I Moved to Barcelona With My Cat and a Carry-On Bag

I had a trick up my sleeve.

There are few things in the world people hate as much as moving. Packing is a close second, especially when one coincides with the other.

Over the years, I’ve talked a lot about downsizing and what it’s like to live in 160 SF for four years. But moving to Barcelona last week was a far more difficult lesson in minimalism.

Sure, I could have checked a suitcase. But that would tack on more time to my adventure cat’s many hours in his pet carrier. It didn’t seem fair to make him wait even longer just so I could have a few extra pieces of clothing.

What did I fit in a carry-on bag?

I barely brought any clothes at all. Instead, I mostly packed my electronic devices, medication, and the things I needed for Shadow. I even managed to fit a portable litter box and a large ziplock bag full of litter.

As far as clothes? I had about two tops, two bottoms, a pair of sandals, and the shoes I wore. It was slim pickings, but I made it work until my backup plan arrived.

I shipped a second suitcase.

A month or two before leaving Atlanta, I saw an Instagram ad for a company called “My Baggage.” I promise: this post is not an ad, and I won’t share any affiliate links.

I was agonizing over my tiny suitcase. Once I had budgeted out space for Shadow’s playpen, litter box, toys, even cat litter, and my electronics for work and play, there was hardly any space left. There were also sentimental items I wanted to take with me, and the suitcase just seemed to get smaller and smaller as I did the math.

So, when I saw the ad, it seemed like a solution worth trying. I got my largest suitcase, booked it for the highest weight they offered (66 lbs), and started packing. Surprisingly, once I had a second suitcase, I had all the space I needed. It fit everything on my list—and then some. DHL picked it up from my house on October 3rd, and it arrived at my Barcelona apartment on October 7th.

Overall, the service was good, and I’d use it again. But there are a few downsides:

• The amount I was originally quoted was much higher once I actually filled out the information.

• DHL charged me another €35 when they delivered my suitcase.

• The customs clearance process wasn’t very straightforward and My Baggage wasn’t much help for navigating it.

• You must greet DHL in person when they deliver, but they won’t call you if you don’t provide a local Spanish number.

• My items arrived in excellent condition, but the suitcase that carried them is damaged and will need to be thrown out.

What did I toss in the second suitcase?

Having the extra space felt like luxury on wheels! It’s no RV, but it gave me the freedom to add the sentimental items that meant so much to me. After the drama with my FJ Cruiser before leaving, I decided to take my very first FJ with me:

I bought this in 2020 when I first decided an FJ Cruiser would be my tow vehicle. It sat on my desk as motivation while I worked hard to save for the real thing. Now, it will help inspire me to help get my ole boy back on the road again after the damages he sustained a few weeks ago.

Also important to me was this teddy bear. If you think Shadow is well-traveled, let me tell you now that Teddy has him beat. Teddy was a Christmas gift from my mother while I was a teen. That Christmas, she had no job and no money and I almost didn’t visit at all. My Christmas gift was this dollar-store teddy, a toothbrush, and $20 in a holiday card.

I took him back with me to Jamaica, and when I moved to the United States in my 20s, he came with me. When I started RVing across the United States and into Mexico, Teddy came again.

Shadow has only been to the United States, Mexico, and Spain. So Teddy tops him by one country: Jamaica.

What’s it like living in Barcelona so far?

People seem to know I live here without me saying anything. I suspect it’s the items they’ve seen me walking around with—a brand-new litterbox balanced on my hip or a see-through storage box with extension cords and other random household items.

Everyone has been friendly and welcoming. I even made a Catalan friend named Anna. I hear more Spanish this time around than Catalan. I’m not sure why because I’m almost in the same area as before.

Because my current FJ Cruiser is too tiny to take me anywhere, I walk…a lot. On Saturday alone, I walked 8.5 miles. My apartment is also in a historic district with no elevator, so I have to take the stairs up to the fourth floor (third for Europeans). Sometimes, I can hear people running past my apartment up to the fifth floor. May my calves one day be capable of this!

Despite not being the high season, there are a lot of tourists here. I’ve also seen more beaches and was ill-prepared for the shock of men walking around with their chests proudly puffed and their manhood swinging freely in the breeze. I saw topless beaches the last time I visited, but this was a whole new level of nudity.

Airbnbs here are ridiculously priced, even though it’s the off-season. I’ve checked to see what I might pay if I need an extra week to find an apartment, and there’s nothing under $1,000 for 7 days (unless I want to be in a room in someone else’s house). It’s cheaper to stay at a pet-friendly hotel! Renting isn’t too bad, but landlords often ask for two months’ rent as a security deposit plus a third if you have a pet.

Is Barcelona my final stop?

I’m not sure if I’ll stay in Barcelona. While I do like it here, I prefer Málaga by a landslide. Sadly, Málaga doesn’t have a direct flight from Atlanta. If that ever changes, I’ll be packing my bags and heading there.

That leaves Madrid as the only other option. I’ve never been, but one of my college friends lives there with her husband. I’ve promised to visit them once I’m settled and will decide at that point whether I’ll jump ship for Madrid—and when.

The downside to Madrid is that it’s Spain’s biggest city and I don’t like big cities. It also has no beach and is hotter during the summer and colder during the winter.

I have plenty of time to figure out where I’ll eventually land in Spain or whether I might return to my nomadic ways. For now, I’m just taking it one day at a time.

Also, today is my 35th birthday! It feels pretty good to have made it to Spain in time to celebrate this new chapter of my life as something realized and not just something dreamt.

I’ll share more details on the My Baggage process with paid subscribers in case you ever need to ship a suitcase, box, or other items overseas.

Shadow will also be working on his free newsletter again, so drop by his page in a few days—or sign up today if you haven’t already!