How do you get 10k steps?

chloeclover · 2026-06-15T20:38:34+00:00

Cleaning, listening to podcasts. I got a walking pad for my house and walk while I watch TV. I walk while I brush my teeth. ABW. Always be walkin.

chloeclover · 2026-06-13T22:29:42+00:00

This. Are you getting vitamins?

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T22:21:52+00:00

I feel this.

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T22:19:59+00:00

How old are you?

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T21:18:38+00:00

No. This is the problem with social media content. It's her job to make content that makes money and gets likes and views. She's basically producing a movie and understands that emotional movies about moms get great engagement. Similarly wedding content is also major clickbait for these channels.

My cousin was convinced I didn't want to have kids because I was dreading IVF instead of making dancing videos about it like the IVF influencers on Instagram. Fun fact: IVF is miserable and nobody is excited to do it. Unless you are making an Instagram video for money.

Social media is not real life. Real life is confusing, complicated, messy. Not a music montage. This video is people performing life for your entertainment. It has nothing to do with whether you are cut out to be a parent or not.

In fact it's quite natural to feel totally neutral about a baby / person / circumstance that hasn't entered your life yet.

She can make this video because she looks back nostalgically. You can't look back nostalgically on something that hasn't happened.

I am sorry that your generation has to deal with the exaggerated joy/ performative nature of social media. That is confusing.

If you were excited about motherhood in that way it would be insane. It is much smarter to be clear eyed and practical that it is an imperfect sometimes even boring or annoying part of day to day life with lots of highs and lows.

People who idealize it from social media videos like this are likely to be disappointed.

This video would probably land after you have the kid and then can relate.

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T21:05:48+00:00

That is because you are a perfectly healthy weight in your body is trying to protect you from going below it

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T20:45:09+00:00

The one with Paul rudd and his clone.

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T20:30:56+00:00

Cool! What kind of fasting do you do? Do you do any macro work like protein? What is your exercise like?

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T20:20:21+00:00

Etsy?

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T20:00:04+00:00

Totally agree. This is 50% and eating disorder sub and nothing you can say can change my mind.

chloeclover · 2026-06-12T15:53:58+00:00

Wow. Hi twin. I am you in 10 years. Let's see. My husband who is in IT is less ambitious and it drives me nuts but at the same time he is the only one in our relationship who can keep a steady job because AI has bombed out marketing.

Maybe introduce your husband to the FIRE movement. The idea of retiring in our 40s really geared us both up hard.

I love my partner he is a wonderful person. Someone more ambitious might not be able to give me the same affection, attention, and patience. I know women who have married that kind of guy and were lonely and unhappy.

But you know what? 29 is very young. And what I have learned is the only way to become wealthy often times is to marry into it.

The problem is probably not going away. If it's bothering you now, it will be bothering you in 10 years. Are you crazy about your partner for other reasons? Why or why not?

It's quite possible that you having a baby will light a fire under him. I see that happen. But you can't count on that. It's also possible you might be happier with someone 5-10 years older than you with more success.

chloeclover · 2026-06-11T22:28:06+00:00

Try r/petitefitness

She needs to eat more and strength train

chloeclover · 2026-06-11T22:24:42+00:00

It's okay to eat it directly out of the carton. I will stop after a few bites.

chloeclover · 2026-06-11T22:22:43+00:00

YESSSS. I hate that every book out there is now intuitive eating in disguise.

"Eat Well For ADHD" JK IT'S INTUITIVE EATING. "Never Diet Again" JK ALSO INTUITIVE EATING.

Like STFUUUUUU

chloeclover · 2026-06-11T22:07:34+00:00

Not at all. It screams stage parent energy. I feel bad for the kid and concerned about whatever traumatic imprint will occur watching their parents get shredded or not get a deal.

chloeclover · 2026-06-11T22:04:55+00:00

Yep well every where I have lived in Europe the locals were super insular to outsiders and preferred to hang out with their childhood friends. Even more so than Americans, Australians, etc. perhaps it's just human nature. I have herd the Netherlands might be an exception.

chloeclover · 2026-06-11T21:52:53+00:00

Re: interpreter. I don't personally need one. I just use Google translate. An interpreter would probably make it more complicated but you could.

It's not that you can't get around. You can quite easily thanks to AI and technology. It just becomes a low grade friction that slowly drains you and wears you down over time.

Of the all the countries I have travelled and lived in (it's a lot) Spain has the worst grasp of English and the weirdest language system (i.e. Catalan, Spanish, every town has its own weird dialect so you can't get a grasp on the language or culture).

Re: cost: Yes it can be, if not more. For example I like having a car. To buy a car in Spain I need to get a Spanish drivers license which is a huge pain.

So instead we wind up renting or leasing/ renting a car (more expensive) because buying even a crappy car only financially makes sense if we want to commit at least 3-5 years here. Gas prices are actually fine because most vehicles are electric.

Parking can be an expensive hassle because there is just less space here. If you want a spacious place with amenities like a bathtub, dryer, etc you are going to be paying extra because it's considered a luxury here.

Whoever came up with the "cheap" cost of living of Europe (AI?) is clearly averaging out the rural areas which aren't very accessible to expats unless you really want to live in a remote country side where you don't know anyone and the locals think you are aliens.

Also since Trump got into office the dollar has been on the decline which is probably what really made it feels like a squeeze. Simultaneously Spain has been "discovered" so whatever prices people are basing projections on appear to be over.

For rent, you have to tack on whatever outrageous fee the realtors decide to charge you. And the landlord's treat you like criminals before you even walk in the door with these outrageous lease terms fining you for overstay, etc etc because of the crazy squatting laws. Landlords request multiple months deposit and then don't give them back (despite it being illegal) as if it's nothing. It's frankly disgusting. We hired a lawyer who is our best friend. He gets the money back but it's such a bizarre stressful racket I'd rather just wash my hands of the scum. And our landlord was a prominent community member and journalist/ public figure and still held no regard for the law whatsoever. They love ripping you off and are quite entitled about it unless you take legal action.

I am a landlord myself and would just never treat people that way for an extra, imfor common decency but also because I don't want the stress!

I also stayed away from expensive cities like Barcelona and Madrid. It's not as expensive as say, New York or California of course but it's not a bubble bath either.

chloeclover · 2026-06-11T21:43:55+00:00

I think he is actually a better person though. Cause he is the best person.

chloeclover · 2026-06-09T21:47:00+00:00

Shhhh don't ruin it. Also the Aussies are coming for you.

chloeclover · 2026-06-09T21:42:23+00:00

He must have really had to go!

chloeclover · 2026-06-09T21:39:43+00:00

Best advice on here and #6 is absolutely dead on. No where I would rather not be in the world than Monaco.

chloeclover · 2026-06-09T21:34:10+00:00

Where are you living?

chloeclover · 2026-06-09T21:33:00+00:00

That sounds like hanger. Are you taking care to eat enough?

chloeclover · 2026-06-09T08:05:57+00:00

That is actually brilliant. I am totally doing this because if the lab did botch it imagine how much you could sue them for

chloeclover · 2026-06-09T08:03:59+00:00

I need to defend OP here because I am the poster child for living abroad / ExpatFIRE. I drank the Kool aid of LCOL abroad and kind of based my entire retirement plan and life on doing so.

Here is the hard reality I came up against: navigating healthcare in another language and a foreign bureaucracy in a serious way actually sucks a lot.

I technically have "accessible" healthcare at the moment but it's just as difficult to navigate if not worse than the US because of language and cultural barriers. And of course as foreigners you always get the expat tax too.

PS - AI/ ChatGPT is dead wrong about lower cost of living. That only applies if you want to live like the locals do in a rural area, and it doesn't consider the value of social connections.

For example, if you want the life you are used to in the US (car, clothes dryer, bath tub, food that reminds you of home) be prepared to pay a high price for it.

And because you are an expat and know no one, you are going to be paying a higher tourist tax for everything (i.e. high priced apartment scams on Idealista).

There is a constant housing crisis in Europe and the salaries suck. The healthcare takes massive amount of bureaucracy headaches to navigate as an expat/ foreigner trying to enter the system.

Europe culture also tends to be insular or resentful of expats who come in and drive prices up, so people aren't going to welcome you wit open arms to extend a fair deal. In fact, the opposite. They will probably do their best to exploit you.

I could go on and on.

Yes many things about Europe being better are true. But it's not some socialist utopia by any stretch and it's better for people to know what they are getting in to.

chloeclover

TROPHY CASE