Reflecting on the Speed of Life Changes as I Turn 36

In some way, time in Malta almost stands still. More than 300 days of sunshine a year means the place's weather never varies across seasons. The centuries-old stone buildings, protected by centuries of renovations on the inside and regulations that guide what towns should look like, mean that the visual look of human settlement here also is unchanged since civilization set foot. Then there are the old men and women who pull up their chairs and sit for hours in front of the lapping Mediterranean coast. One could finish their oil paintings without asking them to stay still.

Yet, paradoxically, Malta is going through massive changes. With the growing popularity of the islands for tourists from around Europe and beyond, investments and people pour in to take advantage of the economic opportunities. It seems like every day that a new hotel or apartment block goes up – mindful of the traditional architectural styles, of course – and the visual looks of the people in the streets, on the buses, and crowding its beaches and restaurants become ever more diverse. Gone is conservative Catholic homogeneity, and in came the multicultural summer parties in bikinis.

As I turn 36 on my 8th month living here on the Maltese islands, I have become more and more resonant with this spirit, and contradiction, of pursuing change while trying to hold time still. On one hand, there are so many factors that I wish I could sustain, without changes, in my present lifestyle. The beauty of living right next to the English-speaking Mediterranean coast, in a not-so-expensive three-story house, in a not-so-crowded residential area, is the mental destresser of a lifetime that many people dream of. Having found beauty so affordably, neither my wife nor I want to let go of it.

On the other hand, in the back of our minds, we know that never letting go is not an option. Many others think like we do, and as the Maltese economy continues to perform well, its infrastructure can no longer cope, its costs will inadvertently increase, and the idyllic, relaxed vibes it projects will become rarer and rarer. Even before the four-year time limit of our digital nomad visa runs out, life in Malta may no longer be so ideal, both in terms of the mental and financial benefits. To face that inevitable end, the preparations have to start now.

Coincidentally, next month I will be hitting my two-year mark working for Crimson Education, after having jumped into it with a plan to head to Australia. With so many of my past jobs ending at roughly the two-year mark, followed by a pivot to another country and/or industry, it begs the question of whether a repeat is worth considering soon. Indeed, with so many other parts of the world I still would like to explore (the Middle East, West Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific islands, just to name a few), time is of the essence to think of a plan to get there.

Yet, at 36, a part of me increasingly feels like the old man pulling up a chair to stare at the sea for hours, rather than the young migrant crossing oceans for an opportunity to make ends meet in Malta. I do not consider the opportunity cost of staying in one place and one job for too long to be any less than I have in the past. But at the same time, the mental cost, not to mention the physical exhaustion, of having to up the stakes and try something completely new just seem to get higher and higher by the year. The invisible pushback to change is much more than I have felt before.

And part of that pushback is no longer entirely controllable by me as an individual. As a couple, a decision as large as moving across countries is a collective decision, requiring a cost-benefit analysis of each individual and across them. With my wife openly signaling her desire to be with the beauty of Malta for the coming year, whatever the next move ought to offer benefits larger than what we concretely feel about Malta now. That is a tall order for someone interested in stepping into the complete unknown and figuring out the benefits in the process.

So like Malta, my battle with the contradiction of staying the same and changing quickly will continue, with no easy way to navigate and resolve without clear negatives. Does that mean I will refrain from facing up to it? Absolutely not. But it does mean that the trigger-happy, grab-the-bag-and-go approach of the past I used in my many jobs- and continents-hopping adventures may not be exactly replicated moving forward. Being more cautious, slowing down a little, and asking more people for advice may all be in order. That process, in itself, could be a brand-new adventure that I come to enjoy.