Is it really possible to be present in two places at once?

This isn't so much a blog post about a visit to Ibiza in November. That was glorious, and I will provide some detail in and around the blissful nature of the island at this time of year and what can be enjoyed. However, the main point of reflection for this post is about my goal of spending a significant portion of my time in a Ibiza, or at least overseas. When I was young, I didn't embrace the opportunity to travel, to reside elsewhere as much as I could or should have done. Now I find myself divorced, with a precious little boy who means the world to me, and having to share him equally with his father. I will always want 2 have more of my time with August, but that just wouldn't be fair on his dad and I would never expect that.

So is there any prospect for a person in that sort of situation to fulfil some of the dreams that she never did at an earlier age when she would have been free to do such a thing? I think many people wood view it as a dream they can kiss goodbye to but not myself. The situation is what it is and all you can do is work with that situation to try your hardest to fashion the life that you would like to have. Is it possible to reside part of your time elsewhere and still be fully present for your child as they grow? Because ultimately, that is the most important thing to me, and August always comes first.

Again I'm sure that there are a portion of people reading this that think ‘no you have your child you should stay in the UK’, but my question back would be that as he is with his dad for half of his time, and would it really be the expectation that in the time he's not with me I should be sat at home moping awaiting his return. I'm sure August ultimately will thrive from a mother who is fulfilled as far as she can possibly be. So I guess the part of my personal challenge to myself this year is to see whether it is really viable. To spend as much time as the budget and childcare pattern would allow in another country. To have two homes. Well, if you have the financial resources, and the work flexibility, more so the willingness to take on as many additional jobs as needed to make the financial resources stretch to that sort of lifestyle, and you thrive on movement, change, and aren't too wedded to the notion of home, then yes, it is entirely possible!

With an impending change in my working circumstances, something that I have designed into my life, in service of the aspiration to be able to be based elsewhere, then this became a more viable prospect.

This would involve becoming familiar with the cheapest possible way of doing things, throughout the winter months the fact that you couldn't fly directly to Ibiza with the exception of British Airways from London City at an extortionate cost, you would have to become savvy in terms of the possible flight routines and connections. Additionally the prospect of any form of long term rental when in reality you might be spending at most two weekends a month there was not so viable, therefore good connections with local hostels or building up of a network of friends that might be able to put you up in their spare room becomes important. So for this visit it necessitated a trip down to Stanstead, something that I'm starting not to mind at all and I'm looking forward to but frustratingly the cost of parking often outweighs the cheap flight. I booked two separate flights routing through Barcelona the first with Ryanair and then the onward flight with Vueling. Not anticipating the two terminals at Barcelona, what I would advise is if routing this way and using two different airlines that each use a different terminal, make sure to leave at least two hours gap to avoid any unnecessary stresses. If it's Ryanair to Ryanair however, you are laughing. On the return I took the last flight out of Ibiza and first flight out the Monday morning from Barcelona thinking it would maximise my trip and be easy enough to sleep at the airport taking the early morning flight back and being back at my desk at home ready to work. That did happen but sleep was incredibly lacking at Barcelona airport that lacks any suitable space for overnight visitors.

Accommodation wise I stayed at the Juanita hostel which is pretty good value and located, importantly in Ibiza town which is a must really in winter months so that you are connected to any public transport that is running still and places to eat and drink and a little bit of life. I ended up actually hiring a car because my aspirations for this trip in addition to devoting some time to personal work projects, was to tick off some of the places that I had longed to visit and see some of the off the beaten track locations of the island the previous summer visits had not permitted.

Through Do You Spain the car hire cost the princely sum of nine euros for the four days, of course you have to take a credit card swipe but just drive carefully and it still doesn't cost a lot and the ease of having a car and the range of things that it gives you access to see just makes it absolutely worth it. This gave me the freedom to hike down from Es Vedra to Atlantis, something well worth the steep hike down. My aspirations for digital nomading were realised when I was able to deliver a research supervision meeting sat perched on the side of a mountain. Life couldn't be any better at that point. That was exactly what I was trying to achieve. Flexibility and freedom. Despite some changeable weather in the middle of the weekend and high winds, the weather tends to shift and change fairly rapidly and when you can be experiencing rainfall at one moment, within half an hour it's cleared up and the weather in fairness was absolutely superb for this time of year with two of the days being very hot.

I also gain the benefit of some local knowledge of great places to eat and drink that were not extortionate. And sussed out some perfect ‘working’ and people watching spots! Cappucino offered such a relaxing atmosphere too sit and crack on with some work. This is all part I suppose of becoming really familiar with the place that you're able to bring down your cost of living far below that which you would as a tourist. I didn't really go out this visit apart from a few drinks in the evening because my focus was on productivity and wellness and I was truly enjoying being up at the crack of dawn and going off walking hiking and swimming, and catching the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises in different locations.

There's a totally different feel to the island in the winter and I'm not sure actually which I love best, perhaps both equally. So how did I feel upon the return? Of course desperate to get back there. But searching for when it would be possible to take August with me. I don't want this to just be my joy I want this to be a big part of his life as well and so don't forsee that my visits to Ibiza will be exclusively my own and will take a range of forms and purposes, and who knows at some point in the future longer stays may be possible. So can I really class it as having two homes, maybe in my heart, but logistically on account of the current childcare pattern that my ex is keen to maintain, it doesn't really allow any length of visit and as I've said in previous blogs moments are seized within the windows of opportunity. But that's fine by me I'm living my dream and at the same time there's a big old world out there and so perhaps it would be unwise to devote all of my time and energy to one place just yet.