April 5, 2020
Podcasts are back! Yeah!!! I know you’ve been waiting for this for the longest time… Not! Here it is anyway. It’s been almost two years since the last podcast episode because time has just flown by. I had been thinking of reviving it, but l was too lazy to dig out my microphone from storage. Here is an interview with an expat here in Valencia. Hopefully it will be one in a series about life during the lockdown, both in Spain and other countries.
Podcast Chronicles: Episode 1
Jane is an Expat retiree here in Spain. She, and Frank, her husband of many years, chose Valencia as their retirement destination. In this podcast chronicles interview, she discusses how decided on Valencia, and how they feel after two years. We also talk about life now as opposed to the pre virus breakdown, which even though seems like a lifetime ago, has only been a few short weeks.
- Keeping busy to fill the day
- Keeping close to her kids spread out all over the world
- How lockdown in Spain feels
- What she misses most about being indoors
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It was awesome talking with her, even remotely. She is a good friend and it was a nice way for me to dip my toes in again. Jane, along with another good friend and l run a monthly Foodie group. Sadly, last month, and this month’s meeting had to be cancelled as our lockdown has definitely been extended to April 26, 2020. It also feels good because believe it or not, I have been paying for the podcast hosting since that last one, and every month when l get the “payment successful” email, I curse myself silently for not pulling the plug :-). Using it feels good.
You can find the podcast chronicles episode here:
I would love feedback on this podcast. Is it okay? Is there anything l can do to make it sound better? Questions you would like asked in future interviews?. Just remember that l’m not a pro, so don’t suggest technical jargon that l wouldn’t know please :-). In my opinion, I think this recording sounds a little better than the previous podcasts, thanks to feedback from a podcast guru who was the producer of an interview l did about our Coronavirus escape from Italy.
I am bummed because l really loved my intro music and l lost it when the computer crashed. I have no idea how to get it back. Bah! I guess l will make a new one, but then l have to figure out how to edit it into the podcast without going to an upper tier which will result in charges l am not willing to pay :-).
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Other related expat interviews you might find of interest include:
Clyde and Terry – Nomad Sitters
Lockdown seems to be happening in every part of the world now, and borders are closed. No one has any idea when this will come to an end. In the meantime, please make sure you do your part by following the guidelines set out by the expats. Hard as it is to stay at home, we all must. At least for now. Stay safe.
You can find the latest statistics on Coronavirus here.
How are you doing mentally and physically during these trying times? Anything you can share with us to while away our time indoors?
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We were in Spain – the Costa Brava – when this virus situation worsened, and took our scheduled flight to the US, which happened to be the last one departing from Barcelona to Newark! We loved our time there and are eager to return when the dust settles.
Wow! sounds like you had as much of a last minute escape as we had. Everything happened so, so fast, but l’m glad you were able to get home in time. Hopefully you’ll be able to visit Barcelona soon as we put this behind us. Stay healthy and safe.
Fantastic podcast on what expat life is like in Valencia, I have yet to visit but would love to travel there and see the amazing architecture, food and lifestyle some day.
Valencia will be waiting for you. We have found it to be our favorite city so far after trying others. Thanks for listening.
I finally managed to listen to the podcast – it was great to listen to it for sure and the sound quality is much better than it was with some of the previous ones. It was also great to hear about the situation updates and how everything is in other parts of the world – I, for some reason, like to read/listen to these updates.
I also agree with the things you said in the podcast: first of all, this seems to bring us closer somehow, despite the “social” distancing. I’ve been talking to people that I haven’t heard from in ages and it was nice for a change. Also, while I can generally accept being locked in (I have a lot of work to do anyway), my biggest problem is seeing how nice the weather is now after the winter: the trees are green, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping… everything trying to lure you out.
I’m glad you think the quality is better too. It means it was just not my imagination. I hope to be able to interview more people from around the world to see how things are in their neck of the woods. I find it interesting, and hopefully others will too. Anyhoo, it helps pass the time to listen to other things than the constant barrage of the virus coverage. 24 hours a day.:-).
It’s weird that it’s taking being helpless in some ways to bring people together. My hope is that we don’t lose that after this is behind us. That would be a shame because it would mean that we haven’t learned anything.
Oh you poor thing! I know how much you love the nice weather after dreary winter weather and wish that you could be out there. I am almost happy that the weather turned cold here. It makes it a little more bearable. Hang in there :-).
Boa Tarde Keme! It was great to hear your very musical voice in this podcast and I enjoyed “meeting” your friend Jane. The sound quality was clear and much easier to hear than in your earlier podcasts and I’m glad that you’re resuming them. One of my favorite things about being a foreign resident is hearing all the different stories about people deciding to make the big break with their previous lives and learning about different cultures, backgrounds, customs and countries. The conversation never gets boring! Keep well and I’m glad that you’ve found yet another past time to fill these lockdown days!
Buenos dia! Musical voice? I would have never used that to describe my voice, more like a hammer with a huge thud! Haha! Oh thanks so much for the feedback on the podcast. I will definitely stick with this route as opposed to the old. I’m also happy to be doing this again and not just throwing the hosting money down the drain.. :-). I also like to hear how people end up in different places and what brought about the change, so l will keep doing them, definitely through this lockdown because l am positive no one wants to hear about my day anymore since it’s Groundhog Day :-). The second episode coming up very soon and someone mentioned your name even :-). Stay safe.
We have had quite the turn of events as we were planning to move to Valencia as of June 1st from the Netherlands and having recently moved from the Us, here we were excited to come yet another step further towards our dreams We came for Valencia I early March to look for a place to rent for the summer and luckily left just in time to miss being stuck there, we are now staying in the Netherlands until further notice and hope we can make the big move by September. We are so bummed to have to put our plans. On hold but feel lucky we have a lovely home to wait it out in the beautiful countryside here.
Yikes! sorry to hear about your delayed plans. I know the last time we had communicated, you were still undecided as to where, but good to hear that Valencia won you over and you are going to try it. The virus really did a number on a lot of people, from botched plans to just being in limbo since embassies are closed or not processing. Thank goodness that you’re at least in Europe so once things ease up, it should be a little easier to move. Good luck with it all and the Netherlands? Not a bad place to be riding things out. 🙂
Hi KemKem! I am so thrilled to have found your podcast! I actually found the podcast through your book, “Best Expat Life in the Sun…” on Amazon. I just ordered it & can’t wait to read it!
First things first…I LOVE the podcast! The sound quality was perfect, though I must admit this is my first one. Please tell Jane I appreciated her candor & willingness to give listeners a snapshot of her expat experience in Valencia. You asked questions about things that I very much wanted to know!
Second, a little about me. I live in Texas with my husband, who is semi-retired & 2 teenagers. Our son is a college sophomore. We are seriously considering moving to Spain next year after our daughter graduates from high school. Valencia is high on our list. This is how I found your book.
We cancelled our 2 week family trip to Spain in June due to Covid. Valencia was one of the cities we planned to explore! Listening to the podcast makes me want to come to Valencia even more!
I look forward to listening to all of your podcasts, because I know there is much to learn. I am just wanting to hear as much as possible about the daily life of expats. Thanks so much for doing this public service! We are your newest fans! 😉
Hi Patricia! Thanks so much for giving me a burst of energy with your comment. It was fantastic to wake up and see this especially because sometimes it feels like l am just talking to the wind and l want to give up. In the blogging world, details are frowned on, but l can’t help it, and made the conscious decision that this blog will stay small. I can’t bring myself to only write the best of touristy place crap all the time :-). I’m glad you enjoyed Jane’s interview, and in the near future, I have others in Valencia lined up to interview.
This virus really disrupted a whole lot of plans. We had also planned on visiting the Houston/Dallas area to visit family this year, but of course, like you, had to cancel. Spain is really a great place to live, and we have not regretted it yet :-). Valencia, especially (our 3rd city) has been awesome, and l get why it’s on your short list.
Thanks again for your comment. It literally brought tears to my eyes, and welcome to the blog. My aim is to keep showing for detailed information that l had searched for when looking to leave the U.S.