So I am finally catching up with my blog as I’m actually a few journeys behind. Sorry about that.

When I arrived in Edinburgh, I didn’t exactly plan anything. Normally I have some basis of a plan, however not this time. Guess the “go with the flow” approach from travelling has finally set in. This showed straight off the bat when I arrived on the plane into Edinburgh in T-shirt and jeans and walk into rain and 10 degree temperature. Welcome to the Scottish summer.

Despite the rain I was really excited to finally be here, again and for longer than a couple days (as per my post office visit). I had booked a Air bnb for a couple of weeks to try and get myself a place to live. This kind of meant I didn’t get to see much of the sites to start off with. However I couldn’t get into the place till 7pm so what does one do to kill time in Scotland? Find a Pub and try the brew of course!

I was staying next to Holyrood Palace and also next to Arthurs seat which I even climbed. Some pretty good views even if you climb the crag. Also seemed the Royals were about as they were having a garden party. Didn’t get an invite but got the fun task of walking all around the perimeter they set up while I went looking for a place to live. Even got pretty saw the Queen drive past and waved to her while I was wondering about.

Edinburgh is actually fantastic for food. I will say this, they do a damn good fish and chips, burgers and cakes. I might have indulged myself a little while I was here….

One thing I learnt early on is if you’re looking for a place to live in Edinburgh, there are a couple of things that can really help. First is get signed up with the Kiwis in Edinburgh page. Really nice people and they like to get together for social things but also help with advise if you are in a jam. Second is Gum tree and Spare room. Gum tree is the UK version of trade me and can find a lot of places through there. Spare room I found to be the best for finding places and as an app was a lot easier to locate rooms. However you’ll find through this process that people seem to put a lot (and I mean a lot) of scams and hoax adverts for places. Why or how they are scams couldn’t tell you. But was somewhat frustrating when trying to find a place.

Thankfully I found a really nice place and great new flat mates to live with. However there was a snag. I couldn’t move in till September. So had time on my hands but the other problem I had was August. August in Edinburgh is a massive deal as the Fringe festival goes for pretty much the month and the population of Edinburgh triples over that time so trying to find accommodation wasn’t so much hard, as down right bloody expensive. So had to come up with an actual plan for the next six weeks. I decided id stay for the rest of July in Edinburgh so I could carry on trying to find a job.

Its really quite awesome how you just meet people along the way. Since I was staying for a bit longer I ended up going to another Bnb and staying with this lovely couple Matt and Pao. Got along really well with them and went out on a couple of occasions during that time found out that both Matt and I shared the same birthday. So was lucky enough to join him on his Birthday bash in Edinburgh and had a blast. Came away making some really good friends from the experience.

Also during that time I had a couple of interviews nothing had panned out, but was pleased to know that I seem to have more experience than I thought for the roles I had previously.  So it was the right choice to take the step up to the next level. Massive thanks to my management and counterparts back home for getting me where I am today.

I decided to create a Limited Entity and give contracting a shot. So I created MackenJosh Limited. I am now the director of my own Company! Since everything I have done so far has been new why not try this as well. If a Permanent job came along that I was really interested in id give it a go. But for now ill give this a crack first. The other thing I did during those couple weeks was get back to the Gym. Man, how I missed training. You do a lot of cardio while travelling but hard to get back into a training routine and stay motivated without the gym. The Gyms here are full on. And have everything you could ask for in a gym. From sauna’s and Steam rooms to multiple levels with different focus areas. I guess since the weather is not the best they make sure the facilities have all the things they would want.

Even though was having a great time, I still had the snag of what to do for August. Well I needed to head to London to finish the company A friend hooked me up with a good accountant down there that would also sort my bank account. I also had a pre booked trip to Valencia for the Tomato festival at the end of August.

I had my plan! I’m going to head to London and sort the company and then go to Spain and chill for a month in the sun while I try and find a job… I can work with that.

To finish up I caught up with my new flat mates and also my new friends for a final dinner at this amazing Thai place. Now it was time for me to hit London.