I moved back to where I came from, Philadelphia, in the beginning of June. In the past year I have lived in Medellin

, Tel Aviv

, London

, and now the USA

. The purpose is to set up a more stable life of friends and family in the same area. I am much more interested in having friends all in one area rather than scattered throughout the world. I also like the idea of having some place to come home to. I am in the process of making travel a hobby, rather than a lifestyle. It is also time to expand my business which means hiring and training my first employee in person.  There will be more come about this choice in future posts. That is not to stay I will stop traveling because I in fact will be in Mexico all of August. Then back to Philadelphia, and who knows after that. By the time you read this article I will have already signed a twelve month lease for an apartment in Philadelphia. Before that I was subletting.

Living Situation:

You can say I am living well in Philadelphia. I subletted a luxury apartment in a large, 45-story apartment building in downtown Center City. This is arguably the best location in the city as it has convenient public transport, walking distance to the most popular attractions, and right in the heart of the city’s nightlife, best restaurants and attractions. It is also a twenty-five minute train ride to my mother’s and father’s homes in the nearby suburbs. And my sister lived just a dozen blocks away in the city.

I live with a roommate in a large, 2 bedroom apartment with some of the best views of the city from the 25th floor. The building has a private rooftop on the 45th floor with a gym, hot tub, and pool, and sundeck with cabanas. It’s totally awesome. My roommate is also an interesting guy attending a top five internationally rated MBA school. He’s a good person to know. The building also has a lounge conducive to doing work. 

As I mentioned the roof deck is nice.

From the 45th story I can see New Jersey.

During the daytime is when I take advantage of the pool. It’s only myself and a Chinese family who seem to use it.

Moving on…the actual apartment came completely furnished. The benefits of a sublet. When I do move in for the year it will be somewhat depressing trying to re-furnish it.

Especially replacing that big screen TV, Bose sound system, sofas, king size bed, and everything else. The kitchen is nice because it has a big enough freezer. What I do is buy groceries once a month. I then spend a good four hours cooking enough meals to last the month, which I store in my freezer. It beats having to cook every day.

It is probably easy to understand why I am in no hurry to leave Philadelphia.

Sample Daily Routine:

Below is sample of what I do on a typical weekday. Of course I don’t do these things every single day at the exact same time. Sometimes I stay in all day and other times I work more hours or completely skip a day of work.

• 8AM: Wake up naturally without an alarm
• 8:00AM-8:45: Shower/drink coffee/eat breakfast
• 8:45-12:00: Work
• 12:00-12:30: Defrost and eat lunch at home
• 12:30PM-1:15: Go for a swim
• 1:30PM-3:00: Work
• 3:00PM-4:00: Read on the roofdeck
• 4:00PM-6:00: Watch TV, eat dinner, surf the internet
• 6:00-10:00: Meet friends for drinks/go out for dinner with family
• 10:00-11:30: Surf the web, TV, go to bed

Living Costs:

Rent (furnished bedroom, wifi, utilities, etc.): US$1500/month

Cell Phone Contract: $75/month

Drinking: $400

Taxi: $30

Groceries $300

Bars: $150

Restaurants: $300

Transportation: $50

ATM: $300

Total Costs $3,100 or $100/day

The final figure I came up with is likely very inaccurate. While I know exactly how much money I am earning it’s difficult to understand exactly how much I spend. Sometimes family or friends buy something for me and I pay them back, like the cases of beer my sister bought. Another time I had my father pay for my rent while I was in London, and I paid him in cash when I returned home. Keeping track of those types of transactions, along with all of the other ones I pay for directly in cash makes it nearly impossible. But it’s as good as an estimate as any.

Sponsor: I danced flamenco with a local, I ate pescaíto frito, I made a midnight walk, I cooked a Spanish omelette in one of the Seville apartments

and came back home saying hasta pronto amigos.