An undervalued craft by many, the work of a copywriter doesn’t involve plot or character, but it does involve writing (and a hefty use of the thesaurus). I’m only a few weeks in, which means my optimism is up and the work days long, but so far this move away from London has been for the best. Don’t get me wrong; I love London. It’s a cultured, pulsing city full of weirdos who don’t give a damn, and I like diversity more than conformity. But London is also competitive. Very competitive. (It’s Europe’s New York City). I had been actively hunting for a job for over 6 months in London before I got a single interview (needless to say I didn’t get that job). How do you stand out when it seems that everyone has two masters, a doctorate and fifteen internships before they enter the workforce?

In my case it was thanks to languages. It turns out that Spain’s need for native English speakers (who are also fluent in Spanish) is pretty great. So when I saw a job that wasn’t in London, but in Madrid, I didn’t think twice about applying. I wanted to make a living from writing, and even if it meant moving cities again, I knew I couldn’t be picky and let a single opportunity slip away. To quote Lennon: “life happens when you’re busy making other plans”. I was busy focusing on staying in London. But life brought me back to Madrid.

I don’t know if I’ll end up back in London again someday; but I like to think that nothing is permanent and that, as long as there are borders, we’re here to cross them.