How I moved and thrived in Ushago, Amani Maranga

So April last year, I made the decision to leave Nairobi for good, I packed my bags, furniture and dog and with permission from the authorities(it was during a lockdown) …I drove out and never looked back.

Let’s start with why I relocated, you see I make money when people gather, and Covid made sure people don’t gather so for most of 2020 and beginning of 2021 I wasn’t really earning.

I had kidogo savings from a good start to 2020, but they were soon depleted and my land lord got impatient, in fact I had moved houses once during Covid because my landlord couldn’t extend the moratorium on rent.

So at the end of March 2021 I found myself with just enough money to pay for 1 month of living in Kilimani, a 5 county lockdown and not enough of an income, I had a contract that gave me about 50% of monthly living budget.

So I had to decide how to stretch the little money I had, and decided that I must reduce my rent by 50% or more, which gave me options I did not like I. NBO. The only decent spaces were in the outskirts of the city, and that’s when the epiphany came.

If I can live in Athi river, Kitengela of Limuru, I can live anywhere. So the question changed from “what can I afford that’s decent?” To “where would I like to live?” The options expanded and soon I was debating between Nanyuki and Ukunda.

They both would have offered some sort of soft landing as I had people there and access to some properties, but the properties were all undeveloped, somehow the ocean called louder than the mountain.

In about 10 am a I had found a house (within budget) and they only needed one month’s deposit unlike Kilimani, I had obtained permission from KILIMANI OCPD and I had engaged movers.

The movers would have been quite expensive had they not had a gig as well in Diani, so I was literally paying for their trip to come do another moving job, I was very lucky, so they came on a Friday night, packed and the next day were on their way.

Let me give a shout out to a few people people, @TaylorMoversKe for a job well done relocating my stuff and @Lukenyamotorcross for hosting my dog shaka and I as we made the move to Ukunda.

Since all my stuff had been packed I needed a place to sleep so on the first night my neighbor Amos let me crush at his place and the next day before we drove out Mike of Lukenya Motorcross gave us a room, dinner and breakfast including some packed pancakes and sausages.

Driving out of Nairobi felt surreal, 6am I arrived at the Macharia roadblock where my car was stopped and papers checked. The officer told me good luck and I was free! That’s how it felt, like I was escaping some sort of bondage.

I remember calling a few friends as I drove into the sunrise and telling them of this momentous decision I had made. slowly but surely Shaka and I drove down Mombasa rd, making a few pee breaks for him as he was still a pup.

We finally made it to Ukunda a little after 3pm on a Sunday afternoon, I hadn’t physically seen the house I was moving into but I had faith in my people who had helped me find it, clean it and receive the movers as well, I had adrenalin pumping in my system, it took me 4 day. so finally feel settled and that I was now living in the coast. That this was my life now. It would take me a few more months for it to all sink in, but it did and now I love every bit of it.

So what is it like living in shags?

1. It’s simple, very simple. There are no joneses to keep up with, in fact I think I’m the joneses. Nobody cares for rank and file we are all tuktuk and boda riders.

2. It’s affordable, the rent I pay is about a third of what I paid in NBO for even better value. I wake up to this view every day.

3. Still on affordability, I buy fish for about 200 bob from fishermen and fresh vegetables are in plenty, plus coconuts etc. I cook everything with coconuts nowadays, even electricity and medicine are cheaper here.

4. Good for my health…I walk a lot here because it’s so easy and pleasant, beach walks are my favorite and they are free, I eat better here there’s no Glovo or Ubereats to deliver junk.

5. Good for my mental health…I realized a few days in that I had an anxiety lifted. An anxiety I didn’t even know I had. It’s like in Kanairo there’s a ka anxiousness that we carry around as part of the living experience. here I was feeling guilty for not feeling anxious.

6. Community/this was the hard part, it took me a while to build a community l. I had my two people here but I needed more. Soon enough though I met people who had also relocated here or were thinking about it and now we have a lovely small community of like minded peeps. on that community tip though, I learnt my biases as well, we always want to associate with people who look like us, dress like us and talk like us, I’ve met people here who don’t fit any of my moulds and are wonderful humans, I love them and they are part of my community too.

7. Intentional friendships. I’ve learnt to be intentional with my people that I left in Kanairo and others in other parts of the world.

8. Income- so I learnt you can really work from anywhere and luckily some gigs have come back and I travel to Kanairo to do them. Also I’ve gotten many gigs coz I’m in the the coast coz it’s a favorite destination for conferences and events, but I’ve also seen opportunities here. ok, let’s talk about that income story, you see guys think Kanairo is the only place you can get work, or make money and in some instances this may be true. however devolution has created lots of opportunity and if you’re from Kanairo it would be so easy to spot some of them.

Those of us that have come from a corporate background and out form of entrepreneurship is depended on corporates as well have a bit of adjusting to do…but guys who’ve learnt show to make daily retail cash can thrive outside Nairobi.

but let’s start with my industry before we go far. How many conferences and corporate seminars, events Teambuilding’s etc come to the coast?

How many event MC’s and corporate team builders of my caliber, experience and skill do you think are at the coast? By moving here I immediately reduced my competition, increased my competitiveness, and created a whole new market.

Now corporates don’t have to fly in an MC or Teambuilder to the coast, they can just call me and save on Flights and sometimes accommodation as well.

they can also call @ChrisBittok for entertainment he’s in Diani, @eddiekimani when I’m not available, @hopemwinzi for storytelling @ngatz2 for ever set up, purpletulips for decor…all of us with Kanairo standards here at the coast.

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