Never Retire: I Almost Can't Believe We Live Here
Not long ago, an unnamed somebody referred to Valencia as “Barcelona’s sleepy little brother.” If Donald Trump wasn’t alive, I could say there has never been a more uninformed and inaccurate statement uttered.
What I’m about to show you isn’t an everyday scene in Valencia—we’re entering peak fiesta season as Las Fallas 2025 kicks off. But it’s a perfect illustration of the city’s vibe.
There’s always a party—for one reason or another—every time you turn around. And when there isn’t, the baseline energy is as vibrant and lively as any urban environment—if not more—yet Valencia still manages to feel laid-back and relaxed.
We live in the literal middle of it all. In the heart of the neighborhood where so much of this life happens. You have to see it—at peak fiesta, during a typical weekend or on a relatively chill weekday morning, afternoon or evening—to get a true sense of the scene I struggle to explain.
I’m living my urban planning and day-to-day lifestyle dream. And—as I mention toward the end of one of the videos I’m about to show you—if it weren’t for all the work we put in and the thought we gave to getting here, I wouldn’t believe we actually live here.
More on that in a minute, but first three pieces of business to take care of—
First, thanks so much to those of you who have helped support the forthcoming 2025 launch of my new Substack, Friki de Bici. I appreciate it more than I can express.
I am keeping Friki de Bici free. So I need some venture capital to get it off the ground and ensure I can do everything I want to do with it. My wife and I brainstormed some fun and promising ideas over the weekend. We are starting to develop and work on them. I already bought the frikidebici.com domain!
My most important resource is time. If you support my livelihood as a freelance writer, you free up time I would normally dedicate to other paying work to focus on my newsletters.
For more, see the link below (and the link inside that link!) and please go here to support at any amount you choose. The popular number has been $100, but you can go as high or low as you’d like. When we get Friki de Bici, I will send you one, no matter your level of support! (No joke!!).
Second, I haven’t talked about organizing finances much lately. And that’s mainly because—knock on wood—things have gone as planned. However, right now the dollar is weak and could very well get weaker. I’ll explain what this means and how I am—and am not—reacting. In addition, we’ll also look at one of my favorite savings tools. So it’s all relevant whether you move abroad or not.
Third, the clocks moved ahead this weekend in the United States. Spain also observes daylight savings time, but not until the end of the month. So, for three weeks the time gap between Spain and the West Coast of the US drops one hour to eight.