Transitioning countries

Now at the end of September, the transition from summer into autumn has begun. A favoured season of mine due to the colours and textures that surround us as the nature that exists in big cities like London show signs of decay, of rest.

Yes, I’m back in the big metropole after a period of living in the Netherlands by the sea came to an end. “Why would anyone want to return to tbig city life after escaping to the seaside?” Answering that question requires the writing of an epic novel! its enough to say at this point, making this move was a matter of survival, to live in a way that enabled my spirit to be at peace. Not easily achieved as an older Black nonbinary queer person, but life In the provinces of mainland Europe was not the ideal location for me to survive, nor thrive.

City life continues to be challenging, notably the horrific situation with housing right now. Whether renting or buying, the markets are a nightmare. I’m currently stuck in a state of limbo, held in loving community by friends and family whilst I wait for the dice to roll in my favour and I can secure a roof of my own over my head.

 October will mark the start of month 4 of suitcase living. The rest of my worldly possessions remain in storage. Living like a student backpacker has its drawbacks when you lack the health and vitality of the average young adult. Burnt out by my career, 9 months of long Covid and 6 years of living a pretty isolated life in hostile work and social settings and through a global pandemic (who has even begun to process the trauma from that alone?!), to say I’m exhausted by it all is an understatement in the fullest! So, I’m not loving my current predicament but I’ll take it over the abject despair I experienced from living in that sweet but menacingly hostile town by the sea in Noord Holland. 

Photos in this article are my own:

1. Canopies at Hackney Eastern Curve Garden, London.

2. Outside the Social Hub hotel, Amsterdam.

3. Sea view from the boulevard in Zandvoort.