I Could not Afford to Retire within the U.S. so I Moved to Spain at 70 Years Previous — How I Did It

Seven years in the past, I moved from the U.S. to Spain. I used to be 70 years outdated and alone. Now, I’m residing my finest life within the vibrant European capital of Madrid. Right here’s the way it occurred.

After working in Hollywood as an assistant director for nearly 20 years, I left that world behind and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. My concept was to speculate my small nest egg in actual property and let it develop right into a cushion for my retirement. I purchased two homes and began promoting actual property.

Within the housing crash of 2008, each of my properties went underwater. The worth of every fell to $100,000 lower than the mortgage. Instantly, my actual property was nugatory, and I had no earnings. By 2010, I used to be bankrupt, in foreclosures, and owed cash to a pal. The nest egg was gone. I used to be 63 years outdated. I had no kids, no mother and father, no husband, no actual property, and no obligations. I felt scared and, on the identical time, euphoria for being fully free.

I noticed if I had been ever going to retire, it must be in a rustic the place I may reside on my pensions. I’m a well-traveled individual, and I knew such locations existed. I got down to discover the appropriate one for me. Throughout Santa Fe’s freezing winters, I traveled searching for a hotter, extra reasonably priced house. I’d lived in Mexico for six months in 2000. It was on my shortlist, however security was a priority.

I visited in Chile, Argentina, Honduras, and Puerto Rico, too. I spent three months in Brazil. Salvador, Bahia, tempted me, but it surely wasn’t reasonably priced sufficient. Antigua, Guatemala, additionally rose to the highest of my checklist regardless of shaky infrastructure and potential issues of safety.

I hadn’t thought of Europe as a result of I assumed it could be too costly, however in 2016, I flew to Madrid to go to a pal who had been my English pupil once I taught a summer time program in Santa Fe. He guided me by the town’s various neighborhoods, elegant parks, world-class museums, and conventional tapas bars.

It turned out Spain was effectively inside my funds. The infrastructure was developed. The general public transportation was clear, handy, and reasonably priced. And better of all, the streets had been secure and stuffed with pleasant folks in any respect hours of the day and night time.

My pal took me to Seville to satisfy his mother and father. Sitting within the shady backyard of the traditional Alcázar, listening to the splash of fountains and consuming espresso with my pal, I felt content material and oddly at house. Days later, I skilled the identical sensation strolling by the Albaicín in Granada. I had discovered a spot the place I belonged.

I spent every week volunteering in an English immersion program for Spanish professionals. I used to be enchanted by their enthusiasm, intelligence, and seductive joie de vivre. By the point I bought again to Madrid, I had new pals.

Spain has a whole lot of similarities to the southern California of my youth: local weather, flora, seashores, and structure. For me, it evoked a snug nostalgia. When it was time to return to the U.S., I didn’t need to return. I assumed, “I may reside right here.”

Again in Santa Fe, I began investigating the residency necessities for transferring to Spain. My pensions simply met the monetary threshold. I began gathering paperwork, ordered an FBI report, and bought an apostille. My physician wrote a letter saying I had no infectious ailments, and I purchased Spanish medical insurance. I printed financial institution statements, took passport pictures, crammed out kinds, and paid charges on-line. Lastly, I had all the things translated into Spanish by an authorized interpreter.

I made an appointment to current my software in individual on the Spanish consulate in Houston, which was assigned to me due to my everlasting residence in New Mexico. An official took my passport and informed me it could be returned with my residency visa affixed to one of many pages in six weeks to 3 months.

As soon as I bought an e-mail saying my visa was prepared, I flew to Houston, picked up my passport, returned to Santa Fe, and bought or gave away virtually all the things I owned. I arrived in Madrid two months later with 4 suitcases.

I’d stored in contact with the Spanish pals I made once I volunteered on the English immersion program. One of many girls, Isabel, invited me to remain in her visitor room whereas I appeared for a rental. I looked for residences in central Madrid, however since my Spanish was lower than primary, Isabel known as to make my appointments and went with me to the showings. Inside every week and a half, I’d rented a furnished studio within the Chamberí neighborhood.

Inside 30 days of arriving as a resident, I needed to submit all the identical paperwork I’d offered in Houston to the immigration workplace in Madrid, together with my empadronamiento (a doc that exhibits you’ve registered your handle together with your municipality). Isabel went with me to that appointment and the immigration workplace. Due to her, I submitted all the things by the deadline. Three months later, my official residency card got here within the mail. I’ve since found that useful generosity like Isabel’s is widespread for Spanish folks.

Now Zumba, Pilates, language exchanges, and Spanish courses fill my days. Evenings effervesce with the conviviality of assembly pals for wine and tapas, going to live shows, singing on the piano bar, and dancing the night time away. I’m writing the issues I didn’t have time to jot down throughout my working life.

I’ve gotten more healthy as a result of I stroll to and from public transportation. As a senior resident of Madrid, I’ve a card that gives me with limitless rides on the metro, buses, and concrete trains without spending a dime. Life with out the expense and accountability of a automotive is pure pleasure.

Spanish well being care permits me to handle all issues with out further charges. If I need to spend a weekend on the seashore, a clear, snug, quick prepare will get me there in two hours. Since Madrid is a transportation hub, journey inside Europe is simple and cheap. To date, I’ve been to Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, southern France, Turkey, and Portugal’s Algarve area. Later this 12 months, I’ll go to Edinburgh for the Fringe Pageant and Venice for the Biennale.

Spain has proved to be all I hoped it could be and extra. My transfer turned out to be a superb determination, and I’ve by no means been happier.