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A Gypsy Life

A Gypsy Life

When I was 19, I started calling myself a Gypsy Pirate.  Naturally, this stuck and most of my friends and some family refer to me as a little Gypsy.  Now, Gypsies are a real culture of people who have been roaming the countrysides of Europe for over one thousand years.  Some Gypsies are vagrants, violent and still cause fear in the small towns they venture through.  But the majority continue the traditions of their ancestors by living frugally, traveling in their trailers, playing music where they venture and maintaining a close knit community.  Simple living, exploring where the seasons take them and soaking in the blue skies as the wind blows through their long, natural, sun stained hair.  This is the tone in which we casually use the word, paying homage to their traveling lifestyle.  They never settle, carrying with them few possessions and adapting easily to their surroundings.  Home is where the heart is, not where the average person has a mortgage.  I could perhaps very well be, a modern day, city living, millennial gypsy.

Before I turned 18 and ran away from my home town to pursue aspirations and explore the world, I had moved countless times with my mother.  She took me from Comox, British Columbia to Nashville, Tennessee when I was a mere three months old.  Then to Las Vegas when I was three years, and Vancouver when I was five.  We lived in probably 20 houses and apartments by the time I was 17 and I had attended three different High School’s in the Lower Mainland.

Since New Years where we rang in 2016, I had lived in London, moved to Italy to film a movie, came back to London, moved to France to study, graduated, went back to London to leave it permanently, spent one month in Quebec, went to Las Vegas for two months, then resettled in Los Angeles which is where I’ve called home since July 1st.  Most would call that stressful, chaotic, unsettling.  I call it explorative, exciting and fulfilling.  

Don’t get me wrong, there are days where I feel lonely and lost and crave my local streets of Shoreditch or gay bars of Vancouver where I knew I would always find my loved ones.  But after so much moving my entire life, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to acclimate to my new bedroom, my new neighborhood and my new city.  So this article is for the Gypsies, the Hussies, the bold and the beautiful who dare to dream and live outside their box.  You’re not alone my lovelies.

 

  1. Practice minimalism and learn to let go of possessions.

George Clooney did this great movie called, “Up In The Air” where he plays a business man who practically lives in airports and hotels traveling constantly for work.  He uses an analogy of carrying everything you own in your backpack.  The more materialistic things you have, the harder it is to move with your backpack as it weighs you down.  Learn to live with your necessities only and scale down the “stuff”.  

I have an envelope of pictures I bring with me to every new place.  I pin them on my wall and they put a smile on my face every day, reminding me I’m not alone.  Clothes and shoes that I know look fab are what follow me in my suitcase.  My accessories and purses that are designer and last for years.  It’s not worth carrying boxes of kitchen utensils and bed sheets around, you can buy that for so cheap now on Amazon or at a thrift store!  Save the sweating for when you check out the new gym in your hood, not for lugging around boxes of stuff that is easily replaceable.

2. Set up your new room immediately!

I have a tradition where no matter what time I arrive in my new apartment, my bedroom gets set up.  No excuses.  I cannot waste any time and waking up the next morning in a clean, organized new space does wonders for my energy levels.  Then that way the next day can be spent roaming around the vintage markets and buying large bouquets of flowers.

3. Be courageous and take yourself out… A lot.

It’s funny because moving cities or starting a new job can be daunting, but it’s totally achievable.  What I find most women are more afraid of than switching countries, is going to a bar or restaurant by themselves.  I remember when I first moved to London in 2011, I went to a live music bar in Soho called, “Nothin’ But Blues” every Tuesday for a month.  Just to get out and meet new people and walk around my new city at night when it was so alive.  So grab a book or notebook, take yourself to a cool swanky wine joint and perch at the bar.  Keep an open energy to those who are around you because you never know who you could meet!

4.  HOLD OFF ON DATING BOYS.

This one took me a long time to fully comprehend, but it is really important.  I used to think that dating new guys when I got to a new city would be a great way to try new restaurants, bars and theaters.  It absolutely is, but it comes with a big downfall also.  When you’re hustling on your own, you don’t have those close reliable people in your vicinity yet.  Yes, they are a phone call away, but it’s just not the same as being able to walk to your girl’s house round the corner to drink cheap wine.  So without consciously knowing, you indulge more quickly in relationships, resulting in a harder “fall” for the person.  Your schedule is mostly work, not so much social therefore he becomes your social calendar.  So if/when this romance ends, you not only have a break up to deal with, but you have spent your time on this boy and not on finding your tribe so there isn’t anyone to distract you with offers of having a single girls night out.  From experience, that is when I feel most alone in a new city.  Which is borderline embarrassing to admit as a Hussey… but this blog is all about transperancy, I’m always honest with you fellow Hussies.

5.  Find.  Your.  Tribe.

SO important.  And Ironically - SO hard.  Finding like minded people in your new city is difficult but imperative to your sanity and productivity.  For someone like myself, who is self employed and doesn’t have a physical work place to go to every day, it’s even harder.  But not being shy is the first step.  Talk to people, exchange info and be an instigator.  Take initiative and call them, hang out, go to galleries.  Put yourself out there!  Even if they might not be someone you’re crazy about, one of their friends could be.  The stories of how I met my best friends around the world are hilarious and I would have never believed they would ever materialize as they did.  Keeps clubs and sidewalks and house parties very exciting.

 

6.  Finally, be kind to yourself.

Moving is overwhelming and exhausting.  Allow time to find your groove and don’t put yourself down if it takes you longer than expected.  Being a gypsy is a choice, a way of life.  It’s hard, but if you crave the adventure and are up to the challenge, say yes.  It is down right exhilarating because you know that your story is still being written out and you never know what the next chapter can be.  Where it will lead you or who it will lead you to.

 

 

Oh the Harvey's of the World.

Oh the Harvey's of the World.

An Eternal Optimist

An Eternal Optimist