Leaping without a Net. What it’s Like to Move to Spain and Figure it out As You Go | Ep 22

In this episode you'll hear from two friends of mine that I met in Madrid who have lived in the city since the early 2010's, long enough to call Madrid home. As you know, I love this city and one of the highlights of living here is the incredible community of women that I have met. Listen in as Jo, a 35-year old Canadian, no stranger to hitting refresh has continued reinventing herself here in Spain. I'll also talk to Maria, a 40-year old from Wisconsin, who shares with us how she's navigated the twists and turns of life abroad and what keeps here here.

What We Discuss

• Coming to Madrid without a plan and finding a way to make it work
• The pros and cons of living in Spain
• Why "home" no longer feels like your place in the world
• How hitting refresh is an ongoing process
• Leaving a full-time job abroad to start a passion project
• Take aways from a 5 month motorcycle trip from Madrid to Kyrgyzstan
• Checking in with ourselves from time-to-time to understand what we really need
• Listening to your intuition and making decisions based on where it pulls you
• How a 6-12 month break in Madrid turned into 8 years!
• The feeling of childlike wonder that comes with living abroad
• The differences between the U.S. and Spain regarding societal pressure of a single 30+, childfree woman
• How hitting refresh is a confidence booster
• Why we love Spain!

About Jo

Jo is Canadian, but living in Spain. Her most recent refreshes were leaving her job to create her own employment, shifting the industry of her career and leaving Madrid for 5 months to travel on a bike.

Read more about Jo in our Member Spotlight series.

Connect with Jo on Facebook, Instagram @choosing_my_way, and her website You Choose The Way.

About Maria

Maria first got her travel adventure bug when she studied abroad for a semester in France. She grew up in a small city in Wisconsin and had never traveled so far from US soil before, she was in awe of everything she experienced in Europe. This led her to wanting another adventure when she graduated, so she moved to Thailand for a year, where she taught English and did some modeling.

After being advised to “get a job in the real world,” Maria moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in television. Not having a clue of what she wanted to do in television, she tried a number of things until she found her happy place in front of the camera, working as a TV Presenter.

After 7 years of having a love/hate relationship with LA, going through a rollercoaster ride of successes and rejections, she had had enough. Maria had fallen in love with Spain 11 years before, promised herself that she would live there some day, and decided that that day had come. At 32 years old, she packed two suitcases for a 6-12 month adventure. Eight years later, she's still here :)

Spain has given me a quality of life, which she defines as: great work/life balance, sunny skies, Mediterranean diet, delicious and affordable wine, a rich culture full of art and castles, universal health care, and easy access to so many travel destinations! No place is perfect, but that’s quite a good list of reasons to stay ;)

Follow Maria on Facebook and Instagram @mariajenell.