A woman’s journey to the top of the island’s construction world

Transcript

Welcome to Mallorca Living with Helen Cummins

Hi, I’m Helen Cummins, and this is Mallorca Living, a video podcast dedicated to sharing the stories of inspiring people who have made this beautiful island their home. For each episode, we’ll share their story; they’ll tell us about their journey, the challenges, the triumphs, the insider tips that make life here so special. Let’s dive in.

Hello, I’m Helen Cummins and welcome to Mallorca Living, the video podcast about living in Mallorca. I’m here today with Anja Flegenbauer and we’re going to talk about her life on Mallorca. She’s worked in a very male-dominated industry and has been very successful and we’re going to find out more about that. She’s also raised a beautiful daughter, Lily, all on her own here on the island and we’re going to hear much more about that. And we’re also going to talk about what it’s like to run your own business here on the island in the construction industry. Anja, you’re very welcome, thank you so much for joining us here today.

Reflecting on the Marrakech retreat experience

So I just wanted to start because we’ve very recently made a journey together. What did you think of the trip to Morocco on our retreat? It was magical. Yes, it’s not the first time. I came already, it’s already the second time because it was fantastic. It’s for me it’s a perfect counterpart to my very stressful life and even though I try also to relax during my work, this is so special and it’s so powerful and it’s really magical. I enjoyed it a lot. It’s very well organized. I like good food and the yoga and the views and the accommodation. Yes, and the people actually, isn’t it? The group and also the group, fantastic, fantastic. And it’s like-minded people, that’s what I feel, it just all works together so, so easily. Many nice friendships evolving from, I think, the few days it felt like at least two weeks. Yes, I came home and I was like two weeks away, but I still see the sparkle in your eyes and I can see it and I feel it, I feel it, yeah. So it’s incredible. So a beautiful gift to yourself. Yes.

Meet Anja: From civil engineering to Mallorca – breaking into a male-dominated industry

So let’s start at the very beginning. What brought you to Mallorca? What brought me to Mallorca? Um, adventure. I think one of my values is maybe being adventurous, trying new things. I want to learn, to try new things. I want new experiences, new experiences. And I was a little bit bored about Germany. Um, I was brought up close to Munich and then I studied in Munich. After I finished studying civil engineering at the TU Munich, I was a little bit disappointed because my first jobs were, I didn’t like it. You didn’t like them? No, I was, I was, um, I was not allowed to go to the construction site. They said, “Oh, you’re a woman, better in the beginning we keep you in the, we keep you.” And did they really tell you you’re a woman so you can’t go to the construction? Oh my god, this made me really angry. This could not happen today. No, no, but in that time it was like this. And, um, so I, I tried another job, they said it would be better, but it was not better. Okay. And then I said, “Why not leaving Germany? Why not trying something new?” And the funny thing is, I had a job offer in Dubai, mhm, and also in England, mhm, and also in the mainland in Spain, but I fell in love with Mallorca. Right. So you came here for a week or two?

First impressions: Anja’s unexpected love for the island

No, the first time I came here, this was in 1999, and it was the same year I came to Mallorca. So, and my, my boyfriend… No, but it was a visit, it was a holiday trip and it was a surprise. It was, um, my, my boyfriend at that time, um, planned this trip. It was a surprise for me. And when he said, “I bought us flight tickets to Mallorca,” I was like, “Really? I don’t like Mallorca. Why Mallorca? Why not Greece? Why not Italy?” So you weren’t pleased at all? No, because at that time in Germany, um, there was a lot going on in the media and and about Mallorca and Mallorca was like, it was named like “the cleaning lady’s island”. I heard that. And and and TV, it was all full of all this, every night there was something, oh, about binge drinking and things like this. And in Germany, really, I thought Mallorca is S’Arenal. Oh, wow. I thought whole, so the whole of Mallorca is like… And I was like, I don’t… It’s like for the English, it’s the same, they think Mallorca is Magaluf, which of course it’s only a tiny, tiny, tiny area. We searched it and we almost, we couldn’t find it. And my first trip to Mallorca, I couldn’t find S’Arenal because it’s at the end, it’s such a small, a small area and insignificant considering the beauty of the island. So we went to Mallorca. I was in the airplane, I was, “Oh my god, what?” But you’ve never been to the island before? I’ve never been before. So this is your first trip? I came here. We had a nice hotel in Cala D’Or. Nice. And I absolutely Cala. I fell in love with the beach and, um, it’s one of the most, it’s Caribbean right? In Mallorca, it’s like the Caribbean. And then we had a car, we were driving around the whole island. I was so, oh my god, this is so beautiful. And we have to go here and we have to go here. And then I was, uh, we also visited, um, at the time the big construction areas in Port d’Andratx.

The big boom in construction areas in Mallorca in the early 2000s and the challenges

And then Santa Ponça, Nova Santa Ponça, yes, which was just being probably built at that moment. It was the beginning, it was really the beginning. And I felt like there’s really a lot of work for me and there’s a lot of work for me as a civil engineer. I love it, I love it. So you could see yourself in Mallorca. I saw myself there. And also saw there that of course there are a lot of clients who want to build with a European or northern European standard. And I saw what I saw on these construction sites and it was, yeah, good or bad? Yeah, no, it was bad what I saw there, yeah. So you said there’s plenty of room for a big boom at that time and there was a lot going on and also when I came here then in 2001 I started, I did a lot of surveys, surveys and there were, it was people really they trusted the wrong people, paid a lot of money in, in these are these nightmare stories, right? Nightmare stories. This was exactly when I came. I had to write a lot of surveys and who were you working on behalf of when you did the surveys for the, the buyers or the sellers or the bank or the insurance or this was, was then for, um, for private individuals that wanted to build your dream home here and and and found somebody that had an architect or a project already and and um trusted the wrong people. That’s the main issue here, yeah. We do hear these nightmare stories, don’t we, from when you live on the island for some time. And it’s all down to who you’re lucky enough to meet, right? And trust, trust is a big point, yes. And it’s all very often it’s the same story. They find somebody, I don’t know, meet them and trust them and having a good time and and somebody is promising you he can do everything and he’s so good, he knows everything and he can do everything, knows everything about it. And they become friends and and also sometimes I think it’s, it’s very easy if then you think, oh that’s super, I trust him, I give him all my money and he will, they want to believe, they really want to believe that it’s going to, it’s going to work out good. Yeah, we’ve heard these stories, yeah, a lot. And very often I came there and I had to do the survey and find out, yeah, this was wrong, this is not okay. And no, no, no. And I was very often then the messenger of the bad information, bad information.

Working on luxury projects and dream homes

And this is hard to see, very hard to see. So when you moved to Mallorca, you started to work with, uh, you were senior engineer, no, project manager for one of a very reputable company on the island. And I think that was your introduction to the really, the, the absolute top end of the market, you know, the luxury, the luxury villas on Mallorca. I enjoy it a lot to work in professional teams. This is, this is really big fun when you have the top professionals and I was used to work then with sometimes with an engineers team in Switzerland and they are engineering, I don’t know, that your pool area can float up and you have it as a terrace and this was really big fun. And I don’t know, the interior designer coming from Belgium and, um, bringing it all together, working in professional teams, guiding this team. But you’ve also worked with some of the the richest people in the world to build, uh, or renovate houses here in Mallorca, right? What can you tell us some of the stories, some of the crazy things you had to build or construct or renovate? Can you tell us some of those stories? I remember you telling me about about one place that, yeah, I think that you had it done and then you they decided at the end to to even invest a lot more money and take it to a whole other level. Yeah, we, we, we made a renovation of a very well-known, very old, old property and it was meant to be sold. And it was so funny, we had the presentation for, there was a big party and and media and everything was here for the presentation because it was brought to the market and was, yeah. And but the, um, the client behind, he didn’t show up at this, at this party, because they are very, they don’t want to be seen there. Uh, but I don’t, I don’t know if it was the next day or a few days later, they called me and said, no, we will not sell this property. We, we are, you know what, we are going to live there, but now, but it’s not our standard at the moment. So then we brought in so much more. I don’t know, it was really the garden, the, the pool that was brought in so much more, uh, to, and it was just the level, of course, smart home at top level and every, but it was all finished and then we started again. We started again for another year or two, for example, the, the pool totally and it was all the smart home and and also, um, it came until the garden, it was also all, all this how, um, how do you say, building automation that you can control everything from everywhere in the world and control and, um, and also say, yeah, a little bit more water and and also this is an incredible experience for you. No, I mean, to have this opportunity to work at this, which probably in Germany you might not have had, you know, it would have been more difficult, right, to have that opportunity. But sometimes in a place like Mallorca, it’s more accessible. Yes, it is, it is, yeah. Wow. And how have you, so you stayed working in, in with that company for some years, gained a huge amount of experience obviously.

Starting her own construction project management business

And then at what point did you decide to go it alone, to set up your own business? And by what point was this? I planned it already, I wanted to do this earlier already, but I don’t know, there was one point where I said, now I can’t go on here because the company became bigger and bigger and so much more people were working there and I said, now it’s, I really, I have to do it by my own. I also said, um, now it’s the time, I want to work a little bit, I don’t want to say less, I think now I work even more, but, um, less projects. I said I want to go deeper maybe and deeper and more dedicated, to dedicate me more on a little bit less projects. Then, um, I felt sometimes like in a circus and I’m like Miss 200% and it, um, it was really hard for me to keep all the balls up all the time and I said maybe I do a little bit less projects and dedicate more, dedicate more. And are you enjoying? Is that what’s turned out? Are you enjoying it more? I really, Yes. Mhm.

Avoiding common mistakes when building in Mallorca – having a good team is essential

So how does it work because a client basically hires you to oversee, to project manage the construction of their new home? So how, how can you fill us in a few different possibilities? The perfect way, I tell you the perfect way, but it’s not always perfect. Very often clients come to me and say, “Oh my god, something’s going wrong and I, I, I have a not a good feeling, please, please, please help me.” Yeah, I mean, sometimes I, two weeks ago I got contracted by telephone. I said, please, let’s meet. He said, no, please, I, I need you, need to go there immediately. He, I didn’t see him before and he said, contracted you over the, contracted me. But that’s out of desperation, which is not the best way to start a project. Yes, because then I also said, I’m, I’m in a very bad, you go in a kind of a negative. I have to ask questions, there few things are already, you can’t see them anymore, they’re hidden already and also then it comes, you have to trust or you have to prove, you have to open things again and it’s, it’s really, I prefer from the beginning and as a team is very important and you need to know what to do. It’s a strategy and this means is bringing together for the client the ideal architect for example. Sometimes clients have already an architect, but also in architects, um, I have cases and I tell it directly to the client. So this architect, so for example, I have one example, we had a very, very complicated, um, license situation and I know a perfect architect for this, but this architect he will not be good in details, he will not be good at the construction side, he’s not a designer. He, this not good, but he’s perfect. I tell him, we, we, we work on how we go on and we received the, the license in a very, very difficult townhouse in Mallorca. The license was there. It was almost not possible to get a license, but we got a license, but it was a little bit, was a little bit tricky. So we worked with in in general with three licenses and made it, made it work and, um, but the client knew this architect is later on the construction side, he’s medium. I know it and I told him before. And very often it is like this and then you need a good construction company. Finding a good, finding them and then making and all the ones that are really good are booked up, aren’t they? I mean, you can’t get them. And the ones that are really good, they’re growing and it’s, it’s a, it’s becoming a, yeah. But it can also happen, uh, that they, I ask them and they say, “Okay, Anja, if you’re in the team, so it makes it much easier for us.” It’s also good for them, it’s good for them when I’m in the middle because I talk a lot. I talk to the client and I bring it then later, I write a little report. Yeah, to make decisions and the construction company get it, we get it in a written form, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. A few points and it’s, and also you do all, I see myself as an interface between them. Yeah, and I mean, you’re helping from here and from here. Yeah, so you’re supporting the client all the way. And then also you’re communicating in a professional way with the construction company. It’s perfect combination, right? Yes, yeah. And it must save the client an awful lot of stress because you know, many people are professional in business or they have, they, they don’t have the knowledge, right? And then they’ve been asked to make these choices, these decisions, which is maybe completely out of their comfort. Tell them, I can tell them, oh, I had this before. If you want to know it, uh, you can do this or this is the advantage, this is the disadvantage. I know also know them when they have for example little children and it comes to the way. I can, I can, I cannot give them advice what floor is good with little children or if they say we want to sell it, we’ve just, we built this, we want to use it two years and then we want to sell it. I, I learned really a lot about what makes a home, what gives worth to it, the value, the what gives value to it, yes. Thank you. And, um, not doing crazy things. When they say, I want to paint my, my living room in green, I say, you can do this, but it makes it really, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s just an example. So advice along a red kitchen or something. Yeah, it’s funny, you can do this, but a red kitchen, um, it’s the market’s going to be a little bit more limited on who will want that afterwards. Yeah, and you can add your home value by using some special brands and, uh, things like this. There are well-known brands and, um, yeah, they have experience. I also know, have seen already so many things, uh, how, um, if you have a family, for example, as I told you, or, or you think maybe, um, I also have clients here, I don’t know, they are in their 60s and I tell them, do you think this house with all this stairs is maybe, maybe wouldn’t it better to make it a like, and also why don’t we put an elevator in or things like this. Yeah, so you’re basically like the professional guiding hand in the project. And I’m not afraid of telling clients something. Very often I see it what, what, what we talking about now could also be an architect telling it. But sometimes the architects they don’t dare to say something. They say, oh, this client, um, I’m afraid to say he knows what he wants. But I dare to tell them, I have this experience and now with the years it becomes even more interesting because I have this 24 years experience now here on Mallorca and I can, I can share this experience and can tell them, “Oh, I had this before, be careful with this or that makes it now even more fun in my job.” So your ideal client actually connects with you at the very beginning, right? And then you start to build the team and putting the team together, whether it’s the architect, the construction company, all of the competence, all the professionals you need to have in the team and and you’ve obviously with your experience can handpick who is the right one for this. It’s a little bit what we do actually as a property buyers agency because we’re the same. We listen very much to what the client wants and then we’re sort of with our local knowledge picking it’s like.

Living as a single mother in Mallorca

Finding the needle in a haystack, but of course you need years and years of knowledge and network and experience in order to come to that point, isn’t that true? Yes, it’s true. You can’t arrive and the next day you can do that. It’s not possible. It’s, it’s years and years of experience. So I want to talk to you a little bit about your personal life in Mallorca. So you came here as a professional single lady and in your 24 years here, you had Lily and you raised her here on the island. How was that raising a little, a little girl? For me it was so clear that this is a perfect childhood for her because this very multicultural surrounding, a lot of nature, a beach very close, mountains, very international community, very good schools. I enjoyed this a lot, yeah, for her. I wanted this for her because it, it, it, when, when she was really, she was like this, she was talking to somebody in German, she was turning around, talking in English, here, Spanish, Catalan. She, this is, I have the same with everybody. I wanted this and it’s fantastic. And it’s so natural for them. They don’t, it’s no effort. It’s just they grow up with all these languages and this experience of cosmopolitan and all this nature. Are you going, having a picnic at the beach in wintertime, things like this? Um, the, I mean, we live outdoors here really about eight months of the year, no, eight, nine months. And even during the wintertime, there’s many beautiful days where we can go hiking or cycling, whatever. It’s so beautiful.

Balancing work, motherhood and island life

How was it balancing the work and motherhood? This was very, very challenging. Um, I had the big luck that I was working for a well-known company here and they, they, they really, they supported me a lot. They are very, very child, how do you say, child friendly, child friendly. And I said if there’s something at school, a presentation or something, I always could go and and they were very when she was, she was ill, this was really good. Of course I had a big, um, a network. I had good friends supporting me. Um, friends where Lily could stay after school. Sometimes I had, um, of course I tried au pairs, but this was also challenging. I found out sometimes it was like having a second child. Okay, yeah. Your mom, you said, has also helped. Yes, yes. Also my mom came over to help us, yeah, yeah. Oh, well, that’s great. So I mean it wasn’t, from what I’m hearing, it wasn’t easy, but there were many advantages. So kind of the advantages outweighed the, the challenges. Yes, you’re right, you’re right. Yeah, great. I sometimes also took Lily to some, um, when there was not a construction site, when there was a viewing or something, um, I brought her sometimes and she was sitting there reading a book or something. And also saw that mommy has to work and this is where I think this is, and maybe I don’t know, here it is possible. Yes, I, I think the Spanish have are very natural with children. They’re very open, right, to to have children around. I always say the the children are like the kings and queens of the house. They are, aren’t they? They, the Spanish welcome children into restaurants and public places. I love that about the culture here. It’s, it’s very, it’s very easy to raise children here and not to kind of have to separate them or discipline them. It’s like they’re part of the the fun, right? Was that your experience too? That’s my experience too. It’s very, it’s much more, yeah, it’s you can do it easily. I also brought Lily sometimes after school back to the office, yeah. And she could do her, her homework there. I think Germany that was saying can’t do this, but um, yeah, it’s.

Finding the right place to live on the island

It’s more fluid here, there’s less boundaries between one life and the other, yeah, it’s more fluid which is really, really great. What part of the island do you live on, where you’re living yourself? I tried several points and I always, I wanted to adapt to my situation to make my life easier because it was, well, tell us the different places you’ve lived because we want to hear this experience. I tried a few and, um, and for example, when Lily was, was smaller, we were living in the area of Es Capdellà and Calvià because I found it so beautiful there that she, she could visit her, her friends or going to the playground or going to the, uh, swimming, to, to the public swimming pool there. And, um, then when she became a teenager, we moved to Palma, um, and, uh, so at the moment I live in Bonanova. Bonanova, it’s one of the areas I like a lot on the outskirts of Palma. It’s outskirts, it’s a good residential area. I have a nice sea view, it’s, um, it’s calm there, um, my daughter can go walk down to Porto Pi or catching the bus. I am very easily at the, so it takes me 25 minutes to go to Port d’Andratx because I’m very, I have a very, uh, good access to the motorway, to the motorway. Also via Cura, now I also have projects on the opposite side of the island. I don’t know how it happened, but good projects and I said, okay, let’s do this. I also have very good connection to the Via Cintura there. I can on the weekend I can take my bicycle and going to Santa Catalina for walking is a little bit too much. My mother walks, she walks everywhere, she’s also walking but I take, I take my, my, my bicycle. Um, that’s what I like on this, on this area. Bonanova is, is just to explain to people who might not know the area, it is basically between kind of Palma and the village of Gènova which is a very traditional village. And Bonanova there’s many old apartment buildings but what’s beautiful about them because they were built quite luxurious, no? Maybe they’re 20, 30, 40 years old, but they were built like as, as a high spec at the time. And they tend to be bigger, much bigger in size than what you’d get today with the new build, isn’t that true? So the rooms are bigger, it’s more spacious. And so it’s more spacious, yeah. And I have a very, mine is a little bit cozy. I think they made two apartments out of one of these huge apartments. But at the moment, first over said this is, it has a few advantages, but it’s too small. But now, because then my daughter now goes to boarding school, now it’s perfect in its size because it’s, because it’s easier to manage and it’s quite cozy. I enjoy it, I like it. Um, let’s see what the, the future brings. I’m already looking for something else, yeah, but now as I always, that’s what I wanted to say, I always try to adapt to make our life easier and to, to, to make most, to bring the best out of it or to have the, the best out of it. But now I’m looking for property to buy and, um, yeah, let’s see. I’m not so connected to Palma. It could be also in the outskirts to get it even more, um, more calm, more peace. I think you need a.

Social life, community and dating in Mallorca

…kind of an antidote to your very, very, very busy life. And what about socializing in Mallorca? How, you know, friends, male, female, and so on, how is that in Mallorca? It’s good, you have to be, there are always changes because people are coming, people are leaving. That’s, that, that’s you have to learn. At the beginning I was very sad when when some very good friends had to leave the island. It was very sad, but sometimes also they come back. Of course they come back for a holiday, but sometimes they come back because they realize Mallorca is the best place and they don’t like it. It happens a lot. People say they think, “Oh, you know, I’m going to try, I’m going back home, I’m going here.” And then a few years later they’re back. They come back. And I have to say, um, uh, I like it because it’s so mixed up. So in, um, what, what, what I experienced in Munich, everything is like in a drawer. There are always some like-minded people. What I really love about Mallorca is that age, financial background, uh, all this, it’s so mixed. And also you don’t, you don’t only have to be older people think the same, no? You mix, have different lifestyles and it’s so rich in a cosmopolitan way, with, with the, you know, you can be at a dinner party. I was at a dinner last Friday night. We were nine people and we were eight nationalities. And just that experience of everybody having a different perspective and different, uh, experiences, it makes life so interesting here. Absolutely, absolutely. And age. I have very young friends, I have older friends, it’s very mixed. Yeah. And what about meeting a man here on the island? What is it like? That’s quite difficult. That’s quite difficult. It’s difficult. I think it’s difficult worldwide, right? It’s not only in Mallorca. No, I think, I think, um, maybe it’s easier in, in Munich. I don’t think so. In Munich is one of the places if you do the research, I think there’s something like four to six women for every male. It’s, the numbers are, Munich, I don’t think it’s a good example. Yeah, but then Paris, okay, not, not long ago I went to Paris with my daughter and, um, there are also very nice men and, and you can meet them and they talk to you, they’re so direct. They say, “Oh, can I invite you for a coffee?” You, I don’t know, it was really. This is here it’s a little bit, uh, yeah, could improve. It could improve. Well, I met my husband while I was here on holidays and I have other friends who have kind of met people because they, they think it, you know, their, their partner came on holidays here and if a holiday romance turned into the, the real thing. So I mean, but the, the good thing about here, you have a lot of opportunities in the sense of people do have parties and it’s not, it’s not difficult to get plugged in here to a social group, isn’t that true? Absolutely, yeah. And if you have a particular interest, you know, if you like salsa dancing or if you like, I don’t know, cycling or whatever, even the yoga, the whole world of, of, of wellness and well-being, it’s growing so phenomenally on the island. Yes, I experienced this a lot. There are so many very interesting things and, um, gatherings and the dance and there’s a party and there’s a yoga experience, really a lot. Sometimes you can’t choose where to go because there’s really and there’s always an opening event, you know, an art gallery or a launch of.

Feminine leadership in a construction world

Something and, you know, if you know the right people, you can be invited a lot, really. That’s, that’s great. And yeah, I wanted to talk to you because you work in a very male-dominated industry, right? And I always love the fact that you’re a woman doing this kind of what would have been considered for many years a more male role. And we’ve talked a bit about this business and the masculinity side and being more the feminine and connecting with your energy, you know, your feminine energy. And this can sometimes be difficult because you have to be kind of disciplined and controlled and but on the other side feminine and more soft. And how do you balance these two sides of you?

I found my way to balance it out. At the beginning, I don’t know, okay, I was, I was young. I, I really, to look more serious, I used to wear glasses, but I didn’t need glasses, but just to look, to look more serious. But now forget it. It does. I, I don’t care. I think it’s especially this feminine way. I also now, nowadays, sometimes I have to say I don’t know it because I don’t know it. I, I, I can’t. Before I was like, there always has to be a solution. I have to be very, um, and this is, uh, like life is. And this makes one more authentic and this is so important because everything else will not, uh, will not. Yeah, it’s better like this. And the feminine way, it’s sometimes it’s so funny because with all this male energies, sometimes you, you are in, in the, in the middle and it’s so easy to, to, to see what helps in a psychological way. Sometimes I’ve seen it in two big cases already when I was not so involved anymore in a construction site, the male energies were like fighting, big fight. And what happens then? Craftsman egos, craftsman leaving, constructor totally upset. Oh, I will never go, never. He’s totally, he’s crazy. I will never go there. And so you bring that harmony that can, yeah, but not only harmony, saying everything is nice. Sometimes it’s just how you, how you say things. I can also.

Pride, respect and doing excellent work

Say you have to do this again. But if I say, this is totally, what did you do here? This is not the way how you can. So he’s leaving people with their respect and their dignity and telling them, yes, respect is, is, is very important, yeah, yeah. So you, you, you do find the way to, to balance this, this energy. Yeah, and very often it helps to, to work with the proud of, the proud is so important here. Um, the pride of, pride, yeah, that’s what I wanted to say. Pride is so important here. If you, if you work with this, you get it, you get everything. Yeah, because I want, it’s so easy also, a, a craftsman, he want to be, he want to be proud of his work, yeah. And appreciated and not accepted or doing it, acceptable. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So using actually it sounds to me like it, it can even be an advantage. Do you find that with the clients, they’re even more trusting of you? Because I don’t know, trust, it’s more like, I think it’s this feeling of a safe pair of hands that they’re going to have when they give you the role of building their home on Mallorca. For me, it’s also very important, I want, you know, I’m here now 24 years and, um, my work, I, I don’t want that somebody says she did well, it was okay. I, I want to stay here. The island is so small and people are talking and also I, I like my job and I want to make the best out of it. And it’s something, uh, being part of a team, bringing out good architecture, good design and something that, that stays there. Um, I’m also proud of it, of course.

Quickfire round: Mallorca favourites

Well, I think that’s a beautiful way that we can kind of wrap up our our chat today because in the end that’s what kind of life is about, isn’t it? It’s like what do you leave behind, what is your your legacy really? Because you can do sort of average work or you can do excellent work and it sounds to me that you, you, you tend to choose where you can to deliver on on excellence which is beautiful. Before we leave, I have some questions I want to ask you. So it’s just some quickfire questions. Beach or mountain? Mountain. Mountain. Sunrise or sunset? Sunset. Sunset. Romantic. Summer heat or winter calm? Winter calm, definitely. Siesta or fiesta? Siesta. Siesta. Really? Single woman, you have to go for a fiesta. Uh, Pamboli or Ensaïmada? Pamboli. Pamboli. You’re a chase me. I don’t. And north coast or south coast? That’s interesting. North coast because of the mountains and, um, I love this rough beauty, rugged beauty. It’s beautiful. So Anja, thank you so much for being my guest today and, um, it was a real pleasure to hear more about your work and your, uh, professional life, your personal life and your journey, uh, for the last number of years of Mallorca. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, it was a pleasure. Thank you for tuning into today’s episode of Mallorca Living. We hope you found it inspiring and uplifting. If you’re planning to relocate to Mallorca and buy a property here on the island, we would love to guide you and support you in your journey. Reach out to us today, book a consultation and let’s start your journey together to move to Mallorca.