E7: Europe, Asia or North America?
Hello, world. Welcome to episode 7 of the hire yourself podcast. This is your captain speaking. And today we are cruising at a high altitude of 40,000 feet, or should I say 41,000 feet, because that is the temperature. Today was 41 degrees Celsius.
Ryan:Ouch. It was a real feel temperature. At the moment, it is quarter past 9 in the evening and it's the 23rd August 2023. And the temperature at the moment is 28 degrees, but feels like 32. So it is really hot, as has been since I've been here.
Ryan:I even had to close the doors, so that you don't hear the traffic, and I've had to switch off the fan and can't use the air con because they all make noises, and so I am suffering for the art. So when I record this and then get them put it back on and open the doors again and probably put the fan back on, in all fairness though, it's not suffering. I'm quite used to hot weather. I prefer hot weather. So these temperatures, they do sound high, and it is really warm, but I am more comfortable in this.
Ryan:So it's all good, definitely don't feel sorry for me because I am loving being in Cyprus for these few weeks in the summer. So, here we go. Let's get into what's been going on since the last episode. So this episode is titled Europe, Asia or North America? Where will my next bass be?
Ryan:So as you know, from my previous episodes, I lost my home in Ibiza at the end of May, when I was singing on a cruise ship, and then I found a way to move my stuff out remotely within just a few days to a temporary storage location on the island. I then took the opportunity to come visit my brother here in North Cyprus, who I hadn't seen in 7 years. North Cyprus is somewhat separated from the South of Cyprus and is unrecognized by the UN, the United Nations. It is sort of in the EU, but isn't and Cyprus is also physically in West Asia, even though it is seen as being in Europe, politically and culturally. So it's all quite complicated.
Ryan:North Cyprus has been illegally occupied by Turkiye since 1974. By the way, if you haven't heard, Turkey officially changed their name to Turkiye in 2022. So they are the only country in the world that currently recognizes North Cyprus as a state, which they govern. As far as I can tell, all flights to and from the airport here in the North called Ercan go through Turkiye. Therefore, all flights are by Turkish run airlines or should I say Turkiyeon run airlines.
Ryan:What's the correct new adjective for that? Anyway, the southern side of Cyprus is the Greek slash British side. The more well known places like Iannappa, Paphos, Larnaca, Limassol, and Southern Nicosia. Coming from the ship in Norway, I did land in Paphos in the south, and visited a friend there before crossing the border to the north, which was pretty straightforward, being on a UK passport with my Spanish residency. So, basically, I'm being treated like I'm in the EU.
Ryan:To give you more context, my brother cannot cross the border to the south side of Cyprus as he would have to fly all the way back to Zimbabwe and apply for a visa from the Cypriot embassy over there first. Whether it would actually get approved or not is another story, as is the long list of conditions that he would have to meet that are not even feasible for him right now. So, anyway, to come to university here he has to get a visa from the Turkish embassy in Zimbabwe and as you can imagine the Turks and the southern Cypriots are not the best of friends for obvious reasons. That's why I took the opportunity to come and visit my brother where he is, which has been a very special time together. It was his 29th birthday last week, so we could celebrate it together in person, which is super cool.
Ryan:He's not in a great situation, and has been here for 7 years trying to complete his undergraduate degree in architecture. His main struggle being his tricky location of North Cyprus and the lack of finances. As you may have picked up on by now, we come from a very difficult background financially and politically in Zimbabwe. So what's next for me after Cyprus? I should be leaving the island at the beginning of September, and I've decided to fly back to Ibiza, where I have my belongings and other stuff that needs my attention.
Ryan:My belongings were moved out for me at the end of May, but what now? Where am I going to live next? Will it be on the island of Ibiza or somewhere else? I actually do not know at this moment. Ibiza is an amazing place to live, but it's getting increasingly difficult when it comes to accommodation, which wasn't easy anyway when I arrived there 5 years ago in 2018.
Ryan:Brexit and the pandemic then added to the fire and threw me into a flat spin that I'm only slowly coming out of this year. I I have a specific criteria for what I need in order to select my next home base. So rather than a specific place, it's more about a specific set of conditions that need to be met in order to keep me on track and keep me working towards my bigger goals. So very important, what is my North Star? What am I trying to achieve with life?
Ryan:This is my life goals we're talking about. To put it simply, I am building a career as an international singer songwriter and film composer. I have already performed in about 20 countries across 4 continents, and have created original film music that can be found on Netflix and the BBC, all achieved under unfavorable circumstances. So I haven't been able to create new music for a long time due to the limitations I mentioned before. So it's important to mention that, as you may have picked up on, I am super ambitious and I've had so many obstacles in the way of my simple goal of becoming a professional singer that I chose to take on full responsibility for the success of my own career.
Ryan:Being turned down over the years by managers, labels, agents, you name it. I know that I am different and not necessarily what people would be looking for, but that's meant to be a good thing in my opinion, instead of being a carbon copy of what is popular out there. So what that means is to get back into action I need to be somewhere I can write, record and release my music easily. I think it's also important to mention that when it comes to music and being creative, it's been in my bones, in my blood for as long as I can remember and I have been really really doing well actually, like the art, the music is not the problem. It's taken me around the world literally.
Ryan:So I know I have something to offer in the space and that it's not a lack of talent quote unquote, it's all the other various and many ingredients that come together to make any successful career which need to also be there. So what that means for me is in order to get back into action and continue to build what I need to in order to get myself there, because the world has changed as I mentioned the last episode. 20, 30 years ago, you needed a record label and you needed people to fund you. Today, the Internet has made everything and anything possible. So what I need is to be somewhere where I can write, I can record, and release my music easily.
Ryan:I record out of my home studio wherever I am living at the time as I work at different hours around the clock. Everything that I've released that you've heard on the spot ifies and the youtubes and all the stuff was literally recorded by myself, possibly in a backpackers or someone's apartment or someone's living room in Europe or in the US or in Zimbabwe, Australia as well I've recorded there, so I'd be doing this from the beginning. Now it's pretty normal, you know, people do it now but just so you know this is something that I should have been in the front end of but unfortunately a lot of other things sort of got in the way, which is a shame. So wherever I end up next needs to be the following: I need to have my own space or my own place with at least 1 or 2 bedrooms and a kitchen, as I cook for myself. It can be a house, it can be a cottage, a garden, would be ideal, but an apartment is possible as long as the surrounding noise is not an issue, especially for the recording, and as long as I can sing or play acoustic guitar without disturbing anyone else.
Ryan:It is to be somewhere affordable so that I am not constantly trying to keep a roof over my head and end up just in this unhealthy spiral of survival as has been the case for most of my adult life until now. It needs to be somewhere near water, the sea preferably, could be a lake, it could be by a river, and close to or in nature. This is important and it is great for my own mental and emotional well-being. It needs to be somewhere where there is warm weather and good natural lighting. Usually, this means there will be nice big windows and big doors, lots of glass, and, also, that is good for my mental and emotional well-being.
Ryan:It needs to have good Internet as I work online and it needs to be furnished. It also needs to be somewhere quiet, which means no loud traffic or construction or distracting noises, and it needs to be close to the shops where there is community, close to some cafes and restaurants and so on. So I can actually get out and also be around people. They need to be the walking distance of this because I don't really want to be so remote that I need a car, to get around and stuff like that. It needs to be somewhere where there is an English speaking society not necessarily an English speaking country but at least there are people around who speak English.
Ryan:I'm already learning Spanish but if it ends up being another country trying to start learning a new language again is just not a smart move because the energy I have needs to go into making this music and these businesses happen and that is the priority now. So what else I need in terms of having a private space, and that's why I need a private space, is because I need to be able to sleep at any time of day or night and also have the possibility to have zoom calls, which can often be at 2:3 in the morning if I'm, you know, normally communicating with America and stuff like that, different time zones, Australia, it needs to be somewhere where I can sing acoustically as I mentioned, I can be recording or I can be streaming live and I can again be sometimes really late at night or 2 in the morning and I could do that in my last apartment in Ibiza so I need to be able to operate at any time of day because inspiration and the way the world works, I can't just be sort of defined or confined to a 9 to 5 or whatever it may be, so this is very important.
Ryan:I need to be able to cook as well, which means being able to cook at 2, 3 in the morning as well, which I often do, and it needs to be somewhere where I can write, where I can just sit and write, and so as you can probably tell it's very important that I live alone and live somewhere where I could just be in my own rhythm. This is super huge for me, because without this I get stunted and I have already tried this many times and it just doesn't work and this is super important. I need to be somewhere where I can be effective and productive and this is how I can do it because if you live with someone and you don't want you want to be tiptoeing around and then you've got to be, you know, you can't be in the kitchen making meals often, depending on how the place is designed. You can't be on a zoom call at 3 in the morning and things like that, because other people are trying to sleep, so I need to have my own isolated situation. So, yeah, these are the main things I'm considering when I decide where to base myself over the next period.
Ryan:It could be in Europe, it could be Ibiza again to be honest, but at the moment I'm checking out the Canary Islands as well which are warm all year round, I believe, and that's also still in Spain, so I'm actually fine when it comes to things like the paperwork. I'm looking at maybe even Portugal as a cheaper option in Europe, which I may look into even more, I may go and check it out. And as for Southeast Asia, I'm considering going to live out of somewhere like Thailand for a season, as it's super cheap to live there. And I have friends in that region I could go and visit as well. North America and Canada are also on my list, but this is more for the career goals, and it is very fertile for my music and my creative pursuits whenever I'm over there.
Ryan:I haven't been to Canada yet, but I'm really keen to check it out, but I've been to the US and it just things just happen when I'm there, but I can never stay long enough because of the the paperwork. So it makes sense to be where the biggest opportunities are when it comes to the entertainment world and for me that's the US. So I've always struggled with finances and getting the right papers to move to the US, so that is also still a long term goal. We'll see how that goes over the next few years, but for now I need to put my head down and get my music and my websites working, as well as grow my coaching businesses in order to make enough money to fund my own record label, which is essentially what I'm building out now, and to grow my own team. So if you have any specific leads or opportunities that align with what I am currently looking into, please do get in touch.
Ryan:You can use the contact info in the show notes or visit ryancorer.com or even DM me on Facebook or on Instagram. So, you maybe you know of a place that would be perfect for me that's not expensive or you know someone who's got literally an open space right now where they could use someone living there, to just keep it secure. There are so many ways things happen and actually some of my favorite musicians who are completely successful and world famous now, when you look into their stories they often had somewhere to live literally for a year or a couple of years where they could just make music. It doesn't happen that easily for a lot of people, so this is what is keeping me and a lot of artists today really really really stunted is that we can't sit and do what we're good at and put it together because we're trying to survive and that's what I'm trying to overcome and I'm really proud of the fact that I'm still here still in the game and still making it work. So it is now the 23rd August in 2023 and I will keep you updated through this podcast as to where I end up and how I created the opportunities to get there.
Ryan:So for now, I am enjoying the last few days with my brother here in North Cyprus, and I may get him onto an episode actually, so you can hear more about his story. I'm proud of him and how he has handled his situation all these years, really not fun, not easy. He's determined to get his architecture degree and get to his next chapter in life. I know that space very well. I've been through so much and it's a shame that this is obviously a very sort of family slash, community slash ancestral sort of issue.
Ryan:It's become very clear to me now that I struggle with what I struggle with because of my background and my history and that is also why this podcast is important. I'm gonna be going deeper into all of these topics especially on the other podcast which is called raising my inner child. So check that one out. Anyway, till next time. Keep being good to yourself and remember, be as kind as you can to yourself.
Ryan:No matter your situation, you've got to be your best friend. It's only a moment in time where you are and that too shall pass, and you can influence what is to come by how you show up in the present moment. Even if it just means with love and self love to say things are so hard, things are so difficult, and I'm not proud of what's happened or I'm not happy with where I am, but that's okay. I'm gonna give myself love, because I'm only here in this moment and I can see myself in the future, where I will be happier and more fulfilled. And I'm going to take one small step at a time to get there.
Ryan:Even if it means just getting through today with some self love and to say, it's okay. I got you. Really, really important. So until next time, keep being good to yourself. We'll chat soon.
Ryan:Peace.
