Finding Home, Again

I took my first solo trip when I was 21. It was during the summer break between my second and third year at university. I went to Dublin, Barcelona, and Rome. I’m British, so these places are a £10 Ryanair flight away.

I was on my own for sixteen days. It was my first taste of the freedom that comes with solo travel.

Since then, I’ve been a solo traveller and I’ve moved to different countries alone. I moved to Madrid to take an English teaching assistant position. I did that for two years. I then moved to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to teach.

2020 put a hold on everyone. I was supposed to move to China and undertake a teaching position in March, unfortunately, the UK went into lockdown and the rest is current events.

I had plans. I had so many plans to travel. I wanted to visit the pandas in Chengdu, I wanted to see those picturesque tall free-standing mountains in Zhangjiajie, you know the ones, it looks like the landscape of Avatar (2009).

Plans change, people change, and situations happen.

My next solo trip

This is a solo trip I’ve done before, several times. I’m going back to Madrid.

Weirdly enough, I’m writing this as the Britney Spears song 'Toxic' plays. I would argue Madrid is intoxicating, but in the best possible way.

I’ve planned my trip a lot, and as everyone knows, even the best-laid plans often go awry—I apologise for butchering the Robert Burns quote.

I had been set on going to China, I’d paid a lot of money for medical tests, I had all my documents notarized and apostilled. But every day I stay in England, I feel myself slipping, I feel the goal post being pulled further, and I’m not strong enough to stick it out.

So, I’m going to Madrid.

It feels like home there.

Peek inside my itinerary

The plan is to go at the end of January 2021. I need to check my finances. It will be tight at first, for a month or so. The cost of setting up somewhere new is always a big cost.

I will find somewhere to stay for a night or two, and as it’s the end of the month, it makes it the perfect time to find an apartment and get a rental agreement in place. This is the first step on my adventure; it gives me a base.

I look forward to:

• Seeing the friends I left behind; Shona, Vicky, and Antonio.

• Visiting the post-COVID crowds in Puerta del Sol, the famous Tio Pepe sign, Templo de Debod, and El Retiro Park. The real tourist hot spots, but also the places I feel most grounded.

• Getting tongue-tied as I attempt to speak Spanish -- I mean, I should be completely fluent already.

• The cheap alcohol and tapas of Cien Montaditos, and my favourite thing about that, is Cien Montaditos is everywhere in Madrid, you can’t escape them… and you wouldn’t want to either.

• Patatas Bravas – that’s it.

I also look forward to seeing who I live with. In Madrid, I’ve lived with university students and made incredible friends with people of all nationalities, from Brazilian to Latvian.

Madrid is a melting pot of people, cultures, and languages.

There is still so much to explore and experience. Madrid is a large city and each of the districts and neighbourhoods offers something unique.

As for memories I’ll make, we’ll see to those when they happen. I hope to make memories with existing friends, new friends, and I hope to make them with a cold glass of Tinto de Verano in hand.

My privilege

I recognise that being British affords me certain things, one of them is the ability to teach English as a native speaker, and because of this, I am able to teach freelance and move to a new country.

I also have the privilege of going back to a place I know well, a place I’ve fallen in love with. A place that changed me and gave me a room to grow. I’ll benefit from this trip mentally, it’s tough being locked down with family, it’s even tougher when the reason you left in the first place was to get away.

Location, location, location

Madrid is in the centre of Spain and has great transport links. Not only with an airport but also coaches and trains.

One of my favourite apps to use in Madrid is the Omio app, from there I can book a train or coach ticket in a couple clicks. Previously, I’ve bought tickets from Madrid to Malaga during the early Summer and it cost me roughly 10 USD to get there. It took 6 hours, but that’s the scenic route for you.

I plan to take more trips like that once I’m back. A solo trip to spawn smaller ones.

Solo trips saved me. They helped when I thought I would suffocate. They gave health to the mental decay gnawing away in me. Solo trips continue to allow me to satisfy my need to appear mysterious, like an international spy.

The budget

My budget is different because I’m moving to another country.

• Flight: £50

• Deposit: £350

• Rent: £350

• Temporary accommodation: £100

• Transport card: £30

• Month food: £150

• Entertainment (alcohol): £100

That’s all roughly estimated for a month, and sure, more miscellaneous costs may appear or change. The estimation of deposit and rent is calculated on flatshares in the area. Also, Spain use the euro, which is £1 to €1.11.

I want to say I’m packing my bags for the adventure, but the truth is, I never unpacked my suitcase. I’ve been waiting to leave, it was either China or back to Spain.

Let’s keep our masks on, let’s wash our hands, and let’s evict COVID. Everyone should be given the opportunity to travel, not just an overbearing brutalist virus.

I’m beyond ready to go back home.

And home is where the heart is.

Just so happens that my heart is in Madrid.