I'm not gonna pretend, nature is hostile. And big city life is not for everyone. To be honest, we feel happier now than ever. Surprisingly, we don't really miss the beach at all! We don't miss the hostile jungle and the people in it. We don't miss not having the freedom to walk safely anywhere anytime. We don't miss the discomfort and inconvenience. We don't miss getting sunburned. We don't miss expensive vegetables. We don't miss constant power outages. We don't miss the extreme heat and humidity. We don't miss the mosquitoes. And most of all, we don't miss groupthink and tribal mentality. So yeah, we do love our city life and the opportunities to become part of communities with like-minded and individualistic people.
This is the time to purge toxic friends and families. It's time to purge our old life. Bad memories and experiences too. It's time to stop living in the past. We only welcome those who we deem healthy to become part of our everyday lives.
My cat and I would like to STILL live simply without sacrificing comfort and enjoyment. I know most of you think that just because you are living in a highly urbanized environment, it's not possible to be frugal at all. Well, the good thing about island living was that I learned how to live with less. So now, I have this newfound appreciation of all the conveniences and perks of big city living such as rideshare apps, food/item delivery apps, walkable roads, metros, bookstores, lots of ATMs, big supermarkets with complete stuff, 24-hour convenience stores that sell cat food (in case I forgot to buy and my cat's being whiny at the middle of the night). I feel like life is easier now than before. I'm glad I moved.
I'm big on investing and sticking to my financial goals this time. I learned a new term somewhere on Reedit - DINK (Double Income No Kids). The latter is easy because I don't plan to have kids. Oops, I guess Diablo_the_cat is enough for me. As for double income, this is more challenging as I can't promise to be consistently not diabolical. Let's see if I'm gonna get a more humane wage increase this year as a reward for not being diabolic at work.
The goal is to spend less on unnecessary stuff (clothes, shoes, gadgets, etc.) and spend more on groceries and healthy food. Because hey, we love to eat! Preparing your own meal (a.k.a. meal prep) is the way to save money and eat good food. Fancy coffee shops and eating out are reserved for those much-needed socialization time and occasional meet-ups. I like the convenience store brewed coffee when I'm in the mood walking around with it tho. I'm actually the opposite of those who like to flex their posh stuff online, I'm the type of person who likes to brag cheap and not so fancy things lol.
One of our money-saving goals is to spend less on utility bills. City living means that I'm able to save more on electricity bills as I'm always out and about. Compared to our extremely hot and humid island life, we don't have to use AC all the time. I've also invested on energy-saving appliances and upgraded everything that I own now in a more beneficial way.
I designed my place to be super cozy and comfortable because this is my safe haven. This is where I do the things that I love doing the most as I get older (working, sleeping, cuddling with my cat while watching Purge on Netlix, cooking good and simple dishes and of course eating!). Beach life and partying are overrated! I'm guess I'm just getting old. I prefer peace and solitude in my nice and comfy tiny abode.
I would like to experience more cities in the future so I plan to just stay put, work, save money and enjoy the comforts of my domesticated life. Welcome to my new chapter!