Welcome back to another episode! This week was going to be 'Bulgaria in Review' but I'll be staying here in Bansko for another four weeks so will save that until I have both a fully considered opinion, and until I can clearly and fairly articulate the results of my almost 1000km journey across and around the country. In the mean time, lets talk about travel plans.
Last episode I mentioned that my preliminary thoughts on Bulgaria (investment wise) were negative, and a bit of a spoiler but the full write up will follow that direction. Put simply; I don't think real estate in Bansko (or other parts of rural Bulgaria) will beat 10%/year. Now although I like Bansko enough to stay here for a few more weeks, these findings throw a bit of a spanner in the works in terms of what to do and where to go, as the original plan was to explore real estate options with an eye to invest. So, where next?
The next stop (after Bansko) of my travels will be Tirana, Albania, where I'll be for three weeks travelling across the country as a tourist. Not looking for any investment opportunities, but will be sightseeing and getting the general vibe in the country with what I think might be the scariest looking flag in the world. Then the questions start. Do I want to find somewhere after that which could compete with the mountain views of Bansko, or the beachfront of Da Nang? Have I spent long enough in the non-germanic language speaking countries, or would my brain benefit from reading more cyrillic? Do I miss the heat and humidity of SE Asia, or is that some sort of trauma bonding after the full upper body sunburn? And to make things even harder, what is even the goal now?
I sometimes think about the corporate life, the fun times where you're talking about new ways to do things, helping people save time with repetitive tasks, and that kind of thing, and of course making lots of money. But I also think about the absurdity of it all. Being asked to complete tasks that you know have little to no value, the constant feeling of incomplete-ness as you're squeezed for every productive moment, and of course, the corporate-speak foreplay. Someone 'checking in to align on the key deliverables', 'synchronising swimlanes to avoid blockers', or 'circling back to milestone updates'. Unmanageably cringe, but also part of the game.
Anyway, I mention this not because I want to go back, but because when I think about what the goal is now, do I just try to make more money for the sake of it, so that when I do know what I want to do I have more resources to pursue it? And if so, do I go for the whole entrepreneurship thing again, or do I just take a salaried job and probably make more money and faster than building something from scratch? Or do I do something in the middle, raise capital, work part time, or maybe even volunteer somewhere? Or would all of that be a waste of my existing skillset? Was my PhD just a stepping stone into the corporate grind or could I use it to somehow contribute positively towards human civilization rather than helping deliver returns to shareholders?
After all these countries, all the effort and the lessons, am I right back where I started where the plan now is to find a plan? Or, is it just that by being alive that reproduction is essentially the only meaningful goal, in which case everything else is really just a preference. But then what's the goal for your children, and if it's all preference then maybe the pursuit of happiness is the goal? So maybe maybe, doing what makes you happy is most important, but then is that earning money, travelling, pursuing your interests, or all of the above? I think this is what Sartre's literature is about but I haven't read any yet, so maybe that's a good place to start. I wasn't expecting this episode to take a philosophical turn but here we are. Hold on, isn't this basically a travel blog with extra steps?
Back to the travel plans then, I think Serbia (Belgrade specifically), Greece (coastal mainland), and Italy (South East), are on the cards in the coming months. I like being near a beach, and a sunset beach in particular, so the second and third options here could work. I'm also leaning more towards city life for the convenience, but the suburbs specifically so that I can live my best hermit life. Unfortunately there is also a slim consideration of strike range for middle-eastern missiles and the ongoing global crisis which is unfolding. But that's a topic for another time.
If you've got any recommendations for towns/regions to explore in Europe then please let me know. Otherwise hope all is well and see you next week.
Thanks and all the best,
Oliver
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