I think I need some stress in my life

So this Miami thing continues in the same vein as previous weeks.

I wake up, go for a glorious walk by the water surrounded by palm trees. I order a taxi which arrives with a polite driver who whisks me to work with zero hassle. At work things are fine. I pop out at lunch to one of many gorgeous spots to eat. The sun is always shining. I come home - my lovely front desk people greet me with a big hello. This repeats.

This weekend instead of going out drinking with friends and having a lie in ( London life), I went to Yoga. On the rooftop of an art deco hotel. The instructor was lovely and gave me an understanding smile when I decided not to try a handstand and only corrected my pose once in the hour's session.

The only problem to all this chilled out existence is I really think I need something to get frustrated about, something to annoy me. I'm much better when some sort of drama is going on.

My thoughts are turning to how I can create a bit more stress in my life :-)

The joys of a serviced apartment

So I'm now a couple of weeks into my US adventure. I've even managed a full week of work which was a challenge - good job I've got miles of glorious beach to recover on this weekend.

So far there are definitely some major positives about life here and then a few things that are just a bit strange.

On the strange - most people ( outside from work) have Spanish as their first language, and lots of people I'm interacting with speak very little English. I need to join that Spanish class pronto ( I don't even know the Spanish for quickly....)

The next main strange is the lack of fuss over Easter. I spent Good Friday in the office, and I'm spending Easter Monday in the office. No public holidays for Easter here....and I don't even have an Easter egg ( don't feel sorry for me, the two packets of mini eggs I did bring have somehow 'disappeared').

Then the other thing which isn't strange but I didn't expect was how expensive domestic flights are here. I'm trying to visit a friend in a Boston and a 3 hour flight is £250 minimum. I think that's partly that Miami doesn't have as good a value fares but also I just don't think the easyJet/ Ryanair competitive airlines exists to the same extent. I have however figured out using my airmiles, so my dream of a destination a month is being kept alive ( expect to see posts from New York , Seattle, San Diego and New Orleans over the coming months)

Onto the massive positives then:

First of all is the discovery of uber pool - various friends put me off getting a car ( Miami drivers are crazy, everyone has accidents, plus due to no credit history and high insurance a car will cost minimum £700/ month). So I arrived fully expecting I'd get the bus to work each day. After a painful 35 minute wait near a homeless hangout spot I quickly abandoned public transport. So Uber's to work it was - and I was spending over £20 / day just getting to work. Until that is I pressed the little pool button. Some clever technology means for less than $3 I can get to work - it just means we might pick a few people up along the way. I love it!

The other major bonus is I've got back into my morning walks before work. Harriet's son Oliver will no longer be able to mock my Fitbit weekly scores. 10,000 steps / day is within reach, and it gives me the perfect excuse to buy yet more activewear......

But overall my favourite thing so far has to be my apartment - I feel so lucky. This building does everything. They collect my parcels and email me telling me exactly who of the many clothing companies have delivered my goodies. They say hello to me every time I arrive or leave for work. They bring me fluffy white towels to the pool. The concierge, Felipe, offers to book me various restaurants he's recommending. They couldn't be nicer. If I could just talk one into giving the apartment a bit of a sweep once / week I'd be totally sorted......

I have a feeling it's going to be tricky coming back home! My next challenge  is finding someone with a boat - I've not made it onto the water yet....

The big move to Miami

The big move to Miami

Some months ago in a career conversation at work I was asked if I'd consider moving to Miami. I'd always said I wouldn't move on my own now that I'm older - it's more difficult to meet like minded people , too isolating. However the allure of a beach and a good job title had me hooked.

Since then it's been full of up's and down's - so I was surprised that in the final weeks of packing up life in England I seemed to be coping quite well. Not known for being unemotional, I found myself feeling quite neutral about everything. I think I just wanted to get on the plane and get on with my life. The months of limbo while waiting for visa's etc did my head in. So after about 6 leaving do's, frantically arranging removals men, squeezing in seeing everyone I love and a final secret cinema - off to Heathrow Terminal 3 I went.

I was very grateful to the BA head of cabin crew who brought me some champagne back in Cattle class. Also very grateful to the lovely immigration man who after a very long queue was welcoming, friendly and a great start to my USA adventure. This whole experience has really shown the great kindness of people that I have in my life - I had a call shortly after from Audrey ( US colleague) checking I'd arrived safely, my boss called first thing the next morning, I had lots of well wishes from all my friends and co workers. Lovely.

And so here I am....in Miami. My first weekend has been easier than I thought it would and I feel like I've achieved a lot. I've moved into my apartment, I've Uber'd to IKEA ( eating meatballs and mash while I was there), I've had a Saturday night out in Wynwood. I've eaten my fair share of bagels, got well over 10,000 steps in every day. My balcony has new furniture on it to enjoy wine and mighty fine views from. I've got a bank account, wifi and a social security number on its way.

The only thing I've not got yet are lots of friends around me. Plenty of time for that 😀