It’s also easy to have the thought, “I wonder what it might be like to live here.” I’m sure I wasn’t the first person to have that thought. That’s the easy part.

If you really want to live long-term some place outside the United States, it’s a bit more involved. Every country wants to make sure that their goals for admitting people to their country are being met.

A warning before you begin. This post is extra-long. I posted it because many people have asked me what it took to get our visa. If you really want to know, this post will explain in excruciating detail. If you’re not that interested, skip it and catch the next post. You have been warned!

Every country is different; they have different goals; they have different requirements. I’m only going to talk about my experience, which is by its very nature, limited. Spain offers several visas (student visas, work visas, digital nomad visas, etc.). The specific visa Barbara and I applied for is called the non-lucrative visa. It’s designed for people who have the ability to live on passive income (it’s basically a retirement visa, though the Spanish government doesn’t specify that the person be retired). It’s issued for one year and can be renewed every two years after that. After five years a person is eligible for temporary residence; after ten years a person can apply for citizenship.

I’m going to break down the documentation that we had to gather to get that visa, but I want you to understand why they ask for so much. So, I’m going to explain. Spain wants to be sure that people who come here will be able to contribute to the Spanish economy and not be a drain on it. They want to preserve as many jobs as possible for the Spanish people. They also don’t want people coming here to put an extraordinary strain on the Spanish healthcare system or social services system. They also want to ensure that people coming here won’t represent a threat to civil order. So, they take measures to ensure that those who are applying for long term visas will meet those criteria.

Let me break down the paperwork that way.

Application forms

In this category, I’m just going to list the general application forms needed for the process.

EX-01 This is a general application form that must be completed by each applicant. The applicant has to be able to show that they have an address in Spain (which can be as simple as a three-month reservation with Airbnb. You just need to be able to show that you won’t get to Spain and be homeless). This form required us to submit pictures that had to conform to certain dimensions (not quite the same as passport pictures) and those pictures had to have been taken within six months.

National Visa Application: (Modelo 790) Each applicant has to complete this form showing the address in Spain and the entrance date.

Administration Fees: There are several of these. As of last year, they totaled around $170 US.

Proof of Residency in the Consular Jurisdiction: Every person has to be interviewed to turn in their visa applications to a consular official. In order to handle the load, the Spaniards have divided the various US states into regions. In our case, the State of Alabama has been assigned to the consular office in Houston, TX. We had to show our drivers licenses to prove that we were residents of Alabama so that the Houston Consulate could process it. If you decide to do this, you may have to go to another consulate in order to process it.

Current Passport: Of course, we had to show that we had a current passport, but we also had to make copies of the personal data pages. Also, the passport needs to be a year or more from its expiration date at the time of submission.

Healthcare

The Spanish want to make sure that applicants are in reasonable health and won’t put an inordinate strain on the public health system (they have socialized medical care).

Health Insurance policy: Because we’re not Spanish citizens, and up to this point have not been liable to pay taxes to the Spanish Government (that will change in the future), we’re not eligible for that system, so we had to buy a private healthcare policy. It had to be a Spanish Healthcare company, and it had to meet certain criteria.

Here’s the good news! Healthcare is exceedingly cheap compared to the US health insurance market. Barbara and I bought a policy that covers both of us, for about a third of what it costs to insure me alone in the US. By the way, don’t believe what you have been told about healthcare outside the US. Spain has one of the foremost healthcare systems in the world. I feel very safe here.

Medical Certificate of Good Health: The applicants have to provide a certificate of good health, signed and stamped by a doctor. It must be submitted within three months of the date when it is signed. If it’s not in Spanish, it must be translated by a sworn translator (legally sworn by a judge in Spain to create a faithful translation).

Financial Means: The Spanish government wants to know that you can support yourself without competing for a job with Spanish citizens. They want to know that you won’t be homeless or need financial rescue. Her’s what they require.

Signed Affidavit: The applicant has to provide a brief work history, give reasons for moving to Spain, how long they plan to stay, and other circumstances to support the visa application. The application has to be signed before a notary and had to be translated by a sworn translator. It needs to state that the applicant does not intend to work and show the applicant’s postal address in Spain (for at least the first three months).

Proof of Retirement: Either a statement from Social Security or a retirement pension statement or a letter from your former employer showing that your employment has ended. This needs to be translated by a sworn translator.

Proof of Accommodation: The applicant must provide a receipt or certificate that shows you will have a legal address in Spain.

Proof of Savings or regular income: The applicant must provide bank statements or statements from their financial management company showing that they meet the financial requirements for this visa (about $30,000 at the time of this writing). This was in some ways the hardest part. It isn’t enough to show that you will have $30,000 by the end of the year. You have to have a continuous balance with that much money. Keep your Financial management statements!

Criminal Record:

The applicant has to present a clean criminal record. We had to have our fingerprints taken and submitted to the FBI. After the FBI sent us confirmation that our records were clean, we then had to have them apostilled.

A note about apostilles. An apostille is sort of like a notary stamp. It is an official recognition by an internationally recognized government agency that a document submitted actually came from the agency it says it does. In this case, the internationally recognized agency is the US State Department. Their apostille legitimated the FBI criminal record report in the eyes of the Spanish government.

Documentation for Family:

If the applicant is married, the spouse must provide all of the previous documentation required for the main applicant, except for the financial information which can be shared. In addition, they must provide a marriage certificate, apostilled by the state in which they were married (In our case, the apostille certificate came from the Alabama Secretary of State’s office). This certificate had to have been issued within the last six months and translated by a sworn translator.

Whew!! If that seems like a lot- it was. It took us months.

So on Thursday we went to a police station in Alicante to apply for our TIE card. A TIE card is the official physical residence ID issued in Spain to non-EU citizens who have permission to stay for more than six months. We had to be fingerprinted and turn in passport photos and a stack of papers, including the Padron we obtained on Tuesday. We had to go to a different police station than the two we went to on the first day after we arrived when we were getting our passports stamped and obtaining our NIE number. The NIE is a foreigner tax and ID number. It will also be listed on the TIE card when we pick it up in about a month. Whew! Now we can file all our paperwork away until close to our one year anniversary here when we start again to get a 2 year extension on our Visa.

Speaking of anniversaries – today is our 27^th wedding anniversary! We went to the Canadian Rockies for our honeymoon and have been planning the next trip ever since. It would have never crossed my mind when we got this party started that I would be living in Spain 27 years later! We celebrated by having a fabulous steak dinner at a little restaurant that we have come to love and followed it up with a dish of the 3^rd best ice cream in Spain. Saying that never gets old. Neither does eating it.

I would be lying if I said this had all been a cake walk. Everything, from doing all the above mentioned paperwork to shopping for groceries, is a challenge. But doing tough things with your best friend makes the tasks easier and the burdens lighter. Especially when that best friend speaks Spanish!

So Happy Anniversary, Tom Lewis! I love you and this life we have together!

PS: I can’t close without mentioning that my parents got married on this day 71 years ago and my Aunt Margaret (mom’s sister) and Uncle John Wellbaum got married 72 years ago today. It is also the 45th anniversary for Stan and Jutta Walters who are the parents of our son in law, Daniel. Turns out August 28th is a very good day for this family!

Come see us!

Barbara & Tom

You may have noticed that when you decide you’re going to chase a dream, life can get in the way; life has its own competing demands that must be addressed. We had already done some homework on the process and knew generally what we needed to do, but to actually dive in and do it seemed daunting. Plus, we needed to talk to friends and family about our plans- starting with our two daughters. We also had a big family vacation planned for the Gálapagos Islands, and we didn’t want to miss that. More on that in a moment.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we found a law firm through the Moving to Spain Website. On that website we were able to register for a 30-minute virtual consultation with one of two law firms they recommended to help with the immigration process. The price for this consultation was 80€, and we didn’t know which law firm we would get. We submitted the request and that led to a zoom meeting with Maryem Essadik, managing partner of the Marfour law firm in Barcelona.

Maryem assured us that if we engaged Marfour’s services, they would take care of everything. They would send us a packet with the forms we needed and assign us an attorney to oversee the process- for a fee of course. After thirty minutes, we were sold. So, we were sent a contract to sign to engage their services, and wiring instructions to send them the money. It wasn’t cheap, but they offered generous terms- 70% down with the balance due when we received our visas.

I’ll say more in depth about the process in a future post, but let me just say this right now. Hiring an attorney, though it was expensive, was worth every penny! I’ve heard people say that this process can be done without the expense of an attorney. Technically, I believe that is true. However, the process is daunting; there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be done. It has to be done in a certain way. The wrong wording or a mistake in the paperwork can lead to a visa being denied. A good attorney can make the process go much smoother.

Marfour is a multi-faceted law firm. They take care of everything. Of course, they help you secure your visa. They also have a real estate division to help you find a home when you get here. They have an income tax division, to help with your taxes (yes taxes are an issue). Marfour has provided us with considerable peace of mind throughout the process.

We signed the contract, paid the fee, and got to work. Well...not exactly. We signed the contract, but we still had that Gálapagos trip scheduled. The problem was that when you apply for your visa you must surrender your passport for a time, and we needed those passports for the Gálapagos trip.

So, we paid the initial fee to hire the law firm but told them it would be a few months before we began the process. They were fine with that. I don’t regret going to the Gálapagos. In fact, it was the best vacation I have ever taken. It was worth delaying our application to go to Spain by six months. In the next episode, I will describe the visa application process in more depth. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures I have posted of our trip to the Gálapagos!

Because the 1 ½ minutes of totality was right at sunset it did not get totally dark but it was still an amazing thing to see. I am not the best photographer but you can see in the pictures that afterward the sky became the most amazing orange as the still partially eclipsed sun sank below the mountains.

I remember watching the news coverage of the total eclipse in the US in 2024 and thinking the reactions of observers was a bit over the top. All the cheering, clapping and crying just seemed like so much drama. This is my official apology to all that I so wrongly judged. As the moon moved to completely cover the sun and the light dimmed, Tom and I joined with thousands to cheer and clap and, yes, I even shed a tear or two.

Now for a little science. The last total eclipse visible in Spain was in 1912. There was one in 1959 but was only visible in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. There will be another total eclipse in August 2027 that will have a period of totality of more than 4 minutes across southern Spain. Then in January 2028 there will be an annular eclipse and Alicante is in the path of totality! I am including a link to a brief article that explains all of this, including the difference in a regular eclipse and an annular eclipse. According to National Geographic Institute, after 2028 Spain will have to wait until 2053 for another total solar eclipse. When we started this little Spanish adventure we had no idea we would have the opportunity to witness this exceedingly rare trio of eclipses and we are ridiculously excited! Now to get to work on my eclipse photography skills!

https://eclipses.ign.es/en/introduccion.html

PS - I haven’t forgotten about the house hunters international post follow up. Most of you guessed correctly that we picked apartment #3. In the next couple of days I promise more pictures and a video tour.

Alicante is a city of about 360,000 people located right by the Mediterranean Sea. The shore gently rises to the hills. Overlooking the city is Castillo de Santa Barbara. The castle was originally built by the Arabs in the ninth century. During the reconquest, it was captured by the Spaniards. At various times it was controlled by the French or the British before being abandoned. In 1963 it reopened to the public after remodeling. There are two ways to get up there: there is a lift at the base of the mountain.

During the summer, Alicante and its beaches receive tens of thousands of visitors from all over Europe. It’s a place that combines Old World Charm with an unmatched hospitality for guests.

We stayed in Alicante for about 5 days. I had been to Alicante in the 1980’s, and I had fallen in love with the city then. Over the course of those 5 days, Barbara fell in love with it too.

The day after we arrived, we met a woman who really sold us on Alicante. Barbara had booked a tour by local with a woman named Carolina. Carolina met us in front of one of the Cathedrals of Alicante. She took us through the town and showed us the town, the square, Livanti- home of the third best Ice Cream in Spain (there’s a plaque that says so right outside the shop. We saw the famous Calle de San Francisco with its iconic mushrooms, the Esplanada and the Rambla, concluding our tour at the Central market.

A note about the market while I continue. The Central Market is a huge, two-story building. You can buy almost anything there: Beef, Fish, Seafood, Poultry, Fruits, Vegetables, Cheeses, Eggs, etc. There is a drug store there and there are several restaurants and bars within its walls.

Along the tour Carolina became more than just a tour guide. She became our friend. We confessed to her that we were thinking of moving to Spain. She offered to meet with us the next day and show us the beaches and the outlying communities. The next day she met us in her car and took us to the beaches. From a promontory we were able to see a seven-kilometer stretch of developed beach. She drove us through those communities, showing us the various communities: Playa de San Juan, Villajoyosa, El Campello, and Benidorm. We ended the day in Altea- a hillside community nestled a few kilometers from the shore. It was a community of beautiful white buildings.

We left a few days later, determined to make Alicante our new home.

I admit I have watched more than a few episodes of House Hunters and House Hunters International over the years. This week I got my comeuppance for making fun of them. We toured 3 apartments. I heard myself saying way too many things that I laughed at folks for saying on the shows. Things like, “we need space for family and friends to visit’, “look at that view!”, “this is a great space!”. Especially annoying to me were the HH International episodes where they were moving to foreign countries “to experience new cultures and a new way of life “- but want it to look just like it did in America. With that in mind I was determined to keep an open mind and know that things here are different. Pretty much “open floor plan” is not an option.

So in true House Hunters style here are our 3 choices:

An apartment in the city on the 12^th floor of a 20 story building. It was recently fully remodeled and was fabulous. Storage and closet space for days. 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Amazing views of the nearby bull fighting ring, Castillo de Santa Barbara, and the port of Alicante. Downside – it was in the middle of town so pretty far from the beach, great views but no terrace, cost at the top of our budget.

This video is from the rooftop of the apartment building.

The second apartment was a few miles up the coast in the seaside community of Playa de San Juan. It was on the 7^th floor and directly across the street from the beach in a vibrant and busy area filled with restaurants and bars. It seemed to be a very family friendly community. Beautifully decorated, great sea breeze. Downside – no air conditioning, two bedrooms but only one bathroom.

View from apartment #2. You will hear me on the video say apartment 1 but that is because it was the first one we visited that particular day.

The third apartment was a few more miles up the coast in the community of El Campello. It is a quieter area than Playa de San Juan but still has plenty of restaurants and is easily walkable. I feel like the residents are a little older – our people. This apartment is on the 14^th floor and directly across the street from the beach. It also has wonderful views and a fabulous sea breeze. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, air conditioning, and has been recently remodeled. Downside – fully furnished but we would have to supply all linens, towels, sheets, small appliances, dishes, cookware, etc.

And finally, apartment #3.

So which one did we pick? Wait for a video tour after we get moved in in a week or so!

Thriving expat communities exist in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, San Sebastián, Seville, Bilbao and other communities. Some communities are built and marketed for expats. Others welcome expats among locals. Some communities welcome a mix of people. There are urban communities and rural communities that expats call home. There are warm beaches, cool forests, deserts, and mountains from which one can choose. It’s really a matter of individual taste.

Obviously, there was only so much time we could spend in the country viewing potential communities. We also wanted to travel to France. I have a niece who has lived there with her husband for the last five years. We wanted to visit with them and get their input regarding living as expats. So, we chose just two places.

We were looking for a place on the water with a warm climate. Málaga was an obvious choice. From what I’ve read, it’s the most popular expat destination (though it’s more popular with the British than the Americans. The Americans seem to prefer Valencia). So, we went to Málaga first.

Now, I have a confession to make. I mentioned earlier that I had traveled extensively and I have. But when I traveled to Spain last year, that was the first time I had traveled outside the country in nearly nine years. That trip was to Mexico right along the border with the United States. So, some things had changed. I was surprised to learn that my smart phone didn’t work. I couldn’t get data. Somehow, I had missed the advent of e-sim cards. Fortunately, once we got to the Airbnb, we had access to Wi-Fi and were able to correct that pretty quickly. The e-sim I used was with a company called Holafly. You can download the app straight on your smartphone. Since then, I have also used an app called Saily, and that worked just as well.

Málaga is a seaside community on the south coast of Spain. It lies in the region of Andalusia on what the Spaniards call the Costa del Sol (Sun Coast). About 600,000 people live in Málaga. The weather in the summer ranges from warm to hot.

The place that we stayed was literally right next to the city market. We checked into the AirBnB, went out to find some supper, then returned and bedded down for the night.

The next day was Saturday. We had contacted some expats in Málaga through Facebook. We had put out a message that we were checking out the city and would love to meet some people who had become expats to hear about their experiences in Málaga. For the most part, very few people had responded to our overture. However, we did get one invitation from a lady to come to a local tennis club to play pickleball. Until the moment we arrived, we were thinking we were going to accept that invitation. However, what we discovered was that the tennis club was outside the city, and not easy to reach. The cab was going to cost too much for it to be practical.

What we did instead was walk around the city. Within thirty minutes or so, we came to a plaza, and we saw a pick-up point for one of those Hop-on/ Hop-off city bus tours. I don’t know if any of you have experienced these, but in my opinion, this is one of the easiest ways to see a new city. The tours are low cost. You can buy a ticket that’s good for 24 hours. The buses stop at numerous locations around the city. Anywhere the bus stops you can get off and go see the sights. Then simply return to the bus stop, show your ticket, and continue the bus tour. But wait, there’s more! The ticket you purchase includes plug-in headphones. When you plug the headphones into the audio system, you can choose several different channels. Several channels are devoted to an audio tour, each channel featuring the tour in a different language. There are also some music channels if you prefer those.

The next day we booked a tour through the toursbylocals website. We met our tour guide, and she led us around the city for the next three hours. I wish I could remember her name, but I don’t. Anyway, the tour guide was very knowledgeable- we truly got our money’s worth.

Between the private tour and the tour bus, we got to see what Málaga had to offer as a vacation spot. We went to see the central shopping district. This area is located around a central pedestrian street. The street begins from a central plaza and extends several miles, with winding streets and alleyways that branch off it. There are lots of shops to explore there, everything from Jewelers to chocolatiers, including many shops selling niche items.

For the history buff, there are two castles in Málaga: the Alcazaba and the Gibralfaro. We only saw the Alcazaba from the outside (there’s a plaza just below it that gives a good panoramic view of it), but we actually toured the Gibralfaro. It was magnificent! After completing the tour, we had lunch at a little bistro right there inside the castle.

We also had the opportunity to tour the local Cathedral and the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. For those of you who want to dive deeper on Picasso, there’s a Picasso museum in the city.

After two days of touring Málaga, we found a great restaurant off the central shopping district. We had supper there and took stock of the situation. Barbara said it best. She said, “I’ve enjoyed being here, but I just don’t have a feel for what it would be like to live here.”

The next day we spent just lying low. We were scheduled to leave the next day by train, so we scouted out the best way to get to the station. Later that morning we went to the market and bought some local produce for dinner. In the late afternoon, we indulged in a favorite local pastime- churros dipped in melted chocolate in a local cafe. Early the next morning we made our way to the train station and said goodbye to Málaga.

We started back toward our apartment, weaving our way through throngs of fans packing outdoor seating at bars along the way. Just across from our apartment building there is a small park with a building that says it is a bar but we had never seen it open until last night. There were a smattering of folks, some kids playing, a slight breeze and some cold beer. So we pulled up a chair. We stayed until halftime then finished watching in our apartment.

After the win the streets erupted – firecrackers going off, horns blowing, people shouting. The celebration lasted until close to 3AM!

The only thing missing from the celebration was some trees to roll. Maybe next time.

Blessings,

Barbara & Tom

Once we narrowed our search, we discovered a plethora of new resources to help us. One of the first things we discovered was the number of Facebook communities dedicated to expats in Spain. There are dozens of them, perhaps hundreds. We found Facebook pages for Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Cádiz, Sevilla, San Sebastián, Bilbao, and many more. There are pages devoted to the NLV visa. Pages devoted to different national origins (e.g. the UK and the USA). Pages devoted to certain activities (e.g. pickleball). You name it, there’s probably a Facebook group for it. These turned out to be an invaluable resource. Almost any question we had could be answered by someone in these groups, and we learned a lot from the questions of others.

Along the way we came across three websites (of course, there could be more that we didn’t find) that have extensive blogs regarding immigration to Spain. The first group we located was a group called Just Law Solicitors. This is a law firm comprised of attorneys, most of whom come from the UK. They maintain a blog and host a podcast. You can find them by searching for Just Law Solicitors on the Internet.

The second group we found on YouTube. It’s a group called Spain revealed. They also host a website and have a number of videos on YouTube (which is how I found them). Through their website, I subscribed to an email newsletter and receive periodic emails from them. They host a master class (for a fee) that will help walk you through the process.

Finally, we found a group called Moving to Spain. You can find them at movingtospain.com . On the first page you will find a button labeled “Get Your Free Roadmap”. When you click on it, you will be prompted to enter an email address, with the promise that you will receive one email per day for fifteen days. Each email is packed with information about the process of moving to Spain. On the website itself, you will find loads of articles on every topic relevant to moving to Spain. But the real strength of this website is that the recommend professionals who work in Spain who can help with the transition: Immigration Attorneys, Realtors, Tax Accountants, Financial Managers, Health Insurance Agents and more. It’s even possible to set up 30-60 minute consultations with these professionals for a small fee.

Through the Moving to Spain website we were able to arrange a 30-minute consultation with an immigration law firm in Barcelona. The consultation cost us €80 (about $93). We ended up hiring that law firm to assist us in filing for our non-lucrative visa. We possibly could have done it without their help, but it would have been much more difficult.

Through our research, we further reduced our choices to two communities in Spain: Malaga and Alicante. We then arranged to go on a vacation trip to Spain. A scouting trip, if you will. I’ll talk more about that in my next article.

The law firm we used to help navigate this move is going to help us with securing a long term rental – but not today. It seems we have arrived just as half the country of Spain goes on vacation and half of Europe comes to the Med for vacation. Think of it as trying to find a retirement home at Gulf Shores during summer vacation season. She assures us it will be easier to find a place that suits us in mid-August – September once tourists go home. So in the meantime we will settle in, wander around our new city and shop at the amazing market, Mercados de Alicante.

Ah, the market. Build in 1921, it has 2 expansive floors filled with venders selling beautifully displayed fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, beef, pork, chicken and breads. We are like kids in a candy store. Today we stocked up on some fresh fruit and bread, meats and cheeses for sandwiches. I can’t see doing any serious cooking in this little apartment but we would rather not have to go out and forage for every meal.

(thanks to Andrew Sneed for Congress for the perfect market bag!)

We have averaged 4-5 miles walking every day since we arrived last Wednesday. While we feel we should at some point figure out the public bus system, this is a very walkable city and how else can we earn the ice cream and croissants?

Tonight the air is slightly cooler and there is a nice breeze blowing. It lifts the Spanish flag capes being worn by excited football fans who are hurrying to get the best spots in the best bars for viewing their team. The national pride is palpable and the excitement is contagious.

Our biggest challenge is going to be learning to chill. We are a retirement work in progress and are up for the challenge!

Blessings and A Por Ellos (Go get ‘em) Spain!

Barbara

However, while I don’t want to get too far behind on the articles, I also want to capture my thoughts so that I don’t forget. So, I am going to try a new approach. I am going to try posting one current article each week. At the same time, I will try to post one article that continues the saga that I began. That way we won’t get too far behind.

Two weeks ago today, we moved out of the house we had been living in for the past sixteen years. Three guys came and moved virtually everything we owned into a storage room on the south side of Madison. Okay, it wasn’t just one storage room. It started as two storage rooms and grew to four by the end of the day. We had boarded our dog the night before, so I picked her up from the boarding kennel and we took her to the hotel we had booked.

The three of us stayed in the hotel until the following Thursday. That day we got final haircuts from our long-time stylist friend, Jamie. After a final haircut- and a final hug- we got in the car and drove North. That night we stayed in a hotel in mid Illinois, then went on to Madison, Wisconsin. My daughter Rachel lives there, and we wanted one last weekend with them. On Monday, our daughter Laura drove us to Chicago. Tuesday afternoon we boarded a plan and made our way to sunny Spain!

The first leg of the journey was from Chicago to Amsterdam. I don’t really care much for air travel. For the record, I am not afraid to fly. It’s just that air travel is often a hassle. This particular flight, however, was one of the most enjoyable air travel experiences I have ever had. The flight crew was very attentive; they offered good, old-fashioned customer service with a smile. So, I’m going to call out this airline. Thank you, KLM!

We then had about a nine-hour layover in Amsterdam before boarding another KLM flight to our new home, Alicante. This was another KLM flight. The plane was smaller and there were a number of crying babies aboard, but the flight crew was just as attentive as the previous flight.

So, we arrived in Alicante late Wednesday afternoon to begin our new adventure. We were eager to begin a new life of fun and travel. Only it hasn’t turned out that way so far. We arrived on perhaps the hottest day of the year in Alicante. The outside temperature was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We learned quickly that the apartment we had booked would not be available. We were being routed to another apartment which was supposedly more modern. So, we gathered our bags and went to meet the driver we had requested. He took us to his van, loaded our bags, and took us to the new address. We got there and couldn’t open the door. The driver unloaded our bags and drove off.

There we stood. It was 100 degrees. We had seven heavy bags with us, on a back street with little traffic. Fortunately, we soon received a call from the host company. They sent a nice man around to help us. He got the door open, and we took our bags inside, only to find that there was no elevator. We had to drag all of our bags, each of which weighed around fifty pounds, up the stairs to our new apartment.

What we discovered there was that the apartment was much worse than what we had booked. It was basically a studio apartment of around 500 square feet. Only one room had air conditioning. There was no toilet paper and there were no bath towels.

For the last three days we have been living here, trying to make the best of it. Most of Thursday was consumed with a paperwork quest. Because we arrived through the Netherlands our passport wasn’t stamped in Spain. That meant we had to file a Declaration of Entry at a Spanish National Police Station. We found one station, only to be told that we had to go to another station. We were then told that we needed to go to police office at the airport. Bureaucracy is the same everywhere! We then went to El Corte Inglés. Corte Inglés is the largest department store chain in Spain. They have everything, which is a good thing because again, we needed towels.

Yesterday, we had a zoom meeting with our attorney. That was the bright spot for me. I can’t speak for Barbara, but I feel like the lawyer is going to help us. She was very attentive.

Now, I sit here typing, and I think, where is the beautiful sunrise over the Mediterranean? Where are my new friends? Is this going to be our life? A lonely life where we have only one another? A life with no friends nearby? In a dingy apartment with no other place to live? The lawyer is telling us to be patient, and she promises it will get better. I believe her because that’s all I can do. Hope is all I have going for me.

But then I realized something. I’m in a place that has air conditioning and indoor plumbing. I can take a shower. That’s better than many people in the world get to experience. I’m living in a foreign country, something most people will go their entire lives without being able to do. I thank God for my wife Barbara, and I think things will get better because they must. The pretty sunrise will come. So will the better apartment. Our friends back home are cheering us on, telling us to hang in there, so that’s what I’m going to do.

We went out to dinner tonight and I realized I came to Spain for a reason. I really do love this country and its people. That hasn’t changed. Just a few hours ago Spain beat Belgium in the World cup quarterfinal. They now face France in the semi-finals. The city is vibrant with joy! I’m happy for my new home. Things will get better, and I will laugh about the hardship one day. Today is a new day. I’m ready to face it.

We arrived here late Wednesday afternoon after 24 hours of travel. We were tired and a little cranky but excited. As soon as the plane landed my phone alerted me to a message from our AirBnB host informing us that the apartment we rented for our first 3 months here had been left totally trashed by the prior occupant and they were going to move us to a different property. They assured us the property was even better and we could still get it for the cost of the first apartment – like they were doing us a giant favor.

We had arranged for a driver (also through AirBnB) to meet us at the airport. He did not seem happy that the address had changed. He loaded our 7 pieces of luggage and drove us the 25 minutes from the airport. While Tom and I looked for the door into the building that held the new apartment the driver unloaded our bags and drove away. I don’t think he spoke 10 words to us the entire time. Did I mention it is also 100 degrees F at 5 in the afternoon?

The door into the building has a lock that requires a blue tooth connection from our phones. We could not for the life of us get it to work. So, I messaged the host who sent over their maintenance man while we waited on the sidewalk with our luggage. He got us in the building then helped carry our bags up a flight of stairs (did I mention this allegedly better apartment has no elevator?) to an apartment that was much smaller than the one we thought was guaranteed. The air conditioner is a small unit in the bedroom and doesn’t reach the kitchen/living area or bathroom – did I mention it is 100 degrees?

We were finally able to speak to someone from the rental company and expressed our HUGE disappointment in this development. Also, evidently toilet paper and towels aren’t automatically supplied at some AirBnB’s in Europe. The toilet paper situation we discovered right away and bought some when we went to find dinner. But seriously, who walks into an AirBnB and looks to make sure towels are there? It is just assumed. Never again. Tom found a pack of unopened handcloth sized microfiber towels under the kitchen sink. They really do absorb a lot of water for their size.

We went to dinner then bought some croissants to have for breakfast and treated ourselves to a dish of the third best ice-cream in Spain, according to Yelp. We think yelp is wrong. Last night it was the absolute best ice-cream in Spain.

Today, after a semi good night’s sleep, we hit the ground running. The first order of business is to obtain a stamp from the National Police certifying the day we actually arrived in Spain. This is to keep us within the dictates of our initial, one year, Visa. We knew the National Police had to provide the stamp, so we found a small station near our apartment on google maps, took our passports, boarding passes and papers provided by our relocation attorneys and headed out. They sent us to a larger, further away, station. There the very nice officer informed us we had to go back to the airport and have it stamped at the station there. The upside of this is that now we could Uber and get out of the slightly better 94-degree sun.

When we finished the paperwork at the airport we took a taxi to a department store to buy towels then walked the one-mile, uphill back to our apartment and embraced the Spanish tradition of the siesta.

Not gonna lie, the past 24 hours have been challenging. We are questioning all our life choices. The AirBnB host has ghosted us.

The positives are that, while it is really hot, the humidity is significantly lower than Alabama this time of year and there is a breeze off the sea. The apartment has cooled slightly and tomorrow morning we will talk with a realtor to begin the search for a long-term rental.

Tonight we went out for pizza at a restaurant we passed yesterday. Fior di latte, gorgonzola, smoked scamorza, 24 month parmigiano shavings, honey and fresh rosemary. We added the guanciale. Basically 4 different cheeses with some smoked meat added. Ended with a shot of Limoncello. Delicious!! We’re going to be ok. Channeling my inner Scarlett O’Hara to say, “tomorrow is another day”!

Moving to Madison was the best decision we could have ever made when picking a place to raise our daughters. The Madison city school system proved to be exceptional, and our girls received an excellent education. We were surrounded by family, made friends and found community.

This community was expanded when Tom became the minister at Copeland Presbyterian Church in Athens in March 2007. These wonderful saints helped raise our girls. They were amazing role models and friends and became our extended family.

We are beyond excited to be moving to Spain and exploring Europe for the next few years but we are equally sad to leave all our friends and the life we have known in Madison. Our last week here was chaotic and exhausting and, not gonna lie, I had more than one crying jag!

We are spending July 4th weekend in Madison, Wisconsin with Laura and Rachel. Tomorrow, July 6th, Laura drives us back to Chicago and we fly to Alicante on Tuesday, arriving Wednesday afternoon.

For years Tom’s benediction at the end of his sermons has been, “Remember, you go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you there.” This is not a decision we have made lightly or without a lot of prayer. So now we go where we believe God is sending us and can’t wait to see what God has in store!

I’m not going to go into what led to that decision to become expats. Everybody has a different why. If you’re thinking that you might want to become an expat too, you’ll have your own reasons. So, I’m not going to talk about my reasons because I want to focus on the adventure. It would be too easy to get distracted if we followed that rabbit trail. Instead, I’m going to answer a different question- how do you get started?

I can only answer that question by telling my story. When Barbara and I decided to consider living outside the United States I had no idea where to begin. I knew how to travel to other countries-that’s not that difficult. Most countries in the world will allow Americans to enter as a tourist for a limited period, requiring nothing more than a passport to legally enter the country. In preparation for writing this article I reflected on my own travels. I have visited fourteen different countries on 5 different continents. Only one country- China- required me to seek a visa in advance of my arrival.

If you want to live in another country, though, things are different. So, that brings us back to the question; which country should you choose? What are the requirements? How do you find out?

Everyone that I knew who was living or had lived in a foreign country went there for one reason: work. Most of them had been stationed overseas while serving in the United States military. A few had been Christian missionaries. Fewer still had work for a multinational corporation. However, I’m retired. I didn’t want to go to another country to work. I wanted to retire there. Not every country welcomes retirees, so how do you find the ones that do?

The answer is surprisingly simple. Where do you learn anything new these days? You find a YouTube video. There are videos for just about anything. Want to learn how to put weatherstripping on your windows? YouTube has a video for that. Want to learn about the origin of the Universe? There’s a video for that. Want to follow your favorite football team? There’s a video for that. Want to learn about sea lions in the Galápagos Islands? There’s a video for that.

A day or two after the initial thought that we might want to live in another country, I was talking to my sister on the phone. You guessed it; she suggested a YouTube channel. The channel is called “Traveling With Kristen”. These are videos covering a range of topics of interest to expatriates, including finances, healthcare, pros and cons, and in-depth discussions about the specific immigration requirements for dozens of countries. Watching those videos also led me to additional YouTube videos, including some videos by people who were already living in other countries and what their experiences were. From YouTube I was also pointed to other resources, one of which I’m going to highlight next.

That particular resource is an online magazine called International Living. This is a magazine by expats, for expats. The magazine is issued monthly with articles from all over the world. Lots of great information. Plus, through their website, you can get access to lots of E-Books and special reports that will help you dive deeper into countries that interest you. One caution on International Living; they are going to try to upsell you. Once you agree to one subscription, they will try to convince you to buy increasingly expensive subscriptions with more features. It’s fine as long as you are aware of what they are doing. Subscribe at the level where you are comfortable and stop.

These two resources led us to consider several countries. What we quickly discovered was that there are certain expatriate hotspots.

• Latin America: Costa Rica and Panama seem to be the most popular choices, but I saw videos on Mexico, Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Uruguay may be the best kept secret, a hidden gem among the lot.

• Europe: Mostly Southern and Eastern Europe. Spain, Portugal, and Greece were the most commonly mentioned destinations. But I saw some surprising choices- Albania and Bulgaria, for example.

• Southeast Asia: Countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Maylasia all welcome retirees.

Each of these countries has their pros and cons so do your homework! At some point you will have to narrow down your list, so you need to think about what’s important to you in your new home. Do you want to live in a tropical paradise or a more temperate region? Do you want to live in a city or a more rural area? Do you want to live in the mountains or near the beach? Do you need world-class health care? How safe is the country you are considering? What’s the cost of living where you plan to live? Do you have children, and if so, what is the school situation? All of these questions need to be asked as you narrow down your list.

As for why we picked Spain, it’s simple. Spain welcomes retirees. They have a Non-Lucrative Visa designed for those able to live on passive income (perfect for retirees). Barbara and I like to travel and most of the places we want to see are in Europe. I speak passable Spanish (Barbara says I’m fluent, but my personal standards are more exacting). Spain offers a low cost of living, low crime rate, high social stability, world class healthcare, and a great lifestyle. As Barbara said, “You’ve got to love a country that practically mandates that you take a nap in the afternoon and then go out and eat churros dipped in chocolate!”

I’ll tell you more about what happened after we picked Spain in the next article.

Tom…

I wanted two things in life. I wanted my life to be filled with adventure, and I wanted to help as many people as possible while I was doing it. I didn’t imagine that life would play out the way it has, but I found the two things I was seeking.

I’ve built houses for poor people in Mexico, built water purification systems in Mexico and Honduras, preached at an evangelism and medical mission in Nicaragua, helped a farm community build animal pens in China, and taken part in a vacation bible school in Kenya.

As a minister, I’ve served three churches. I’ve counseled dozens, perhaps hundreds of people, served in the highest councils in my denomination, served on the board of a Children’s Home in Alabama, and ministered to homeless men in Atlanta and Mobile all in the service of Jesus Christ.

I’ve also had great adventures. I’ve been on game drives in Kenya, sailed a boat in the Bahamas, hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail and the Rocky Mountains, and chased dolphins in the Galápagos Islands (along with Penguins, giant Iguanas and sea turtles). I’ve walked the streets of Pompeii and climbed to the top of a Mayan Temple in Chichen Itza.

Now I’m set for a new adventure. After 29 years as a minister, I have retired, and I am headed to Spain. My wife and I plan to travel and enjoy life for the next few years.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I have no wish to glorify myself. There are many others who have done more to help people than I have. I am not a saint. I have just been blessed with opportunities to help. Nor do, I claim that my life has always been filled with excitement. Like most of you, I have pursued a career, found a soulmate and married her, bought a house, paid a mortgage, and raised a family. I have had my own struggles and dealt with my share of disappointment and grief. But I know that there are people who don’t enjoy life. People who complain about what their life is like. So, for those people I want to help you find some joy.

Your life might not have turned out the way that you planned. Mine didn’t either. However, that doesn’t mean my life turned out to be bad. It’s just different. The real question is, does your life have meaning? Does it have a purpose? If it does, then it’s a good life. If it doesn’t, then I hope these words will help you find your purpose.

Your purpose might be different from mine. That’s okay. In fact, that’s the way it should be. All I hope to accomplish is to plant the seed of an idea. Whatever your purpose, whatever your dream, anything is possible!

There is no way that I can help every person on earth. But I can invite you along on my adventures. If your life seems difficult, and the words I write help you to escape for a few minutes, that’s great! If my experience inspires you to seek your own adventure or launch you on your own quest, that’s great too! If you just want to hear a good story, I hope I don’t disappoint you. Come with me as I live this new adventure, and may your adventure be just as amazing!

Tom…

I am writing this “test” substack to see if this will work for chronicling our adventures in Spain. I think we will be able to add short videos and pictures to our stories. When we post something here I should be able to post links on Facebook and Instagram. If you prefer to get an email notice when we have a new post then just hit the

Subscribe now

subscribe now button above. Fingers crossed this will work for everyone!

The latest update is that our house has sold and we close on July 1st. Movers come on June 27th and everything but two suitcases of clothes each will go into storage for the next 3 years. On July 2nd we head to Madison, Wisconsin where we will spend a few days with Laura and Rachel. On July 7th we fly out of the Chicago airport to Alicante Spain (with a 6 hr layover in Amsterdam)! We have an AirB&B for July/Aug/Sept but plan to hit the ground running to find a more suitable long term place to rent - hopefully with a view of the Mediterranean! We will stay busy the first few weeks with a plethora of paperwork to complete the residency requirements - opening a bank account, registering for a Spanish ID card, etc.

We are excited for you to follow us on this adventure and hope you will all plan to come see us once we get settled in - just not all at once!!

One more thing - I need help coming up with a catchy title for our substack. Send me some suggestions!

Love to all,

Barbara Deloney Lewis

^{“TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW YOU WILL BE MORE DISAPPOINTED BY THE THINGS THAT YOU DIDN’T DO THAN BY THE ONES YOU DID DO. SO THROW OFF THE BOWLINES. SAIL AWAY FROM SAFE HARBOR. CATCH THE TRADE WINDS IN YOUR SAILS. EXPLORE, DREAM. DISCOVER.” Mark Twain}

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