January Recap: My Last Month in Vancouver

🌟 HAPPY NEW YEAR, FRIENDS! 🌟
Hey y’all! How’s life treating you? I hope your year is off to an amazing start! I kicked off the year with a polar bear cold plunge! Yes, I willingly jumped into freezing cold water alongside a whole crowd of brave (or slightly crazy?) Vancouverites. It’s a New Year’s tradition here, it was weirdly fun. Just…don’t ask about my feet afterward lol I made a video about this event so if you wanna see me suffer: https://youtube.com/shorts/ZJ32MPdHrbs 

It’s my last month here in Vancouver, and honestly, my days are filled with packing, selling random stuff, saying goodbye to friends and randomly breakdown crying session. It’s bittersweet, but exciting because... drumroll, please I’m finally stepping out of my comfort zone and chasing my dream of becoming a digital nomad!

This year, my big goal is to share my journey in the most real and fun way possible. So starting now, I’ll be popping into your inbox every month with updates about my life, adventures and lessons learned along the way!

📚WHAT I’VE BEEN READING

I finally picked up The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma. Not gonna lie, I’ve always thought people who wake up that early are a bit nuts, why would anyone willingly do that to themselves?! But this book gave me the answer: it’s all about owning your morning to elevate your life.

The main idea is that the time before sunrise (like 5–6 AM) is the most peaceful and distraction-free part of the day. The book talks about how a lot of world leaders and influential people such as Mozart, Frank Lloyd Wright and Ernest Hemingway made a habit of rising early. Sharma’s method is the 20/20/20 formula

• 20 minutes of exercise 

• 20 minutes of reflection (journaling, meditating, or just sitting in peaceful silence)

• 20 minutes of growth (reading, setting goals, or learning something new)

Our brains are most sensitive in the morning, so starting your day by scrolling through TikTok or emails (guilty) shortens your attention span, makes it harder to concentrate and limit your creativity. This one-hour morning routine is like a mental reset designed to help you create your best day with all your potential.

How it’s going for me:
Okay, confession: I’m NOT in the 5AM Club… yet. I’ve been doing my own "8AM-ish Club" because I’m a night owl and waking up at 8 already feels like a win lol. But I’ve been trying out the 20/20/20 formula in the first hour of my day, and I actually love it! Baby steps, right? Maybe by February or March, I’ll graduate to the 5AM crew.

🎥 WHAT YOU MIGHT LIKE

I can finally check seeing the Northern Lights off my bucket list! Definitely the coldest place I’ve ever been… like, colder than your ex’s heart kind of cold😂

If you wanna see how that adventure went down (and watch me try not to freeze) check it out!

🌆 DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: VANCOUVER, BC

Let’s kick off the journey with a shoutout to my home base, Vancouver!

🏠Accommodation
I’ve been living with three roommates for a pretty spacious room and my own bathroom (which feels like the ultimate win in shared housing) in Burnaby. Rent was $1,350/month, it’s relatively decent for Vancouver. I’m only a 5-minute walk from the transit system. The average one-bedroom apartment runs about $2,600/month. (Yup, Vancouver ain’t cheap)

🚎 Transportation
Vancouver’s transit is pretty solid! Just grab a Compass Card to save a bit on fares (contactless taps are a tad pricier). Pro tip: Your ticket is good for 90 minutes across buses, SkyTrains, and SeaBuses.

🍣 Food
Looking for budget-friendly eats? My go-to secret is the Crystal Mall food court. It’s packed with authentic Asian food stalls, and everything is super affordable (remember to bring cash). Bonus: there’s a market downstairs with groceries that are way cheaper than anywhere else. Perfect for a nomad on a budget!

🌞 Summer Vibes
When the sun’s out, Vancouver is pure magic. My favorite summer things:

• Hiking Quarry Rock in Deep Cove. It’s an easy trail with amazing views, and if you kayak afterward and grab a sandwich from Dip Co. Sandwich, it’s basically the perfect day.

• Biking the Seawall. If you haven’t done this yet, add it to your Vancouver bucket list. The views here are so stunning they’ll make you understand why it’s so expensive here.

❄️ Winter Fun
And when the snow falls, it’s all about the slopes. The mountains are just an hour from downtown! Night skiing is my absolute favorite. There’s nothing like seeing the city lights from the top of a slope, feeling the rush of zooming downhill.

That’s all for now, friends! Next time you hear from me, I’ll be writing from my next adventure. (Any guesses where? 😉)

Until then, stay adventurous and maybe try a cold plunge?!

Sending love,

Sammie
Your soon-to-be digital nomad friend