Imagine leaving behind the familiar different shades of blue of St. Maarten and trading them for the unknown but exciting new shades of green of Portland, Oregon. This is the story of an island girl’s temporary move to P-Town – Part 1
Why Portland?, is the question most people asked me when I told them I am moving here for two months. Although at the time I did not know how to answer that question, I have come to the understanding that I chose Portland mainly because of a wallpaper we had in our family home in Curaçao.
I grew up with this black and white wallpaper of a forest in our living room. My siblings and I used to play right in front of it, pretending that we were in that forest. We would play imaginary hide and seek with the furniture being the trees we could hide behind. I swear I could smell the forest and the decaying leaves on the cushy ground, feel the softness of it beneath my little feet, and hear the breeze in the tall trees above me.
Fast forward to 40 or so years later and I am still obsessed with forests and lush nature. It is the reason why movies like The Goonies, Twilight, and Wild had such a big impact on me.
While researching the filming locations of these movies, I discovered this part of the US called Oregon in the Pacific Northwest. During one of my deep dives on the net, I found that most of the magical nature-filled scenes of Twilight were filmed not in Forks, Washington as the books and movies suggest, but in Portland, Oregon. I just had to see these locations for myself and so in 2019 I traveled to this part of the world for the first time and I LOVED it so much that I vowed to return one day for longer.
It took me 5 years to make this move but I’m so happy to finally be back here.
Preparing for the trip of a lifetime
When I made the decision earlier this year to make this move, I was unprepared for all the work it would take to make this dream a reality. I had to remind myself over and over again that nothing worth having comes easy. There were numerous times when I wanted to just give up and stay in the comforts of my mundane, monotonous, and familiar island life.
I travel solo frequently. As a matter of fact, I rather travel solo most of the time, but this solo adventure was different. It involved a lot of prep work before I could get to the destination. This time I would be gone for two whole months instead of my regular 4 days, and that came with its set of challenges. First, I needed to figure out what to do with Rufus. I needed to find a place where he would be well taken care of, where he would be comfortable, and most of all, where he would be loved. My dreams needed not to come at the expense of his daily comforts.
Then there was my rented apartment. I did not want to give it up but I did not want to pay the rather high rent for a place that would just sit there empty for two months either. So, my landlord suggested I sublet it. It seemed like a genius idea at the time but it turned out to be more of an inconvenience and big pain in the ass than I thought. More on this later.
The challenges did not stop there though. The next obstacle on the road to realizing my dream was where to stay for two months in Portland? Ask and the universe shall provide, they say, and the universe did in a big way. I woke up one morning after booking my ticket wondering about this very thing when the answer came to me in an Instagram reel by a fellow travel content creator.
Why not house-sit my way through Portland?
Could pet-sitting be the answer?
I love to travel and experience the place I visit like a local would and I love animals so why not take care of some pets during my long stay in the city? So, I found myself becoming a member of TrustedHousitters.com, a website that connects travelers with pet owners. This deserves a blog post on its own which I will write at some point.
I was on this website almost daily, fascinated with the many homes and pet owners looking for a sitter. The hardest part was to find a place that needed a sitter during the exact dates I was going to be there. While it’s not impossible to find a place for the entire two months, it took a while to find the perfect fit. I was traveling outside of the summer months and other holidays when most people were looking for sitters. So, I took comfort in splitting my stay in Portland between different homes.
As I am writing this I am sitting at a desk in a condo in a lovely neighborhood just outside of the city center, with a fluffy adorable pup at my feet. The human this ball of furry love belongs to is an absolute gem. Not only was I told to make myself at home, but she picked me up from the airport, gave me a little tour of the neighborhood, introduced me to some of the neighbors, and left me her car so I could do some errands and take the pup on short trips. I am counting my lucky stars to have found such a great first sit because not every pet owner is this trusting or this generous.
Although I signed up as a pet owner and pet sitter combo on Trusted Housesitters, I decided not to look for a pet sitter for Rufus.
In hindsight, I should have done that because it would have saved me a penny in boarding costs and Rufus would have been able to stay in his own environment. Perhaps next time. All in all, the annual fee I paid to become a member of this site was not only worth it, but I already made back my investment in accommodation costs I saved, and this is only the second week I’m here.
Get 25% off TrustedHousesitters annual Memberships with code TTIG25
Subletting my apartment
Renting out my place meant I had to temporarily move out of the apartment and put all my stuff in storage. When I moved into this place a year and a half ago I had three boxes of personal stuff. How in the world did these multiply to 5? And this wasn’t even everything because I had to leave some stuff for potential renters.
I love my apartment. I love waking up to the ocean view I have, the large deck where I sometimes sip wine, my comfortable and cute bedroom, and the safety of the neighborhood I am in. But just because I love it does not mean others were standing in line, credit card in hand to rent it from me. This became my biggest worry and stress in the weeks leading up to my departure. Actually, at the time of writing this blog post, I have yet to find someone interested in renting it and it is still sitting there empty.
The thing about worrying is that once you find a solution for one stressful situation you quickly replace it with another worry. My next hurdle was how to sustain myself for two months. Spoiler alert, I am still trying to figure this one out.
Financial uncertainties
I made the very irresponsible decision to just go for it without a proper plan and here’s the kicker, without savings. Warning: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
I worked hard to take my brand in a different direction. For three and a half years my income depended completely on St Maarten visitors, which meant I had to be on the island to actually be able to make an income with island tours, etc. Thanks to the eBook I released recently, my income is still somewhat dependent on visitors but I no longer need to physically be there, and that is a great thing for this traveling island girl.
Unfortunately, most of my audience still only wants my island knowledge and content, and that really sucks because promoting the island makes me deeply unhappy. I know this is probably not what you thought I was going to say but it’s true. That’s what happens when you do something you are good at but not passionate about.
While I did my best to let everyone know that I am going into personal development and travel instead of creating content only about St. Maarten and the surrounding islands, the majority of my audience is not interested in anything but the island and how they can benefit from the tips I share. Finding clients with an interest in personal development and wanting to pay me for my services in that field is much harder than I thought it was gonna be.
Here’s a lesson for ya: Just because you’re interested in something does not mean those around you do as well. We often see the world only through our lens and forget that those around us do not share our views on things.
The other mistake I made was to think that I could turn my business around in just a few months and start making money doing what I’m actually passionate about.
In short, how I’m going to survive financially in Portland remains my biggest worry to date.
The reason behind the move
The decision to leave St Maarten was not a difficult one at all. After dedicating years to promoting the island, I started to resent it. To be brutally honest, promoting the island was never my passion it was something I happened to be good at and started doing out of necessity during covid. It also is too seasonal and does not exactly make a decent income. So I started to resent living on the island because I was living out of alignment with who I am and what I love.
I’m hoping that there is some truth to the saying “Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder’. Hopefully, I will find my lost love for the island after a few months here.
Don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful for everyone who has booked island tours with me, took the time to watch my videos to learn about the island, sent me messages, and became a supporter of my work. But I can’t keep ignoring the desire for something different, something more fulfilling.
Reason number 2 why I had to leave, is that I officially entered menopause, which comes with constant hot flashes. Add the insane heat of St. Maarten in the summer months and you have a recipe for a sweaty disaster. Because of the heat, I could not concentrate on work and I couldn’t sleep because even the AC could not cool the place down enough for me. The island was also experiencing unprecedented daily blackouts, leaving us with no electricity for hours at end. No electricity means no internet. No internet for a digital creator means no work.
Long story short, I felt like I had to escape the heat, the craziness, the tourists, and myself. I was becoming bitter, resentful, and just exhausted from island life.
But my main reason was that I felt stuck. Island life is all I have known for the last 23 years and to be honest, I needed to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself so I could grow both personally and professionally.
What’s Next?
As I stood in my empty apartment, bags packed, surrounded by boxes, no renter yet, but still with a full heart and excitement for this new adventure, I felt ready to take on the unknown.
Now that I am here after three flights and almost 48 hours of travel, I am obsessed with the city and incredibly happy with my decision. Two weeks in, and I’m creating, thriving, trying new things, making new friends, and taking small scary steps every day. This is exactly what I needed.
I have no idea what the universe has planned for me here in Portland and honestly, it does not matter. I am open to every little experience, every lesson, and every magical gift.
Stay tuned to read what happens next because if there is one thing I know it’s that this adventure is just beginning. Make sure you come back to the blog to read part 2 of my temporary Portland move and let me know if you have questions. Maybe you are thinking of making a move like this or perhaps you want to know about my personal development services. Feel free to contact me. I would love to hear from you.
Until next time, dear reader. Thank you for taking the time to read about what’s on my heart.
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