Moving to a foreign country where you don't know anyone is the best way to feel like a kid again.
There will be times where you want to get something done and the language barrier challenges you to the point of laughter. It's a humbling experience I'd recommend to anyone.
Maybe will see you in Barcelona before you make your way down to Valencia!
“Some people bask in the glow of finding a seemingly comfortable place in life after years of hard work. Others seek what I am starting to view as a hybrid version of settling down.” - This is where I hope to be soon within the next 3 months as I wind down a good but uneventful and generally unsatisfying career and discover and rediscover passions new and old. I don’t want to be looking back and regretting what I didn’t have the courage to do from the weight of obligations and responsibilities. There is still time and as they do in Spain, time to take the bull by the horn ( or at least tease it carefully with a red cape)!
I moved to Italy at 46. I am now 52. We didn't have savings or a plan - we moved from Ireland within 3 weeks of making the decision.
Covid killed my 15 year destination wedding business overnight, so on day one of Covid lockdowns, I started writing humour about living in Italy and renovating the 22 roomed derelict villa we had just bought. It has grown into a 5 book series (self-published) which now is our full-time income. I still can't speak Italian and the bureaucracy can be a nightmare, but we live an idyllic simple life that is so much more affordable here than Ireland (where we are both from) and it is allowing me to follow my dream of being a full-time author. So keep all the notes of the challenges you come against and write your story. It's a niche but popular genre. :)
This is such a great comment to wake up to! Thanks for sharing your story.
One of several things I get out of it is that putting yourself in these types of situations means you're going to have to adjust in ways you likely never considered. And that's real growth.
Thanks again! I hope you'll keep reading and contributing.
Everything I thought I needed starting out on my own, has completely changed. I wanted a large craftsman home with room for gatherings and an old truck in the driveway. Then my ideas evolved swiftly after my daughter moved out. Who was all this space for? I no longer have people to entertain or take care of. I don't have to work all the overtime with no one to support. It is a strange feeling being able to really evaluate what I want for me now. It is not a midlife crisis. It is finally having the freedom to put myself first.
This is great - thanks! We left our jobs, sold our home and moved out of the US 3 years ago and we're still settling in. When we arrived in France, we really didn't speak any of the language. I think that we spent our first several months just confusing the heck out of people.
Our expectations have changed and what we want has changed - I think for the better. It has felt as if my own learning has been thrown into hyperspeed. The language is still an obstacle and that is definitely humbling, but at the same time, so many people have helped us out.
Moving to a foreign country where you don't know anyone is the best way to feel like a kid again.
There will be times where you want to get something done and the language barrier challenges you to the point of laughter. It's a humbling experience I'd recommend to anyone.
Maybe will see you in Barcelona before you make your way down to Valencia!
“Some people bask in the glow of finding a seemingly comfortable place in life after years of hard work. Others seek what I am starting to view as a hybrid version of settling down.” - This is where I hope to be soon within the next 3 months as I wind down a good but uneventful and generally unsatisfying career and discover and rediscover passions new and old. I don’t want to be looking back and regretting what I didn’t have the courage to do from the weight of obligations and responsibilities. There is still time and as they do in Spain, time to take the bull by the horn ( or at least tease it carefully with a red cape)!
Well said! Especially...
"I don’t want to be looking back and regretting what I didn’t have the courage to do from the weight of obligations and responsibilities."
There's always time. Even if you do whatever you want to do for a day, then exit stage left. It's better than not having gone for it at all.
Never waste a good crisis.
And midlife is a good one.
I moved to Italy at 46. I am now 52. We didn't have savings or a plan - we moved from Ireland within 3 weeks of making the decision.
Covid killed my 15 year destination wedding business overnight, so on day one of Covid lockdowns, I started writing humour about living in Italy and renovating the 22 roomed derelict villa we had just bought. It has grown into a 5 book series (self-published) which now is our full-time income. I still can't speak Italian and the bureaucracy can be a nightmare, but we live an idyllic simple life that is so much more affordable here than Ireland (where we are both from) and it is allowing me to follow my dream of being a full-time author. So keep all the notes of the challenges you come against and write your story. It's a niche but popular genre. :)
This is such a great comment to wake up to! Thanks for sharing your story.
One of several things I get out of it is that putting yourself in these types of situations means you're going to have to adjust in ways you likely never considered. And that's real growth.
Thanks again! I hope you'll keep reading and contributing.
You're welcome :)
Everything I thought I needed starting out on my own, has completely changed. I wanted a large craftsman home with room for gatherings and an old truck in the driveway. Then my ideas evolved swiftly after my daughter moved out. Who was all this space for? I no longer have people to entertain or take care of. I don't have to work all the overtime with no one to support. It is a strange feeling being able to really evaluate what I want for me now. It is not a midlife crisis. It is finally having the freedom to put myself first.
This is great - thanks! We left our jobs, sold our home and moved out of the US 3 years ago and we're still settling in. When we arrived in France, we really didn't speak any of the language. I think that we spent our first several months just confusing the heck out of people.
Our expectations have changed and what we want has changed - I think for the better. It has felt as if my own learning has been thrown into hyperspeed. The language is still an obstacle and that is definitely humbling, but at the same time, so many people have helped us out.