Recovering From Burnout in Dominican Republic

Posted February 27, 2019 by Amanda Raye in Career/ Street Style

If you have been following Broke & Chic for a period of time, you may have noticed that I haven’t really posted anything for over a year. So where have I been? If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I was in a pretty serious accident back in 2016 (I was hit by a car…womp). I had to recover, and by the time I felt more like myself, a lot changed with work. The startup I worked for got acquired by a big company that required me to put in a lot of extra hours in order to launch other cities. It was rewarding, but very exhausting. By the time I got home each evening, I was beyond exhausted. Between work and salsa rehearsal (I’m a dancer, too), I felt like home time was rest time, and no longer Broke & Chic time.

I have also been working on another venture. I just launched my new company, Boda Guide, due to the success of an article I wrote on destination weddings a few years back. After two years of research, writing, and building a new brand, it is finally (almost) done. Purchase my book here.

As you can see, the past two years have been go, go, go. My professional life being so busy plus having to heal mentally, physically, and emotionally from my accident has really taken a toll on me. I felt like I needed a break, but in New York, it’s hard to take a break. The cost of living is so high, that the concept of not making any money, even for a few weeks, is terrifying…and realistically can’t be done. So, my boyfriend and I did something extremely dramatic and adventurous…

After calling NYC home for over eight years, we decided to say goodbye. It was a very difficult and emotional decision. That goodbye may be permanent or temporary, we are both still unsure. We gave up our beautiful apartment of 3-years, sold all of our furniture on Craigslist, and put all of our important belongings in a storage unit in Queens to be “free spirits” for a bit.

Both of us also quit our stable jobs, and we’re now spending an entire month in Dominican Republic. I was born in this beautiful country, so being here is helping me connect to my roots and improve my Spanish while I also take control of my time and my life. Plus, I get to dance salsa, bachata, and merengue every day of the week, not just on weekends like in New York!

Here I have been waking up without an alarm, eating delicious Dominican food, and working on both Boda Guide and Broke & Chic on my own time. It has been lovely and so freeing. Each weekday I have been going to a lovely cafe in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo to get things done. The weather is warm, the palm trees are always swaying in the ocean breeze, and the colorful flowers have been putting a smile on my face. I am the happiest I have been in years, and it took me leaving New York to realize how miserable I actually was. I love New York, don’t get me wrong, but I’m Dominican, and I’m meant to be in the heat!

This Caribbean weather is making me feel alive again! New York winters are long and depressing. After living in the Northeast for most of my life, I needed to get out of the cold. After this month in Santo Domingo, the plan is to go to LA. It will be a big change, but we’re open to change for the first time in awhile.

We may try traveling around Europe (on a budget of course) before going to LA, but we’re taking it day-by-day. The main goal is so both my boyfriend and I can recover from our NYC burnout so we can go to LA as happy individuals who feel in control again.

Life isn’t all about working. This quote really resonated with me. My boyfriend’s mom shared it with us a few days ago and I keep thinking about it:

Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about unbecoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.

Below is a Broke Fashion look from the other day. It was in front of a cute cafe and it was the first day that I truly felt happy and content in what feels like years. I want to remember that day for the rest of my life: