Online Lives: Meet Emma Ratcliffe, the Dublin woman blogging from Spain

Emma Ratcliffe tells Denise O'Donoghue about blogging from sunny Spain

Dubliner Emma Ratcliffe treats her blog and social media accounts as ‘digital scrapbooks’ of her experiences.

Emma, who is living in Granada, Spain, works full time and uses her blog, Travelstylefood.com, to share her passions.

“I’m fortunate enough to be able to work from home so I figured, what better place to call your home than Spain?” she said.

“I’m a PPC specialist, I manage online advertising campaigns for hotels based in Ireland and abroad. In my spare time, I like to blog about things I enjoy.

“My blog, TravelStyleFood, is my primary creative outlet online. I write posts when I’m feeling excited and passionate about the world around me. But when it comes to getting inspired, sharing more frequently, and engaging with other content online, I turn to Instagram.”

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Emma enjoys spending time with loved ones and travelling.

“While the power of social media can’t be underestimated, nothing makes me happier than immersing myself in beautiful surroundings, spending time with friends and family, and living in the moment as much as possible.

“Mostly, I use it to share my posts and engage with those who have been kind enough to take the time to read my thoughts.”

She is wary of the shift some bloggers have taken to social media.

“I’ve noticed first-hand how the written word has become secondary to instant gratification. While it’s the way of the future, it can be challenging to move away from the old-fashioned way of taking pictures and writing posts when that’s what I’m passionate about.”

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Emma says she has loved being creative since she was a child and her blog was a natural step.

“When I was younger, I was always making things — painting, using clay, baking — as I became older, that fell by the wayside to a lot of adult responsibilities. Anytime I take pictures for a post, edit them, organise them, and write my whole story for each piece, I enjoy every step of the process.”

Emma writes “mostly travel diaries and food… lots of food!”

She continues: “I write in a conversational tone which is nice considering I work from home and don’t always interact as much as I should with other humans! I also love looking back on posts.

Sometimes I forget all I’ve done and it’s a lovely reminder — like a digital scrapbook.

She says she has met many like-minded people through her blog.

“I’ve met a lot of enthusiastic, creative people and been granted wonderful opportunities for which I am very grateful.”