stay to experience the city and get a sense of it and figure out if it was somewhere i may want to stay for the long-term.
Tallinn, and Estonia in general, unlike their fellow Baltic states, has always felt more closer to the Scandinavian countries than anywhere else. The fact that Estonian shares a similar linguistic roots as Finnish, and has a long and deep history with the Nordic countries deepens that feeling.
But it's also visible in its architecture, with a number of neighbourhoods in Tallinn feeling like carbon copies of neighbourhoods you'd find in Stockholm or Copenhagen. There's also the famed "coldness" of its people, namely that its citizens don't seem as welcoming or warm to each other, nevermind foreigners.
But this would be false, and even Sweden has faced similar accusations of not being friendly at all. But this isn't about being cold and distant to people, but rather a measure of politeness and respect to stay out of each others way and not get too involved in things unless we can help it.
All that said, this measure of mentally social distancing was something i was familiar with, and took it in stride.
One area that i found myself really marvelling in Tallinn however was the really amazing way that the city centre areas, specially in and around the Old Town had found ways to mix modern architecture with old.
All that said, my time in Tallinn, as brief as it was, was one where i felt that had i not just recently experienced such a warm and welcoming environment in Valencia, i would have been drawn to even more, as it fit my Nordic sensibilities in so many different ways.
Valencia
And thus, i made my way back to Valencia, this time determined to start setting down some roots and find myself a nice place i could see myself in, and i must admit to some great success in that area.
With some help from my friends from my last visit, i was quickly able to find a great apartment, found a nice co-working space to work from when the desire took me, but most importantly, was close enough to the Turia park that i could take nice long walks in the park at a whim.
My year may have started off at a dark and cold place, both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve here were warm and comfortable, and my mood at an all-time high.
While i found myself also ending my year in Valencia, it feels great being able to look back at some of the adventures i've had this year, and i've resolved to continue that for this year of 2023.
I usually avoid making any New Years resolutions, but this year i did make a small promise to myself, which is to beat the amount of cities and countries i've visited in 2022. It's a promise i intend to keep.