In our series, Citizen Expat, Megan Murray interviews women across the globe about their expat experiences, including building community, connecting to a new culture, finding the best local spots, and the travel tips you need to know.
Moving to the bright lights of an international city is a common dream amongst would-be expats. Many of us have probably pondered what it would be like storing sweaters in the stove like Carrie Bradshaw in New York, or landing a promotion in Paris, à la Emily Cooper. It’s more unusual to hear about those who have already nailed the Big Smoke and swapped it for, in this example, living alone in southern Spain’s rural farmland, with the nearest town over an hour’s walk away. Which is what makes Micaela Sharp’s story so interesting – and utterly refreshing.
You may well recognise Micaela, not just from her colourful Instagram page where she shares her journey of moving from London to Spain, but thanks to her impressive interior design and upholstery career which has seen her grace stages, TV screens and host her own Create Academy workshop. She’s joined Laurence Llewelyn Bowen for a series of Changing Rooms, worked with Alan Carr on the BBC’s Interior Designs Masters, hosted talks at Soho Home and been featured by design magazines including ELLE Decor and House & Garden.
London is the epicentre for UK creatives, so why leave all of that behind? In her mid-thirties Micaela reassessed her priorities and what made her feel genuinely good. Connecting to herself, training her intuition, feeling close to nature and living with less toxins all led her to explore different countries, cultures and communities, essentially challenging the lure of the rat race. While not the focus of her journey, Micaela also shares how the end of her marriage helped her redefine what was important to her, sparking the chain of events which today see her living on a farm in the Spanish countryside, cooking from scratch, exploring her creativity and hosting friends and soon, workshops, too.
Here, you can read more about Micaela’s fascinating story which is a must for those who ever dreamed of leaving the fast lane behind in search of something more peaceful, and potentially, fulfilling.
What did life look like before you conceived this idea of rural Spanish living?
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I grew up in southeast London and throughout my 20s moved around the city exploring different neighbourhoods, before settling with my then partner in Lewisham. I’m an interior designer and upholsterer by trade, so I’d built a career based on working with private clients through my own business, but also various creative opportunities like my own course on Create Academy and TV work like Changing Rooms and the Interior Designs Masters with Alan Carr. I thought I would be in London forever but then my divorce happened and suddenly my world opened up. I began to think seriously about where I would live if I could choose anywhere in the world and what lifestyle most suits me.
So, this huge life moment took you on a different path – but why Spain?
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It started with where I feel happy and that’s at the beach. My mind wandered to Brighton, then Margate, and then – why England? As I work for myself, I realised I could live anywhere and started to unpick what I’d believed since childhood, which is that work should shape your whole life. I’d internalised putting a job above all else; choosing your home based on your commute, earning enough to then cover the rent which is higher because you’re living in a city, to be near the job – and so it goes on. I felt a shift in my priorities and was happy to earn less, spend less and live somewhere close to nature. For me, this looked like less toxins, more sunshine, scope for adventure, a slower pace of life, more flexibility in my schedule and the dream of my own farm in the Spanish countryside, where I could host friends, but also do my own creative retreats.
Where are you on that journey right now?
Two years ago I moved to Malaga and based myself in the city so that I could begin searching for a property in the surrounding rural areas. I fell in love with Malaga and found friends there quite easily, connecting with other expats and began learning Spanish. My visa was an issue though – so I could only spend so many days in Spain at a time, which slowed down the search and stopped me really adapting to Spanish life. Once my visa came through, I made the move to the countryside but I still haven’t found the farm for me. It’s a tough process because so many of the farms are dilapidated so my budget would have to stretch not only to buy the property, but to do a lot of work to it; one place has no water, a caved-in ceiling and asbestos, and the asking price is still way over my budget! For now, I’m renting a gorgeous farm with plenty of bedrooms for people to stay, a pool and close to a lovely town.
Now that you’re almost living the dream, how has daily life changed?
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Countryside life isn’t something I’m used to, so it’s a huge change. London is incredibly busy and even in Malaga, I had routines like going to the gym, Spanish classes, popping into town, getting a drink with friends – which has all changed because there’s nothing walk-able. Instead, I’m focusing on self practises – and a lot of pottering about! I’ll start the day with meditation, have a dance around and move my body, log on for a Pilates workout online. I like the freedom of taking the time to make a nourishing lunch, eat it on the terrace and look around the space – perhaps I’ll do some gardening, a bit of decorating, or start painting or sewing and create something. My to-do list is now weekly or monthly, instead of daily. And then, for work, interior design I can do remotely, I write a column and work with brands on social media. I also finished my first book, Modern Upholstery, after just moving to the countryside which was the perfect place to write.
You haven’t found your farm yet, but can you share any more on that vision?
Clean living is such a widely used expression but I want to try and detoxify my life as much as possible. My vision is to grow a lot of my own produce with fruit trees and vegetables and experiment with pickling, dehydrating and stocking a huge larder of ingredients grown on my land or from the surrounding areas that are local, organic and chemical free. The most important thing for me is to share this space with others; retreats price a lot of people out but I want to offer a more inclusive space that people can come to feel nourished holistically with wholesome food, connecting to nature, enjoying some peace and being creative.
Speaking of hosting, you’ve used your rental already to connect to other expats?
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I have, it’s happened organically with friendships started online, which has been really special. I went to visit Sydney Piercey, who shares her experience of moving to Provence with four children on social media, and after chatting for a few years we eventually decided to meet and she invited me to spend a few days getting to know her family in France. We had so much to talk about in general, but of course embracing another culture as well. I’m grateful to have a space that I can share with others and invited author and podcast host Emma Slade Edmondson to stay in August. She moved to Paris over a year ago and we’d begun a friendship online which was amazing to bring to life. It has started a chain of connecting with other women who have moved abroad and sharing the pitfalls and the struggles, but also a lot of the joys. This has been especially special when sharing these topics with other Black and brown women, as we have a different experience of living in Europe.
Social media is an important tool for you, but how do you find sharing your journey online?
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I’ve always used social media to show my work across interior design and upholstery, but since moving to Malaga I’ve posted videos on the rental apartments in the city centre and how I’ve made them my own, as well as changes in my daily routine and meeting friends. Now I’m in the countryside, I’ve shared videos of the farms I’ve been looking at and it’s brought another element to my content with people following my progress and commenting their thoughts. The support has been lovely and I’ve found that followers are very invested in knowing which farms I’m putting offers into and how I’m adjusting to life here. The downside, which I’m sure other content creators sharing their homes might experience, is that people want to know exactly where it is. I’ve found followers who want to understand exactly where in Southern Spain I’m looking and have even asked me to post links of the farms I’m interested in. I wouldn’t do this for safety reasons, so I’m firm on that.
How has it been connecting with your local community, especially not in a city?
There’s positives and negatives to both: in a city there’s more options for making friends but it’s harder to embed yourself within locality. My nearest town is an hour’s walk or a short drive, so I have become very comfortable with solitude, only venturing out once a week or so. But, when I’m there I’ve found the people to be really nice. Culturally, Spanish people want to engage and it’s normal to chat to everyone you come into contact with, which helps me practise my Spanish and I’ve found everyone to be helpful and make recommendations of people to meet or ways to connect. I think it’s about being a slow burn, I don’t feel the need to make friends straight away but because you see the same faces and the community is hyper local, it just comes naturally after saying hello again and again.
You’ve learned to embrace solitude, but is there anything else you’ve learned about yourself or ways you’ve grown through this experience that you could recommend to other expats?
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I think you have to train your intuition and learn to trust it. Deciding to move to another country and live in an isolated area is a big decision but I’ve been training my intuition like a muscle, giving myself the time and space to think deeply about what I want and trust my decision making. You need to think about the direction you want to go in on a larger scale, and hone your instinct to follow that. It will help when those bigger questions come like, ‘do I want to be with this person?’ or ‘is this the right job for me?’ I would also say, learning the language is so important but my advice is learn the words and phrases you want to say, instead of focusing on the tenses and correct grammar. Personally, I felt I was getting somewhere but once I began perfecting grammar, I lost my confidence and second-guessed what I was saying. Just communicating should be the goal in the first few years and people will know what you mean even if it isn’t the correct tense or the right masculine or feminine noun.
We’d love to know your travel recommendations for anyone going to Malaga: what are the local spots?
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Of course! I have so many and would recommend exploring the smaller, independent and local spots of Malaga city centre. Lots of people see it as a party destination, but there’s so much more. Start the day at Brunchit who serve the most impressive brunch plates and will keep you going all day. My favourite lunch place is Trocodero’s Casa de Botes branch which has beautiful views of the marina, looking out to the sea. The best spot for a cocktail has got to be Terraza Larios which has views over one of the main squares, Plaza de la Constitución.
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Any Questions or Tips to add?