My First Mini Retirement

A mini retirement is when you take a sabbatical from work ranging from a month to a year. Instead of waiting to retire completely, you can do this when you have enough money saved up to take time off work. The benefit of mini retirements is that you can take a break from work while you or your kids are still young and able to do a variety of activities. Instead of waiting until you are 60 to retire, you can go ahead and take multiple mini retirements during the years leading up to full retirement age.

I decided I wanted to take a mini retirement in 2022 since last year. I have always wanted to live abroad temporarily and decided on Spain. I like Spain because it’s pretty affordable for a European country, the food is good, and the people are friendly. I also have the opportunity to practice my Spanish and learn more. Additionally, it’s pretty easy and cheap to travel to other European countries from there. I specifically chose Barcelona because it has more of a younger crowd. 

Originally, I wanted to spend 3-6 months in Europe. However, you can only be in most of Europe for up to 90 days on a tourist visa. I looked into getting a residential visa but it’s complicated because I would need to pay income taxes and real estate taxes to Spain (based on my income and properties in the USA), which is not ideal. Thus, I decided to just do a 3-month mini retirement there. 

I was planning on going when I finished in Bradenton, Florida from March-May. However, I ended up extending in Bradenton, so my mini retirement was postponed to June-August. Even though my job kept asking for me to stay longer, I told them I couldn’t postpone my trip to Europe anymore. The main reason (you would know this if you have been a reader of my blog for a long time) is that I hate the cold. So, the best time to go to Europe is during the summer. In fact, I am happy I extended my stay in Bradenton, because Europe during March would have been too cold for me. 

I decided to book my first two weeks in a hotel to test the waters. If I love it then I will go ahead a book an Airbnb for my stay. I just don’t want to overly commit in case I get homesick or want to move somewhere else. And most Airbnb’s are non-refundable. I am going by myself but I know a few people that live in Barcelona. Then I have several groups of friends and family that will meet up with me in other European countries throughout the summer to travel to together. 

The purpose of this mini retirement is to test the retirement waters. To see if I am content without work. I will still be preoccupied doing my favorite things which are traveling, spending time with family and friends, going for walks, and reading. I am just curious to see if I will miss work. I have over a dozen job offers for when I return to the USA after this mini retirement. I don’t want to commit to anything yet. Who knows, maybe I will want to stay in Europe forever. Or maybe I will want additional time off to spend at home in Miami, afterwards. 

The great thing about be a traveling nurse practitioner is I do not need to ask permission from my employer to take this sabbatical. I just simply told everyone I was unavailable for the summer. Also, no one seems to care that I will spend 3 months without work. Like I mentioned above, I still have many job options for when I return. I decided not to do the telehealth work while I am in Spain after all. As I noted in my previous post, the rates have significantly declined and are not worth it to me. 

Anyways, I am excited for my mini retirement! This post will likely go live while I am already in Europe so wish me luck!