Cold Shivers Down My Spine

It’s the end of November, and I’m cold.

Isn’t part of the reason I left Canada because I hate the cold? As I type this, it is around 10 in the evening in time and about plus seventeen in temperature. How can I be cold?

There is a complete absence of central heating. Yes, that’s right – no heat in the houses, and in many of the shops, especially the older ones. So you come in from the humid chill of the day, but with no heat register to ward off the chill, coming indoors provides little relief. I loved standing over the heat register. The other thing I liked to do when I was cold? Have a nice hot bath. But you guessed it…I don’t have a tub.

So I bought myself some ugly sweatpants (which are also too short!) and a space heater. I put on my sweats, position the space heater, and cozy up under my beach towel, which is now my couch blanket. Nice and toasty!! Things can always be worse.

The cold isn’t just inside. I specifically remember one day after it had rained for a few. The sun was out, which lifted my spirits, and when I looked at the forecast it was supposed to reach a high of nineteen. Nineteen! That’s almost like summer! I was excited to begin my day. Trekking off into town, I had a lot planned, and it would take most of the day.

And that day, I thought I was going to freeze to death.

Yes, it took me awhile to figure out how to dress here. The Canadian windbreaker that protected me from that howling Canadian wind is useless against the humid chill of Gibraltar. There is a reason every woman, and some men, always have a scarf, and that all the stores have knits displayed in the window. Layers and layers of knits are necessary here.

I’ve bought a wonderful knit sweater, and I take a scarf with me wherever I go. Sometimes its still not quite enough, but my fingers are crossed that a few of my lovely fall/winter jackets show up from Canada soon.

But it’s not just the outdoor humidity and the lack of indoor creature comforts that cause the shivers. The bank account is dwindling, and there is no replenishment source in sight.

Everyone says to me, some quite seriously, just marry a rich Gibraltarian! But that wasn’t what I came here to do. And I think using that as a solution to one problem would cause about a thousand others.

Many people say, “what do you want to do?”. I am touched by the question, because I can tell that the person asking genuinely wants to know because he or she genuinely wants to see if he or she can help.

Around the beginning of October, a plan was beginning to take form. By then, Darius had totally immersed himself in the restaurant and handed over management of the five Airbnbs to me. I no longer just prepared all the flats for arrival and cleaned them on departure. I responded to all inquires, communicated with the guests about all their concerns, and arranged for them to get the keys, which meant I also got to meet quite a few of them. I enjoyed it, and, having total control and access to the schedule, I also got to structure my time for their management much more effectively. Darius and I began to discuss how he would introduce me to the owners of these flats, and then I could negotiate with them directly to become the managers of them. If you manage the time properly, and have perhaps one person helping you do the cleaning, you can manage much more than five. So I started to think of having my own company, that would start with managing these five and then hopefully pick up a few more, and then I could afford to employ another person to clean part-time (I already had someone in mind), and then eventually I would add to the inventory a place which I would own…

Access to the full calendar meant that I was able to see the occupancy rates for these flats. One of them is for sale and I knew the listing price, so I was able to calculate a somewhat rough return on what I could get out of buying that flat and then letting it out on Airbnb. Not as great as the real estate listing advertised, but currently still more than anything sitting in a bank account or the average mutual fund return rate. And if I wasn’t paying anyone to do the management, but was doing it myself, better still!

I received a bit of a shock, however, when I did the calculations for what a flat manager was earning. Either on a per evening of occupancy or a per hour basis, I concluded it was much too low. This put a snag in my plans. If I was going to take these over, I concluded I would not do it unless the owners agreed to pay me more than they were paying Darius. Potentially, there went my instant clientele.

In the meantime, Darius was having difficulties at the restaurant. As much as I enjoyed working there, I had resisted getting involved in the management of the place, for various reasons. But things seemed to be at a breaking point, and Darius was desperate for some relief. He thought he could get me the work permit. With the booking of the Airbnbs slowing as the busy vacation season ended, I asked myself what I was going to do to keep busy, and what I had to lose. The answer to both was “nothing”. So I agreed to take an active role at the restaurant, if he could get me the work permit. We filled out the paperwork, and I went off to Spain.

Yes, Spain. May as well have a holiday before another new experience begins!

I had a lovely time in Cadiz. But disaster struck while I was there.

I received an email stating that Darius had been in yet another confrontation with the owners of the restaurant building, but that this time, he had quit. The next day, another email came stating that he had been sacked. Either way, it didn’t really matter. What did matter was that Darius was no longer living his dream of running a restaurant.

When I returned to Gibraltar, I went to see my dear friend. He was experiencing a mixture of shock, anger, and extreme disappointment in himself and all those involved in the restaurant. I fear it will take him time to recover.

But the immediate problem was that he had no income. So the Airbnbs went back to Darius.

As we were discussing them, I mentioned to Darius that it wasn’t much, if any, of a living. And then he confessed that he was earning even less than I thought. I said, “Darius, for that amount, it’s not worth your time”. And we have spent quite a bit of time talking about that.

That meant my plans for the my Airbnb management company were even more precarious.

As all this transpired, another problem, nebulous as a cloud was first, was beginning to crystalize.

Gibraltar is small. It is all about who you know. I was counting on Darius to give me the “in” with my first set of clientele. Who would give met that “in” now? The longer I spend here, the more I learn about the place, I think that I can start my own business and have a great business plan and be willing to work hard, but that it is going to be very, very difficult to find clients. Even Darius has only been here six years, he is not a Gibraltarian, and I have heard that pointed out many times. The people that were born here are proud and protective. They will refer to another Gibraltarian before anyone else.

The reason people tell me to marry a Gibraltarian isn’t just for money. It’s to get “the in”.

I don’t want to work for anyone else. I am, and was, so excited about being my own boss! But I am coming to the realization that I likely have to put that on hold. Its not just because of my experience with the Airbnbs, but with a few other avenues I was also pursuing.

The problem is not just because I only know a few people. It is also because I know so little of the practices and customs here. And that is why I will soon be moving.

Not moving out of Gib. But moving into a legal place.

Getting even more confused?

I rented a place that is described as “no ID”. That means that someone else (likely a high net worth individual) is already using the address of my flat to claim he or she is a resident of Gibraltar (thereby taking advantage of the low tax rates here). Therefore, I am prohibited from using this address to claim any sort of residency perks.

Why would anyone rent a no ID place? Because the rental prices here are ridiculously high. In September I had no job and didn’t even know if I wanted to stay here, so paying 60-70% of open market price seemed like a really good idea. Besides, since I didn’t even know if I wanted to stay here, why would I need an address for residency purposes?

This is why it is so important to understand the local practices.

Without an address, I can’t open a bank account. Without an address, I can’t get a bus pass, not even a monthly one. I am expected to have the exact change when I get on the bus, and the price is relatively high. If I had a residency card, however, the bus would be completely free. It would also be free to enter the nature reserve and run up the Rock – without it, I have to spend five pounds each time. These are only a few small examples of the benefits Gibraltarians receive. And there are much larger ones. For example, after you have been a registered Gibraltarian resident for three years, there is an entire market of government-funded housing you have access to purchase. I have heard that roughly 50% of Gibraltarians are in housing subsidized by the government via one method or another.

Yes, having a Gibraltarian residency card is a big deal. A huge deal! And I would almost automatically get one if I married a Gibraltarian. But, with no prospects on the horizon – I’m moving.

I will miss my private balcony terribly, but other than that, I’m okay with leaving. I am moving into downtown – no more 20 minute walk to get there, which is the thing I am most excited about. But the new place is also bright, and has a great view of the Rock, and is much more furnished than this one – an actual table with chairs, a TV, knives in the kitchen and a bathroom (including tub!) that guests can enter without going through the bedroom. And for anyone thinking of visiting? It also has quite a nice outdoor swimming pool.

I will tell you the rental amount, and then we won’t speak of it anymore. At current exchange rates, it will be just over CA$1,700/month. That doesn’t include any utilities. On the plus side, it also has no heat, so no natural gas bill!

If I can get my residency without having a job, I think this will help me in my job hunt. I have some other ideas of what to do, and I continue to investigate those while getting my ducks in a row to apply for the residency. The job/residency thing is yet another chicken and egg situation. If you have a job you are much more likely to be approved for residency but if you don’t have residency how do you get a job? Sigh.

Is my life stressful? Yes. Is my future uncertain? Absolutely. Do I regret leaving? Never. Not once. Not for a second.

The shivers keep me up at night. But they’re 100% better than feeling dead. Trapped. Or like you don’t belong. Gibraltar is small, but yet its also international. There are a whole bunch of other intelligent, quirky, unique misfits here that didn’t seem to fit somewhere else – just like me.

Below are some pics from some of my tourist events, and from my wanderings. The British Royal Navy is preparing to march down to Trafalgar cemetery for the Trafalgar Day ceremony.